Bank holiday snapshot

There has been sunshine and you can almost hear xylem and phloem pumping throughout the garden so, as the last collection of the brown bin by the council looms, it was a day to spend outside.
Gulls (various), tits (blue, great, long-tailed), sparrows, blackbirds chasing magpies, wood pigeons shaking the last few flowers from the magnolia. Robins grooming in the sunlight, calling their claim to territory, starlings and swifts sweeping above.

Bees humming, hover flies over the pond in which a large frog and a teeny-tiny one hide amongst the flowering bog-bean. A spreading froth that maybe late frogspawn (or perhaps a neighbour's cat has been sick). Few butterflies so far, only cabbage white. Wisteria opening, also the holly buds and a 'borrowed' white clematis; wygelia pink-budded, loganberries showing promise of summer fruit.

Bluebells (and pink) still in flower although the daffodils have gone over, leaving some swelling seed pods. Forget-me-nots, bright lime-green euphorbia spiked with alium stems, first buds on roses. Unrolling ferns and the tiny pink flowers of who-knows-what, a welcome airy annual which lifts the darker areas. Wine-red columbine in the herb garden, bracket fungus on the deadwood pile. Foxgloves reaching skywards, but not as many as I would like.

 

And through it all runs the goose grass, horsetail and dandelion.
Of course, today it is raining and cold enough to consider lighting a fire!

homemadetinricepuddin

I recall an English teacher from my teens, very glamorous and determined to shake up the narrow, suburban minds of her class. One idea was to form a debating society and the first topic - 'Ignorance is bliss'.
Of course the whole thing was a disaster, no one had an opinion let alone the skills to argue their side and the idea of Devil's advocate was anathema to this group of 12year olds. Ignorance is apathy, was the unofficial conclusion.
So I thought I might mention that this blog was going to be called 'homemadetinricepuddin' - the title, in fact. Why then, is it called Beginnings? All down to ignorance, I'm afraid.
It was suggested I do a blog as a way of acquiring some IT skills. I am short of many things but this inability to deal successfully with technology is threatening to place me in the pigeonhole marked 'doddering-old-person'. My history with things electronic is not good. A new sound system was supposed to display things like 'track 2', but at my touch would only print ' Error Error.....Error, Error....' An old VHS recorder once switched itself on and played a non-existent tape until I was forced to pull the plug out (and leave it out - if replaced, the invisible tape would begin to play once more.....). Even battery watches are erratic, never telling the right time. An alternative timepiece requires a lottery win. Hope springs....
And although I flounder with the vocabulary, I am learning.So I now know that the field in which I wrote 'Beginnings' should have had 'homemadetinricepuddin' and 'Beginnings' should have been where it says 'post title'. (And you know this already because you took pooters apart in your cradle.) Slowly, slowly, all life strives....
You might ask why h.m.t.r.p.? (If not, you can skip this bit.)
When one is young and recently evicted from the nest, one quickly realises that feelings of hunger are not immediately met with a plate of food. Things such as shopping, cooking (and washing-up) have to be challenged and mastered. Instant noodles soon pall and the search begins for easy, uncomplicated meals. A sense of experimentation grows. Fish finger butties, gourmet beans on toast, spaghetti and custard. Some are better than others. Mine was - yes, of course....
How do you make rice pudding, that universal comfort food? Is there a recipe? When asked, the family cook says things like - you just take a few spoonfuls and do this.... then add that..... not too much, then put it in the oven. Quantities? times? Ever felt inadequate? (sigh).
So I bought a tin of rice pudding, emptied it in to a dish and added some milk, sprinkled a pinch of grated nutmeg over the top and put it in the oven. After a while it gets hot and develops a skin - hurrah, it looks just like the real thing. It tastes quite good, too. (Of course, sometimes it gets forgotten and dries out a bit, in which case just add some more milk. The bonus is extra, crunchy skin, the best bit...)
There, my claim to fame.
I never was given an official recipe for the real thing and when asked recently how to make rice pudding from scratch, I found myself saying - well, take a handful or two of rice.....

House life

Have you been introduced to Lepisma saccharina? It likes flour, sugar and the glue used in modern kitchen units. Silverfish, to you and me. I was told they are a simple animal from the time of the dinosaurs (although a brief search on tinternet has failed to confirm this) and it is easy to imagine them scurrying through the mare's tail and assorted ferns, alongside tortoises and woodlice in the Jurassic jungle. (It is possible tele-land is colouring my imagination.) Do you think they were in to extreme sports? Bungee jumping? Chicken, in front of a brachiosaurus?  Maybe. Because recently when coming down in the morning I have found at least one of their dessicated bodies curled up, on top of the Aga.
Not native to volcanic regions, then.

P.S. Re last post...
       Just noticed a pink bluebell in the garden. So they're not rare either......

...going on a hunt, a li.....

Up early as big yellow ball was shining through the curtains, so decided to go for a walk in search of elusive wild life. Through the Monkey woods a carpet of dappled blue was sprinkled with white - both bluebells. Apparently white is not rare and pink is a type of Spanish bluebell, but I don't remember seeing either before this walk. The blossom on the wild pear and escaped greengage holds a promise of fruit come autumn. Along the boardwalk we saw house (or possibly sand) martins, corvids, ducks (both mallard and shell) and too many others to identify, as we had to spend some time avoiding runners/joggers. Looked for froglets (or naterjack toadlets) but with Spring being late this year, this was a tad optimistic - but I did spot some tadpoles in one of the small pools. Lots of gorse out, filling the warming air with scent and humming insects. We returned along the cinder path (dodging cyclists) and we noticed some white blossom in the thorny hedgerow which might be blackthorn, so will have to revisit later on in the year to check for sloes.
Sadly no lizards to be seen despite the warm weather and we were home before lunch, even stopping for coffee. A good way to spend the May bank holiday.
Yes, sunshine on a bank holiday. Now that's something to write home about!