Life Lately

I've been a bit rubbish about posting in this little space recently. Good intentions just seem to constantly fall by the wayside. I keep thinking to myself that I'll just get through the next busy week, then things will settle down, when something else throws me off course and I find myself repeating this thought over and over.

Also, at the moment, my work pattern keeps altering on a weekly basis, which is fine for the time being. I really do love all aspects of everything I do. No two days are ever the same, so it's never ever dull. There's a rumour going round that things might be more settled in several months time, but I've heard that one before. It certainly keeps life interesting. 

But on the whole, life is pretty great. I'm becoming much better at prioritising my own needs, and with practice, I'm finding that it's getting a little easier for me to let go of things that I have no control over. Perhaps it's an age thing :) But whatever it is, I am here for it. 

Last week we were down in London again, for a couple of days. I always love our visits to the city, and of course, the reason for them. And I still get a thrill when I see all the iconic landmarks, but over time Lily is becoming less and less impressed at the sight of the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, and Big Ben. We had a lovely time, though, and she did enjoy her promised trip on the pedalos in Hyde Park. We also spent some time at the immersive Outernet experience, which was quite mesmerising. Huge wrap around screens playing images, including underwater scenes, space, and blossoming trees. It was amazing to experience, but not quite as pretty as the real thing. 

The trees here are full of blossom just now. They are so beautiful, but it's sad that their loveliness is short-lived. All too soon the petals begin to drop, like nature's confetti, creating a  carpet of pink beneath the branches.

And the bluebells...

Naturally, we had to go to the woods so that we could witness the annual show of bluebells. A very special place, where only those who know can get to enjoy this stunning display. 

Easter was spent fairly quietly, here. In the morning, we went for a lovely walk overlooking the bay. It was a little more strenuous than I'd anticipated, but the views from the top were absolutely stunning. In the afternoon, Lily insisted on an egg hunt, and we made some of our favourite chocolate cornflake nests. Just for a change, I also baked some delicious cookies using broken up mini eggs instead of chocolate chips. 

And that brings me to this weekend. Yesterday morning, I ran in my very first Parkrun. I'd thought about it for a while now, and I'm really glad that I decided to give it a try. I'm sure it did me good to push myself, and everyone there was incredibly welcoming and supportive. I think I'll try running another one soon, and see if I can beat my time.

Today, I've done the weekly shop, baked flapjack, and  I've been pottering about in the garden. I've finally re-potted the acer, which my lovely friend bought me, last year, and I used the remainder of the compost to top up the apple tree pots. This week, the spinach will be ready for it's first harvest, which is a good job, as I need some for a new recipe that I'm trying out. And the carrots, beetroot and spring onions all appear to be coming along quite nicely. It looks like I'll be getting a healthy crop of blackcurrants later in the year, as well.  The nasturtiums are also just starting to grow. I'll be keeping a close eye on them, so that they don't get out of control. 

And my forget-me-not plant, grown from seeds given to me after my dad died, and which had been killed by the hard frosts, must have self seeded into the lawn. So now, I've carefully transplanted several of the little flowers into a small pot. I really hope they'll continue to grow.  

Back soon(ish).

J. X

Filling My Cup

It isn't very often that school holidays and decent weather coincide, but we've been incredibly lucky this week. It hasn't rained in what feels like forever, in fact, there's hardly been a cloud in the sky all week. I've been watering the raised bed most evenings, which is unheard of in April. 

As you can probably imagine, I've been busy making the most of the glorious sunshine. There have been some quiet grumblings from the not-so-small person, but even she realises that when the weather is good, we need to get out and enjoy it while it lasts. 

We started our week with a walk from Honister Slate Mine. The morning air felt fresh, and there was a bit of a breeze, but this made it the perfect weather for walking in. Our route took us past Dubs Hut mountain bothy, which of course I had to have a nosy in :) and also afforded us a stunning view over Buttermere and Crummock Water, finishing on the summit of Haystacks. The walk wasn't too strenuous, and after a brief stop at the summit cairn, we dropped back down by Innominate Tarn to enjoy our lunch. 

The following morning we set off a little later, to take a picnic down by the lake. Just as I'd expected, it was rather busy there with holidaymakers all enjoying the sunshine. Especially the area around the pier, where the lake cruises depart. But when you walk a little further along the shore to the car ferry, for just a couple of pounds, pedestrians can cross to the other side of the lake where it is much quieter. We also stopped off at the Claife Viewing Station to enjoy the view. The last time we were there it had been a little bit overcast, so it was lovely to capture the sun shining through the coloured glass. 

Monday morning got off to a more gentle start. And besides a short walk in the woods, we stayed at home. The woodland floor is carpeted with Wild Garlic just now and we gathered just a small amount, mixed it with a little salt and butter, and used it to make our very own garlic bread. Never having made this before, I can confirm that it was absolutely delicious. 

Another day, another picnic. But first we walked to the viewpoint of Castle Head in Keswick. And what a fantastic start to the day. We sat on the bench here and just soaked up the view... 

...before walking down towards the lake and enjoying the calm of the morning looking down towards Borrowdale.  

Of course, the morning involved some messing about on rocks. And yes, after several warnings to take her trainers off, she did slip in, and so she had to walk back to the car with one rather wet foot.

Enjoying some delicious strawberries in Hope Park.

The next day we walked the Coffin Route from Grasmere to Rydal, then back again along the lake shore. After the previous day's incident, I made sure to carry Lily's water shoes with me, but of course she chose not to go in the water this time :)

As a last hurrah to the week, we finished off by bagging 3 more Wainwrights - The Nab, Rest Dodd, and The Knott - taking our total to 124. This photograph was taken on our ascent of The Knott, looking over Brothers Water towards the Eastern Fells. It was such a fantastic day to be out on the fells. Even more special was that we caught sight of the Martindale red deer on the flanks of The Nab. 

Then we'd almost made it back to the car when I spotted a lamb stuck on a waterlogged rock at the side of  Hayeswater Gill. It must have fallen down and the sides were so steep that it was unable to get back up. There was no way I could have reached it from the field side, without falling in or injuring myself, so I made my way carefully across the beck, over some large rocks, and with it firmly under my arm, carefully pushed it upwards towards the ewe, hoping it would then be able to continue up the field by itself. Unfortunately, it must have been too weak, so tucking it under my arm again, I pulled us both up the field, by holding on tightly to clumps of grass, and managed to get it to the path at the top. It didn't appear to be injured in any way, I think it was probably just exhausted and wet, so I left it in the sunshine to dry off, and managed to locate the grateful farmer in the village to let him know where it was so that he could check on it. 

Back soon.

J. X

Spring-like

 

I'm still here! 

Life has become rather hectic, once again, as much of my time is being taken up driving to and from the not-so-local hospital. It's exhausting but necessary, as we wait upon test results, and consider all possible outcomes, none of which will be straightforward or easy to navigate. As you can imagine, I'm a little behind with my blog reading, but I'm catching up slowly whenever I get an opportunity. It's lovely to hear everyone's news, especially as I have very little of my own. 

My hospital journeys are, at least, comfortable, in that I'm making them in the new-to-me car. After finally deciding it was time to upgrade with a newer, more reliable model, this one is perfect for us. I would have preferred a slightly more spacious boot, but this one ticks all the boxes in every other way. Lily decided a cherry scented air freshener was in order, and so that is what we now have, and hopefully it won't be long until the footwells display evidence of our Lake District adventures. Although, I've promised myself I'll try to keep it much cleaner than I did my previous car.

As the post title says, the weather here is becoming a lot more spring-like, but it is still incredibly cold. This week, I've woken up to frost on several mornings, and my hats and scarves have become essential wear, once again. It's lovely to see how light the evenings are becoming though, especially when I leave work at half past five. The darkest days of winter are definitely behind us now. We just need things to warm up a bit.

At the start of the month, we went to the farm so we could help out in the lambing shed. Unfortunately, no lambs arrived while we were there, but two had been born just a short while earlier. So we made ourselves useful by changing the straw and putting down the fresh silage, before moving on to milk feeding some of the lambs which had been rejected by the ewes. There are worse ways to spend a morning :)  I could have happily brought several of them back home with me - if only I had enough room. And I'm still finding bits of straw stuck to my hat and inside the pockets of my jacket!

Last weekend, we also managed to fit in another gentle walk along the canal. Recently, there have been improvements to the towpath, so the walk is far less muddy and much more enjoyable. I'm thinking we'll take our bikes next time, so that we can explore a bit farther, although I have visions of going straight over my handlebars and landing right in the water. 

As I'd hoped, I've also completed a small amount of work in the garden. And it feels so good to see it looking that little bit tidier. The grass has had it's first cut of the year and most of the soil has been turned over. I've also dug the raised bed and covered it with the nets to keep any cats away. It's still too early yet to sow anything directly into the soil, but it's all ready for when the weather improves. Fingers crossed this will be sooner rather than later. Buds are appearing on the apple trees, and in a few short weeks I'm sure there will be lots of new growth in the flower beds. I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed spending time outside, in the garden, but it just hadn't been dry enough until this month. 

Back soon.

J. X

Half-Term

I would have posted last night, but I was so exhausted that I went to bed at 9pm. It was Lily's last primary school sports day, and I was on my feet for most of the day. I felt so proud though. She came second in the sprint, and took an easy first place in the skipping race. For some reason she is much faster with a rope than without :)

It feels like no time at all since the beginning of the week, and things will only get busier between now and the end of term. I am very aware that these coming weeks are going to require much spinning of plates, and I will definitely feel overwhelmed at times, but there is an end in sight. And that end will hopefully result in a relaxing summer break and some sunnier weather. At the moment, other than a couple of planned activities, I haven't given too much thought to holidays. I'm sure we will get away at some point, but we are incredibly fortunate to live in a very beautiful part of the world, and we do enjoy exploring it. 

Last week, it was our half-term and  we went along to a Herdwick Experience, at Yew Tree Farm, near Coniston. The Lake District is well know for it's delightful Herdies, mainly thanks to Beatrix Potter championing their conservation. As you might expect, they are a hardy breed,  and they usually steer well away from people up on the fells. But at this farm, they hold meet and greet sessions with their very friendly 'ambassador' flock. 

I had expected traffic to be busy, but it wasn't, which meant we arrived far too early for our session. So to pass the time we went for a short walk up to Tom Gill Falls, which lies part way between the farm and Tarn Hows. On returning to the farm, Mel, who was leading the session that day, introduced herself to us and we spent time learning about the farm, the breed, and how their wool is used, before the best part, which was walking to the fields to finally meet the sheep. They greeted us by the gate, which made it a struggle to get through, then after feeding them we sat down on the grass and waited for the sheep to come over to us. And it wasn't long before they did. Lily and I were joined by Pip, Maeve, Sue and Fudge. They were so gentle, and they all had their own distinct personalities. We spent over a hour there simply stroking the sheep and it was the most relaxed I've felt in ages. A really lovely afternoon.

On the Friday afternoon, we set off for somewhere I've been meaning to visit for a long time now, Skiddaw House. This is a small youth hostel, situated at the back of Skiddaw and not accessible by car. It doesn't have phone signal or internet connection and is completely off-grid, which is part of it's charm. We made the 5 mile walk from Keswick, past the lower slopes of Latrigg, around Lonscale Fell, and up the Glenderaterra Valley. It was overcast, but warm and we were looking forward to our mini- adventure. We arrived shortly before 5pm, which is when the hostel opens for the evening, although walkers can call in during the day and make use of their self service honesty cafe. We were greeted by Sue, the manager of the hostel, who booked us in and explained how everything worked. Although the hostel can sleep up to 21, along with another family and a small group of friends, there would only be 12 of us spending the night there.

Skiddaw House in the trees.

We had a twin room, overlooking Great Calva, with comfortable beds and extra blankets if required. There were shared bathroom facilities and plenty of hot water for showers, courtesy of solar panels. Downstairs was a large kitchen and dining area, and a lounge, both with wood burning stoves, and there was even a small shop selling food and drink. We were definitely back to basics, but it was clean and comfortable, and we had everything we needed. 

Dinner was sausages and pasta, and we spent a lovely evening chatting with the other guests and playing some of the games in the lounge. Lily enjoyed reading some of the old visitor books, which is something I also like to do whenever I visit somewhere new. It wasn't a cold evening, but our long walk and the warmth from the stove had us feeling sleepy, so we boiled the kettle for our hot water bottles and went up to bed.

I slept really well, but as usual, I was awake very early. Being very careful not to disturb anyone else, I crept downstairs, made myself a mug of coffee and sat on the small bench outside watching the sunrise. It was so peaceful and still, I could hear only the birds, and the rushing water of the River Caldew further along the valley. 

Then it wasn't long before Lily was awake, and we ate our breakfast, quietly packed up our rucksacks and set off back towards Keswick. It was a bright and sunny start to the day, which worked out rather well, as our trip was timed perfectly for a slight detour up Latrigg so that I could take a photograph. 

For anyone who hasn't been reading here long, every two years I take a photograph of Lily in the same spot, overlooking Keswick and Derwentwater. This started out as a happy accident, but is something I will try to continue. At least until she tells me not to :) Here is a link to the previous post all about it.

Then the following morning, I went for a walk with a friend, up Wansfell Pike. This is a small fell overlooking Ambleside, which has some amazing views. We might have stopped off at Force Cafe on the way back down, for coffee and cake. They were delicious. If anyone is visiting Ambleside, then I would definitely recommend it there. 

Then we walked back beneath the trees, alongside the waterfalls and down towards the lake again.

J. X