On The road – Car Update

I picked up the car last night from Banks and Derbyshire and after all the relevant bits and pieces being replaced, including 2 of the wheels, it looks fantastic and drives better than it ever did.

I can whole heartedly recommend this local Preston company to anyone who needs their car bodywork repairing, their service was second to none.

All I now have to do is hassle the insurance company to get the other party to accept liability then I can claim back my expenses. It is great to get the car back though, it’s OK to rent a car but it’s nicer to drive your own.

A Bar-B-Q At Chipping, Preston

Well we haven’t been out walking or fishing for a while as we’ve been busy trying to sort out the front garden.

I am pleased to say it’s nearly finished except for putting in some new plants so it was great when my mother rang and asked if we wanted to go round for a BBQ on Saturday to celebrate father day and Wendy’s birthday a day early while the weather was nice.

If you’ve read my earlier post, Watering the Garden, you’ll know that Mum & Dad live near Chipping, which is at the southern end of the Trough of Bowland and a very beautiful area.

As the weather was so hot we went in Wendy’s car, a lovely dark blue X reg. Mazda MX5 and arrived in plenty of time to help start the charcoal off. The food, as usual when Mum has anything to do with it, was fantastic and the garden and pond look magnificent – it was amazing just how much things had grown since the middle of May.

Foxglove

After a couple of goods friends had come and gone I tried to get a few photographs of the Bees going in an out of the foxgloves but they were just too fast so I settled for a few close-ups of the flowers.

We also spotted what we thought were newly emerging dragonflies but when Mum and I got into the pond it turned out that they were empty husks. Mum and Dad say they weren’t there a couple of days ago so we can only assume that they crawled out of the water very early and were gone by the time we noticed them.

As it was nearly Wendy’s birthday, and due to the fact that we were doing up the front garden, Mum had got her some new plants and while Mum and Wendy were getting some others (digging them out of the garden I think) Dad and I checked on his veggies which I’d looked after while they were away a month ago.

These chaps were busy trying to get at the new growth but thankfully they just couldn’t reach. Everything had shot up and we’d even had some of the lettuce (3 types) with our burgers for lunch.

It was soon time to go – it’s amazing how quickly half a day passes when you’re so relaxed. So after another great day out at Mum and Dads we made our way home.

Watering the Garden, Chipping, Preston

Last week saw my Mother and Father take a well earned holiday in Gozo, Malta, so I volunteered to go up to their place and water the conservatory and Dads vegetable patch.

While I was there I thought I’d try out the Nikon 2200’s close up facility and as you can see by the results – it seems very good. This first picture is of the Apple blossom with the conservatory, blurred deliberately for effect, in the background.

The conservatory got a good soaking as per Mum’s instructions so I moved outside to check on Dad’s veg.

This got the same treatment and I was pleased to see that the carrots had started to show through as well as the onions and leeks and other seedlings so I must have been doing something right.

Then came the bit I’d been looking forward too and putting off until I’d done all the bits and pieces I was really there for. Every year the Swallows come and nest in the garage so I slowly opened the door hoping to see one sat on a nest only to be greeted by this little fellow and a couple of his friends.

As well as the Swallows a Robin (I think) had build a nest within a stack of old seed boxes an this year had managed to fledge at least three young. This was probably a lot easier this year as while Mum and Dad were away their cat, Woody (along with Becky and Megan – two gorgeous black labrador retrievers), had gone to a friends for his own enforced vacation.

I made one last circuit of the garden to check on the Moorhen and her chicks and took a few final photographs of the cherry trees for Mum and Dad just in case the blossom had fallen by the time the got back then, very pleased about seeing the fledglings, left for home.

The weather that week was fantastic and reports from Mum and Dad after they got back confirm that I didn’t manage to kill anything – in fact they say I did quite well, but it’s not exactly a hardship when you get to visit such a beautiful place and see such wonderful things.