We've had a week of very warm weather and also a huge storm on Monday which cleared the air but flooded the garden again for a short while. Yesterday morning was like a misty autumn morning with spiders' webs everywhere and we couldn't see more than halfway down the street but in the afternoon the sun shone and it felt like high summer again. Washing was drying outside and we ate out in the garden in the early evening watching the butterflies on the Sedum flowers.
For Five on Friday here are five things that have made me smile this week
1. Butterflies in the Garden - we saw hardly any during the summer but they are visiting the garden now, four Small Whites, two Commas, a Tortoiseshell and a Two Red Admirals were spotted in one afternoon.
2. Ripening tomatoes - the last fruits have been taken off the plants and have been placed in various places to ripen. In the kitchen window sill, in the fruit bowl where a ripe banana will help them along and in the greenhouse where they aren't ripening as well as those indoors.
3. Baby and sleepy monkeys - we hadn't been back to the Monkey Forest at Trentham for a few years so decided to go in and have a look. There were lots of little ones playing as the monkeys relaxed in the warm sunshine.
4. The maiden flight of Terry the Pterosaur - the kite was a birthday present for Paul in June but this was the first chance we'd had of trying to fly it. It took some time to get the kite airborne as the wind was skittish and blustering from different directions but it finally rose into the air and I managed to get a few photos.
5. A lovely walk at Ilam - through the village and along by the River Manifold, followed by the obligatory scone at the National Trust cafe.
Joining in with Amy at Love Made my Home for this weeks Five on Friday. Click on the button below to find other bloggers who are joining in this week.
Great photos of butterflies! I have seen an Admiral only once this summer and oh boy it was quick and difficult to photograph :)
ReplyDeleteLuckily these butterflies were feeding and flitting around the plants but spending time on each one which is ideal for photos:)
DeleteGreat photos all round Rosie. The kite looks fun, you'll be out and about all over the place testing it, I'm sure. Your tomatoes are doing well. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe are limited around here where we could fly it so we needed to getout into wide open spaces but it does need to be flown again I think:)
DeleteA lovely five. I love your butterfly photos and the kite looks great fun. You have made me hungry just by mentioning the National Trust cafe. xx
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to resist a National Trust cafe especially the scones:)
DeleteWe've done well for butterflies this year. I've been surprised by how many we've seen. I'm gld you're getting your visitors now.
ReplyDeleteThe sedum was covered in them for a couple of warm afternoon this week, they have drifted away again now:)
DeleteFound you via Love Made My Home :) Love your kite, that is so cool!!
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend, Jill xx
Thanks, it was bought because it was pterosaur related but it was good to get out and test it:)
DeleteLovely five things that made you smile. We all need something to cheer us up! I love the pictures of the kite - looks great!
ReplyDeleteHappy weekend
We do indeed and when the sun is out there is always something to make you smile:)
DeleteWe have had exactly the same weather, it has been very strange, I think the evenings have been hotter than the days. Lovely pictures Rosie, I love the monkeys at Trentham, we have not been for a little while either. Have a lovely weekend xx
ReplyDeleteThe weather has been very odd this year, can't quite put my finger on it but yes, the evenings have been very warm and sleeping dificult at times:)
DeleteThey made me smile, too. Would have loved joining you for the monkeys, the kite, and the scone.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have made you smile,Patsy:)
DeleteWhat beautiful butterfly photos. You obviously have the right landing platform for them to settle. Love Illam. I stayed at the youth hostel there many years ago with a large school party. Great fun! B
ReplyDeleteThe youth hostel is still there and there were a few groups coming out from the building on walking trips. The butterflies love the flowers in the garden at the moment:)
DeleteWhat a wonderful five. My Grandchildren would love the kite, it seems to be a favourite pastime at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe kite is great fun, we must share it with some younger ones soon:)
DeleteThat is a lovely five! The kite looks great - I've never flown a kite! My Dad used to put tomatoes up on the window frame to ripen and I have heard of people putting them in a drawer too! The monkeys look so cute, the butterflies - beautiful and the village quite picturesque. Have a lovely weekend Rosie. x
ReplyDeleteI'venever flown a kite either which is why I left it to Paul whilst I took the photos. It was hard to get it airborne so I didn't want to be the one who brought it down:)
DeleteA really lovely five. The first glimpses of the kite had me wondering if someone had attached ribbons to a bird! Good thing I took a closer look! Ilam looks like a great place to visit.
ReplyDeleteThank you, the firm who make the kites are now making them with clear ribbons instead of the black ones, Ilam is a pretty litle village in such wonderful countryside:)
DeleteLovely photos! I am trying to figure out what the little monkey on the top left is pushing? Big monkey backs? Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteYes, big monkey backs, probably Mum and Dad he was leaning on them:)
DeleteIt's lovely to see the butterflies. It hasn't been a good year for them here at all. The monkeys are wonderful - I could watch them for hours. The kite looks great fun.
ReplyDeleteI was so pleased to see the butterflies and they stayed for ages on the sedum and we sat and watched them flitting around:)
DeleteA good five to make you smile. Weather has been mixed here too this week with a storm Tuesday afternoon and a flooded garage floor, some foggy mornings and then sunny afternoons. I think the Home Counties had very bad weather last night. You've found some good places to take a walk this week. Watching the monkeys and flying a kite must have been fun.
ReplyDeleteYes, the south east did suffer last night, it is strange weather isn't it? The back of our garage floods too when the rain is very heavy. Ilam is a lovely walk and we flew the kite not far away before we walked. The monkeys were lovely and we enjoyed walking around the park and spotting them:)
DeleteAll those lovely butterflies! The kite is great and must be great fun to fly.
ReplyDeleteThe kite looks spectcular up in the air, takes some getting there though. I was so pleased to see all the butterflies as we hadn't seen many at all this summer:)
DeleteI enjoyed learning about your five! The butterflies are so lovely and the sights you saw on your walk, too. Your tomato crop beat mine this year. My plant is still producing s.l.o.w.l.y. What fun to see your pretty kite flying. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteTomatoes have been the most successful of our fruit and veg growing this year. Many things have suffered from the strange weather patterns and the slugs. I hope your tomatoes get there:)
DeleteWe sit on our patio over supper and watch the birds, I wouldn't mind seeing a butterfly or two as well. You've had some very pretty visitors! The kite looks amazing, and without the ribbons it would look so real.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Wendy
Apparently they are now making the kite with transparent ribbons. It is lovely to sit out and watch the birds isn't it? We were sitting out in the garden so close to the butterflies watching them flit and flutter all over the flowers it was lovely, a real bonus:)
DeleteLooks like you have had an enjoyable week :) Good to see the butterflies - more around here too (Red Admiral and first Painted Lady). Looks like you have a good tomato crop - I've grown them in the past just to get green tomatoes so I can make green tomato chutney! :) The kite looks great fun and Ilam looks a super place :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it has been a busy week, it was lovely to sit out and watch the butterflies, they stayed for ages feeding on the sedum flowers. We may end up making chutney, so far we've made several packs of tomato puree and frozen it. Ilam is a wonderful place to walk and of course you can walk over to Dovedale from there too:)
DeleteI loved this five on Friday Rosie the beautiful butterflies on the sedum (my sedum has been ripped to shreds by the sparrows, not sure why they do it)? I love the kite, what a great one, looks great flying through the air - I want one :). And the monkeys are delightful - I want one of those too :). The last pictures of Ilam are so typical of an English village - lovely all round.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Elaine I'm so glad you enjoyed my five things. I wonder why your sparrows rip the sedum, we have loads of sparrows in the hedges but they haven't touched ours - yet! I expect they are after the seeds perhaps? Next door's pampas grass gets shredded earlier in the year for nest building, the sparrows love that. The kite is fun and came from Jurassic Kites in Dorset:)
DeleteI liked all your post but loved the parts in flight... the butterflies and the kite.
ReplyDeleteThank you Latane, glad you enjoyed flying around over here for a while:)
DeleteI live in Seattle and our gardens are winding down fast now too... love all those tomatoes...
ReplyDeleteGardens are winding down here too, the sedums are the last flowers to appear and herald the changing seasons:)
DeleteOur niece came to stay with her daughter and they loved the monkeys and the barefoot walk.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much to do isn't there? You can fill a whole day doing everything:)
DeleteA great five. The butterflies on the flowers are just lovely as are the little monkeys. It's lovely to see your photos while we sit here in a blustery grey early spring.
ReplyDeleteDiana
We seemed to have summer weather last week but the temperature has cooled and rain has appeared this morning:)
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