Summer

In summer the shade of the trees creates a wonderful contrast here to the heat of the sun. As our summers get very hot, we are making certain to have lots of shaded areas in our garden. We also practise shutter shutting to keep cool air in the house.

Barn swallows in our house at Pumpjack Piddlewick

For some inexplicable reason barn swallows have decided they like our hallway versus our barn. Go figure. They like to swoop in and out the cat opening in our back door. What daring teases. The cats like to sit on the stairs and watch this. We thought it best toRead More →

Harvesting champagne currants at PumpjackPiddlewick

This year we are awash in strawberries and raspberries from our garden. But sandwiched in between along one of crumbling garden stone walls are two bushes of currants. One is red currants, the other Champagne currants. I had heard of red currants, and of course red currant jelly*. A veryRead More →

I admit it wholeheartedly, I am in love with pallets. They are right up there with shipping containers in versatility, but maybe, just slightly, more transportable and easier to work with. So, when I came across a picture on Pinterest for a hanging garden bed made from pallets, I fellRead More →

If you are a regular reader of our website posts, you probably know that we love re-using, recycling and not letting things go to waste. So let’s consider the humble or pesky, depending on your point of view, dandelion. When I was growing up I loved its happy yellow colour.Read More →