Friday, January 08, 2016

Five on Friday...


I thought that I would join up with Amy from Love Made My Home for her Five on Friday party. So here are five things from my week...

ONE

This year my husband and I have decided to take a decisive step towards improving our fitness. Gym is not an option for us. I hate the gym and my husband is a hotel manager which means slightly longer-than-usual hours. The last thing he feels like doing before/after work is going to the gym. So we have decided to walk together. At least once over the weekend we will visit a National Trust property, coastal path or moor walk and get a good few hours walking done in beautiful surrounds. During the week we will try go for a walk together once DH gets home. We want to at least do two of these during the week. 

So far so good! Last weekend we walked up onto Dartmoor. We picked a lovely sunny day, of course once we got up onto the moor the wind was much stronger than in the valley below, I was glad I had packed us all a warm hat to wear.

It's been a very wet few weeks lately and allot of our country lanes have been flooded. Walking up on the high ground of the moor I was really surprised to see rivulets of water pouring down the slopes everywhere. The high ground was sodden and some of the walkways were like shallow running rivers!



We returned home cold, wind-blown and with damp feet - but happy. Walking together as a family has to be one of my favourite things :)


TWO

Spring bulbs are coming up all over my garden at the moment. They are everywhere, in every bed. In fact I've even spotted a few strays that have established themselves in our gravel pathways. I cannot wait to see my garden in all it's glory in the spring time. As you can see in the picture below the daffodils have started blooming already due to the warm winter we have had so far. 

That warm spell is over now and this week our temperatures have dropped. Next week they are dropping allot more, in fact there is talk of snow (although I don't thing it will settle this far south, so more wintry showers for us here in Devon) arriving on Thursday.


THREE

Hellebore's. Oh my goodness, I love these winter flowering plants. I have quite a few in my garden and not a day goes by when I don't gaze upon their beautiful flowers and have a moment of joy :)



FOUR

What can be better than picking a little mixed bouquet of flowers from your very own garden, or perhaps foraged on a countryside walk, and brought to enjoy indoors?!


Some of my blooming daffodils were lying with their faces in the dirt after some strong winds last night. I couldn't have that of course ;) so I snipped them and a few other flowers that were face down and put them into a little glass juice bottle. The daffodils have such a strong scent and each time I walk into the kitchen I catch it's beautiful smell. Another small joy.

FIVE

And finally, this sweet little Chaffinch has been visiting the feeder all week. He is just adorable. Big, fat and fluffy, and not a bit scared of human company! He does not flinch if we suddenly appear at the kitchen door, and he is unruffled if we open the door and walk right past him. He just sits and eats.



This rather over confident behaviour is a bit worrying however because he seems to have no fear of my cats either - and he really should! 

I'm so glad Friday is here, it's been a rather funny old week with getting back to school (rather slowly) and with sorting out and finalising our application form for permanent residence. It all seems to have been a bit at sixes and sevens really. But I'm planning on taking a bit of time over the weekend to get our school lessons organised and my weekly schedule clear in my head. Of course we plan on taking another lovely family walk this weekend too - hopefully I'll have some pictures to share with you next week.

Until then, have a super weekend ....

Blessings to you all.

17 comments:

  1. I have just got back from a lovely walk, it was a sheer luxury for me and thoroughly enjoyed. I too have spring bulbs coming up all over the place. Hope you manage to get organized back into your school routine soon.

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    1. I'm sure I will :) It's just been a bit topsy-turvy with having to get such an important document together. We were working towards a deadline too as it had to be in before our current visa's expired!

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  2. I love your little posy of flowers, very pretty. I love the smell of daffodils, I'm looking forward to buying my first bunch of the year soon, such a treat. We've got Spring bulbs poking up but not flowered in our garden yet as it's North facing so doesn't get a lot of sun. There are a few sheltered spots around the village which have daffs in flower like yours, I hope the frost doesn't get them

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    1. That's the worry Evelyn! We all know that the frost will come this winter and that does not bode well for all these confused flowers :( I think I might keep a close eye on the weather report and if a frost is likely I'll go out and pick all the flowers and enjoy them indoors :)

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  3. I would have no trouble talking myself into a walk with views like yours. Beautiful!

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  4. I love your photos, particularly of the chaffinch. You must have been patient to get that one. Walking is such a great pastime whatever the weather, hopefully you will have a good one this weekend. Barbara

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  5. I'm with you on the walking. It's my favorite form of exercise. I would never pay to join a gym as I know I wouldn't go and it would be a waste of money. Plus, I would much rather be in the great outdoors experiencing nature and noticing little things along the way. Interesting to see so many blooms where you are at this time of year. All the rain is keeping things warmer than usual I would imagine. Cute little birdie. Hope the cats only look and don't touch. :) Have a good weekend.

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  6. What a lovely week you have been having! I hope that you enjoy your walks and exploring with your husband, it will be good to get to know the area well. It looks as though your garden is going to be incredible in the summer! Thank you for joining Five On Friday this year! Happy weekend! xx

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  7. Walk with my husband every day, it's a great way to start.

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  8. Hello from southern California. I loved seeing all your beautiful photos. I can't believe such beautiful flowers from your garden blooming in winter! And the little bird photo is precious. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, Pat :)

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  9. What a lovely place for a walk!

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  10. Hello Shirley, it's good to visit you and join with you for Five on Friday. You live in a lovely part of England and there must be scope for some interesting walks. The hellebores are a beautiful colour. Every year I say that we will add some to our garden and never get around to it. I must make a note to do something about that this year. Enjoy your walk this weekend. I hope all goes well with the residence application and you and your family have a good year.

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  11. Lovely pics. Dartmoor is truly a beautiful place. I'm so glad that I live in this area too.
    Wishing you & your family a peaceful 2016.
    Angela xx

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  12. Happy New Year to you. Great idea to go walking with your husband, covers so many things, togetherness, fitness an being outside which is great for health and mental well being. Smart move, may have to copy. It's crazy how early some things are flowering , we had daffodils up in the second week of December this year! Unheard of and hellebore, couldn't agree more, wonderful winter flowers x

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  13. Wow, such great photos to enjoy the scenery from your area. Your walk into Dartmoor looks just gorgeous, even if it is cold, windy and damp. :)
    I also did not fully appreciate hellebores until I saw yours. Such beautiful blossoms!

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