If this were a gardening blog, I should not be short of things to post but I fear it would get very repetitive – weeding, clearing brambles, weeding, clearing brambles, weeding, clearing brambles…

Luckily it is not a gardening blog so, I will spare you pictures of all the nettles and brambles and just show selective successes!

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This year, I thought I’d brighten up the vegetable plot a bit by putting a few canes with sweet peas amongst the marrows/courgettes/squashes and planting a seed tray full of calendulas at the bitter edge of the front bed in front of the Summer onions. We have wooden sleepers dividing the earth from the grass so I usually just have a thin bare strip here. I think it has cheered it up no end :)

Here are some other views of the mainly vegetable area. Although it looks like mostly flowers, really it mostly: marrows, courgettes, squashes, peas, broad beans (over now) climbing beans, runner beans, onions, leeks, garlic, carrots, parsnips, cabbages – and I may have forgotten some things…

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And here are some other areas…

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And here are some new clogs, which I’m very pleased with. I bought them from ebay and they are made in the EU so they have involved no exploitation of workers in developing countries and they have wooden soles. I was very, very much wanting some shoes with wooden soles because we have a lot of hawthorne in the hedges, with massive thorns, which puncture tyres and pierce right through wellies and most other shoes making them leak and also stabbing my feet with painful frequency. Now, although I said we wouldn’t talk about brambles and suchlike, today, I can at least venture into the more wilderness areas without pain!

My camera did also wander out of the garden on one occasion.

To celebrate my Dad’s birthday we had a family outing to a steam fair.

The music was playing from traditional steam organs and lots of the rides and entertainments were especially designed for small children, which was lovely to see as so many modern fairgrounds seem to cater almost exclusively for teenagers and young adults.

And it was also great to see people of all ages enjoying the larger roundabouts, swing boats and, of course, the big wheel. Along with children of all ages, their parents and a number of pensioners, I went on the big wheel with my Dad and I took some photos of the views as we went round…

But my very favourite thing of all was the Merry go Round!

And if you’re thinking all that hasn’t left me much time for sewing or yarn projects, I’m sorry to say, you are right. I just about managed to finish a mini quilt for this quarter’s Four-in-Art challenge (more details in my Purple Passion post) and I made a small amount of progress on a rustic lace crochet throw but that was about it…

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Janine @ Rainbow Hare