Back to work last Tuesday and it was
a cold snowy one, but good to be in doing bits and pieces, even if I didn’t get
much willow weaving done. I put extra fleece on the herbs in the tunnel as
it’s to get down to -8C later in the week and knocked snow off the tunnels so
the plastic and netting doesn’t stretch too much. I started cutting out the
dead willow in the fedge which is the first part of the weaving process, a
warmish job as there’s a lot of pulling and heaving to get it unwound and into
the rubbish bag. As long as I don't whip myself in the face with it, because it really really really hurts when your face is cold then all is well. I did manage to get a wee bit weaving done, just so I felt I’d
done something! Thank goodness for my office heater and warming coffee to keep
me going.
 |
| Driving to the nursery under pink skies |
 |
| A teeny wee bit of weaving done |
These paintings imagined from the Borders books of legends
and tales I’ve been reading are good practice at paining from my imagination,
not photos, tutorials etc and putting everything I’ve been learning into
practice. That means they can be hit or miss, and don’t often become what I see
in my head, this one is definitely a miss. Quite a few things went wrong with
it, but that’s how you learn. So this one is based on the story below and I’ve
used sparkly paint for the jewels and dress but it doesn’t really show in
photos……… A night in hermitage Castle
In which a young man, a visitor to the area, becomes lost
while out walking the hills of Liddesdale. Eventually he finds himself at
Hermitage Castle, but not in his own time. He gets himself caught up in a plot
to kidnap the visiting Mary Queen of Scots. Sent as a messenger to the would-be
captors he eventually makes his way back to the castle where he manages to warn
the Queen of the plot. She rewards him for his loyalty with a ring but he has
to hide from her enemies, especially her half-brother Lord Moray and eventually
falls asleep in his hiding place in an anti-chamber off the great hall. When he
awakes he is back in his own time in the now ruined castle. The ring has disappeared.
He told this tale to a fellow traveler, staying in the same hotel in
Newcastleton, who was familiar with the area and its history. Both were unable
to explain the young man’s experience but all his observations of dress,
language and events were accurate. A few years later the narrator of the tale,
having had no more contact with the young man of the story was visiting the
castle and talking to the foreman, employed by the ministry of works who had
just taken over the castle. The foreman commented on the strange find he had
uncovered in an anti-room off the great hall, lots in layers of muck and dust.
He produced from his pocket the very ring the young man had described being
given by the Queen in his tale……
When its forecast to be -10C overnight which means it will probably be colder and you are wrapping those babies up to get them through
For the love of plants 
Useful plants from the garden:
At this time of year when colds and flu are prevalent and its freezing cold outside, a warming drink that helps us feel better is a must, and the more natural the better. Hot toddies have a hazy origin, some say it was created in 17th century India or that it originated in Scotland in the 1700’s or indeed Ireland. Wherever it was fist created it is universally acknowledged it helps with cold and flu symptoms, of course depending on your measure of alcohol this may be due the anesthetising effects of the alcohol….. Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is an excellent herb for assisting the body in managing cold and flu symptoms, and a perfect hot toddy addition with its antiseptic features making it a powerful herb for throat and chest infections. It is evergreen, so easy to snip a few sprigs from the garden, and of course I realise not everyone has an abundance of home grown lemons at hand. I spent many weeks hand pollinating with a wee paint brush over 40 flowers on my lemon tree in spring and I have been rewarded with 9, yes 9 huge beautiful lemons.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon dried or fresh thyme (Thymus vulgaris) leaves
250ml water
1 tbsp of honey (or to taste)
¼ lemon
30ml whisky
half a cinnamon stick
Directions
Steep the thyme in hot water to make tea along with the cinnamon stick, less time for fresh thyme, strain into a glass or mug and add the whisky. Squeeze in the lemon juice from your lemon and add honey to taste. Stir well and relax.
 |
| Thymus vulgaris |
 |
| Putting the thyme in a tea strainer to infuse |
 |
| Warming and healing |
The back to work didn't really happen, I did a couple of half days on Tuesday and Wednesday but its so cold and with 4 inches of snow on the ground and everything frozen theres nothing I can do. It makes sense to stay home, stay warm and get super ahead with admin which is what I've done.
Being proactive and instead of moping around the house because I can’t get anything done in the nursery because its all frozen solid, we took ourselves off for a winter walk in the lovely sunshine. After a warming bowl of porridge and blueberries we headed to Gifford and took a walk through the Yester estate on the Yester path. A mainly woodland walk, and partly along side the Gifford Water.
.jpg) |
| Walking through the estate |
.jpg) |
| The Gifford Water |
With the low winter sun shining through the trees it was lovely. It’s a walk I’ve wanted to do for ages and more so now because it’s the way to Yester Castle and the Goblin Ha which feature in David Dodds Author newly released novel Touchpaper. An ideal opportunity to get some photos for marketing and social media posts and to understand it from the novel’s point of view. David visited many years ago when he was doing bat surveys in the area but I’ve never been. An easy 4 mile linear walk on a well made path that looks like it could be muddy in places but today it was frozen solid, so easy walking. There are plenty sign posts for the Yester walk and dog poo bins, to reach the castle you have to head off the main path so make sure you have an OS map or app on your phone to find it.
 |
| Yester Castle |
.jpg) |
| Remains of the gatehouse |
.jpg) |
| great shadows in the trees |
Once we got back to Gifford we had lunch in the lovely, dog friendly Lanterne Rouge cafe. Maisie was as always well behaved and welcomed with a dog treat and we enjoyed some lovely food and coffee, and cake, of course.
Home via the Granites road enjoying the beautiful snowy views of Midlothian from the top of the road.
A bitterly cold day on Friday, with very cold temperatures over night, but at least there was sun and blue sky. A lovely walk along the river to the viaduct, up and over the tunnel and back along the south side of the river. Great icicles and we saw hair ice fungi for the first time, a magical, rare fungus that occurs on dead wood in very particular conditions.
 |
| Hair ice frost |
#rural #countrylife #countryliving #cottagelife #antiquecottagescenes #interiors #scottishborders #independantretailer #smallbusiness #localbusiness #independantplantnursery #uniqueplantnursery #hardyscottishplants #scottishgarden #gardeningontheedge #scottishborders #walking #days out
If you to see what's new and looking good at the nursery like our Facebook
Follow us on Instagram @ quirkybirdgardener and Quercus Garden Plants
|
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
-2.jpg)
Comments
Post a Comment