My Garden In Autumn

Photos copyright: Maggie May

This is my little garden in Autumn. Nothing much in flower except Sedum Spectabilis, Autumn Joy. And what a joy it is too, cheering up an otherwise drab scene. This has been a treasure and I'm so glad that I got it. The last of the butterflies and bees have come to visit. The Japanese Anemonies are nearly over. Nothing much else will flower now but but I have a few confused plants wondering what happened to the sudden lengthened summer that we had earlier. A carnation is still producing flowers and also lavender and ceanothus.

Now the weather is still sunny but quite cold, going from one extreme to another.

I think my little Japanese maple has expired but I will give it the benefit of the doubt until next Spring. It might have succumbed to all the building work earlier on or it might not have liked the unexpected month of sunshine that we have just had, when all it really wanted to do was to drop it's leaves and sleep.

Sleeping Daddy

Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

Photo copyright:Maggie May

This is what happens in our house when a Daddy tries to have forty winks. Those naughty granddaughters stuff toy cats down his ears.

There is no peace for the wicked.

I recently posted here about a 65th Birthday celebration with Eddie Bluelights and my son, Sam, thinking that people would twigg that we were all related to each other (as I was sure that people didn't know) and I was quite amazed that this passed right over most people's heads and that they really did think that we met up by accident in a pub when we were at other individual 65th Birthday celebrations.

It was meant to be a conundrum.

Each of us left a clue on each of our posts that went out at identical times with identical pictures.

Quite funny, really, when you think of it. How amazing would that be to meet up by chance while enjoying other people's 65th Birthday meals ?

We had fun doing this as a team.

I wonder if there is anyone else who doesn't know what we are talking about?

Forgive us if you don't.

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cecily.

The Sixty Fifth Birthday

I was recently invited, along with my family to a sixty fifth birthday meal in a lovely pub/restaurant not too far away. It was good to all get together and laugh and joke as well as catch up on all the news and eat good food that we hadn't had to prepare ourselves. Notice I am not mentioning drinks here?

Well it wasn't long before I heard even noisier laughing and noticed Eddie Bluelights was there!

I told you I'd had a bad day. (Didn't I?) Was it an illusion or not? Could it really be him? Photos started snapping all around me and I could do nothing to stop these bloggers from taking my picture. Full frontal as well. I had thought of suing them, but whats the use.

Photos copyright: Maggie May

Presents were opened and out plopped a black tee shirt that someone's son had bought for the Birthday Boy. This is the front of it.

And this is the back of it. Don't you think it was an ideal present to give to a blogger who can't keep away from his computer for one minute? Eddie's wife hates the thought of anyone encouraging this hobby. She much preferred the words on the back of the tee shirt and seemed to be most unimpressed with the front, as she thinks that she is flogging a dead horse with her complaints. I think Harry had great empathy with her about that too. Maybe they should get together and leave the bloggers in peace. Only joking, if she is reading this!

We soon all started to laugh the place down for some reason. Hard not to when the Birthday Boy is such a comedian.

Hilary's Posts Of The Week

I hope that everyone will go over to Hilary's Blog at Smitten Image on Wednesdays when she will be posting what she considers to be the best reads of the week. No one could replace David Mcmahon from Authorblog's Post Of The Day because that involved so much work and I can't think of anyone who could devote that amount of time to search through the many blogs for ten winners a day.

However it will be really great for Hilary to take over the next best thing with her weekly top posts. I think a bit of healthy competition is good for us all and also is a great way to meet new bloggers.

So thank you to Hilary, much appreciated.

Squirrels and Sand

Hosted by Cecily and Angie

Photos are copyright of Maggie May

We started back at school following the summer holidays, on a Thursday and during the following week, there were two inset days that fell on the Thursday and Friday. This meant no school for the children and non for me on the first of the two days.

The childrens' dad had an offer of a few weeks work, so Granddad and I decided to take the girls to Weston Super Mare on the bus.

I think it must have seemed a long drawn out journey for them as they are used to going in the car everywhere much more quickly. However they were quite excited about going on the top deck of a bus and being able to see over all the hedge rows.

It was a beautiful day and we took a picnic and spent a long time making sand castles and paddling. The water was warm and shoals of little fish came into the very shallow water of the safe paddling area that has just been reconstructed for children. Within a short time seagulls began swooping down and eating the fish.

We made a lovely building and a moat but while we were eating lunch, some children jumped on it so this is all that was left, much to the annoyance of the girls.

The following day, I had to go into work for the first half of the day, for training. We asked Amber and Millie what they would like to do in the afternoon after I got back and they asked to go to Brandon Hill to feed the squirrels. This is a very lovely spot, high on a hill in Bristol. This beautiful part of the city is in the central area near the University and museum.

Granddad and I are obviously feeling our age when we climb up the very steep hills. Come to think of it, Bristol is all hills! Anyway, there are lots of seats to sit on while we catch our breath.

The squirrels were very tame and came out in threes and fours, taking the peanuts that we had brought, though this proved to be very difficult when the pigeons arrived. It was then a competition as to who could get a nut to a squirrel and not a pigeon.

This picture was very weird because the squirrel was shrieking in a very loud and strange voice. I had never come across that sound before, so whether it was a mating cry or a cry of anguish, I do not know. It was like a bad distress call. Maybe some reader would know?

At the time of the trip, Bristol had several dozen pianos left in unusual places around the city and this one was on a hill with a view for miles around, behind it. The girl who was playing fairly well gave permission for me to snap her from the back.

The pianos were part of a project to promote music and give ordinary folk a chance to play in public. In some areas one or two pianos had been vandalised but on the whole this was a very popular idea and most of them were left alone.

Of course the girls had to have a go too.

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cecily. Why not drop in and some some really good photo stories.

Topsham Harbour

Photo copyright: Maggie May

I recently went with my family to Topsham in Devon and this is a little harbour that I came across.

The weather was lovely and the company was great.

What more could anyone want?

Watery Wednesday is hosted by 2sweetnsaxy. Why not look her up and see some really great pictures from all over the world?

Arachnophobia Anyone?

Photo copyright: Maggie May

There has recently been an announcement on the news, here in Britain, that there are going to be very many more spiders about than normal. This, apparently, is because of the Indian Summer that we have been experiencing for the last month. It has been fairly warm and sunny without much rain for several weeks, although it does get quite cool in the early mornings and the evenings.

I wouldn't say that I had arachnophobia, a severe fear of spiders but I really don't like them.

So OK, their webs look lovely with the sun light shining on them and if there are little drops of dew on the web, so much the better. They are also very good at keeping flies and garden pests at bay. So why are they disliked and avoided?

I think it is the sheer speed at which these creatures run that makes me want to get out of the way. The thought of one on my body is really awful. They are creepy.

At the After School Club where I work, I put on an act of bravery and catch the spiders and throw them out of a door. I usually get a mug, catch the spider in it and put a stiff card over the top and release them outside. My boss, if she catches me, tells me to throw the mug in the bin, even though I think that is such a waste because everyone knows that the mug would wash clean. Its not as though I caught a rat or a cockroach. That would be an entirely different matter.

I read somewhere that the average person swallows thirty spiders in their lifetime, while they are asleep. The thought of that is appalling, especially if you are a vegetarian, as I am. A few years ago, I did wake up one night and felt something on my face. Immediately I snatched it off and threw it down. It was a spider. What if I hadn't wakened up in time to throw it off?

So what is it about spiders that you don't like? Or maybe you do like them.