25th February

Celebrations

So many Birthdays this month - lovely lunch with friends on Sunday, Duck and partridge followed by a beautiful Black forest gateau to celebrate one and another nice get together at the Boathouse yesterday lunchtime- this time a 75th.
It was such a beautiful day yesterday - temps way up - the first time this year you could walk about happily without a coat.  Walked along the canal towpath which was a bit muddy and slippery after all the rain we have had - plenty of boats about though with it being half-term - a bit of a shame they have only had the one nice day!   Even the hedgehogs were out.
Today it is back to being overcast and gloomy.
My Aubretia flowers have started to appear and so many things in  the garden seem to be in bud.

Ladybirds seem to have hibernated in every piece of plant debris I pick up!  I've been finding them all winter.
Ants seem to be very active too.

19th February - a wet cold and windy day

indoors  to cheer me up I have this beautiful Cinneria pot plant given to me for my Birthday by my very good friend Ann - thank you Ann!

Last night was our monthly OB night out with the girls! Great fun as usual,  our venue The Boathouse,  but we are going to Green Man next month for a change of scene  and,  hopefully beer battered fish which is supposed to be very good there.   It  is very good at The Lakeside Restaurant at Overstone Lakes too!
My sister is at present sunning herself in Tenerife 23 degrees as against 5 degrees here!  

One of the highlights of Weymouth

I've always loved watching the Rooks roosting in the early evening, normally from a distance, but was delighted to find that in Weymouth their roost is a few trees by the side of St.Marys Church in the middle of the shopping area and that I was able to film them close up actually catching them on their final descent into the tree - the noise was incredible, the whole tree just alive with birds, and is truly an amazing sight not to be missed.

this has certainly brightened up my day today

Shop Windows

I just love this display

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More cards -  a lovely lunch out with 3 very good friends and yet more presents - how lucky am I!  Moreover presents were all things I really wanted - not one unwanted gift among them - thank you very much to all my dear friends.    I also received quite a few phone calls from various friends I had not seen in a while - it was nice to catch up.
My sister phoned tonight from Tenerife - having a good time in the Sunshine!   While playing Bowls yesterday they bumped into half a dozen people they know from home - you just can't get away!!
Going back to my holiday a picture of Weymouth Harbour

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loads of lovely cards and presents - thank you everybody !
3 flowers on my Amarylis now - and more to come

and a new basket of flowers

10th February 2011

8th February

Weather so much better today!    Very busy at the Country Market this morning - one of our customers was on our coach trip last week and it turns out another customer was a sister of a gentleman and his wife who also went and we had chatted to.  Small world!
Crocus are out well now in my garden

  Forgot to put on record that last Saturday Brewers Quay at Weymouth was closed down to make way for development of new Hotel plus apartments shops and new home for the existing museum.  Big blow to all the employees who worked there who are now out of work but good for any tourists or bargain hunters as last few days all stock was reduced by 75%.

Monday 7th February

What you might call a blustery day!      Very good for drying the washing though!

Here and There

Just returned from a very pleasant break in Weymouth.  Weather a bit mixed but didn't stop us going out at all.   Very nice sunny winters day on Thursday but late evening brought the wind which doesn't seem to have abated much since.

 One advantage of going by the sea this time of year is that the beaches are almost deserted!

The sand sculptures at Weymouth have always been interesting but I loved this years Cheshire cat from a tableau of the Mad Hatters Tea Party (the netting is presumably there to stop people throwing stones etc at the sculptures and destroying them.

 A walk up to the Nothe Fort Gardens resulted in me meeting these two very friendly squirrels - the first of which is enjoying a piece of my banana

Lucky enough to get a view of the road bridge opening for boats going into the Marina (opens regularly every two hours in the summer but in winter only on demand and an hours notice

  On return home - my roses have survived well

and my Amarylis, a Christmas present, is out in flower - one flower yesterday - two flowers today

Was in the garden for about 1/2hr but too windy to do very much.