An early morning walk ….

At last!  Summer has arrived!! And with the promise of a few (very) hot days, I have reverted to my summer custom of taking the naughty newfies out for their daily walk in the cool early mornings.  We don’t visit the beach any more of course, but there are some lovely country walks around Oakhill where we now live.  Our favourite begins with a short climb up a narrow twisty lane to the top of the hill …

We take the right hand fork – past the old bakery stables – you can still see the courtyard and the stalls where the horses would have lived.  Then up a little further, with a short pause for breath and to admire our very most favourite garden in the village ….

So pretty!  And the lady who owns it is super-friendly, and has given me lots of tips on tomato growing while her dog and the newfies chat through the garden gate.  But we passed by just after six this morning, so no sign of our friends.  Then we turned into an even narrower green lane where the newfies can run free …

Alongside an old walled garden and past the Dower House …

Before the lane dwindles to a footpath past some open ground where I spotted huge numbers of small stripey snails on some hogweed….

There were also some horrible giant black slugs – but I didn’t bother taking any photos of those!  The newfies grew impatient, anxious to get along to the meadow ….

I had hoped to see deer again this morning, but as usual, when I do remember to bring my phone they are nowhere to be seen.  So instead I took a quick picture of some thistles…..

Which I know isn’t very exciting, but I wanted to show you the inspiration for my Wildflower Device Sleeve pattern coming in next month’s magazine ….

Full of the golds, greens and purples of the countryside at this time of year.  I am so pleased I chose a lovely gold-coloured linen for the background – I felt very brave moving away from “safe” cream or white, but I think it was a good choice that will remind me of lovely sunny summer’s days when all is dark and grey outside during the winter months.  I lined it with deer print fabric, which sadly features the only deer I can show you this morning ….

Anyway, returning to our walk …. by the time we turned out of the meadow into another narrow lane, the newfies were beginning to lose their earlier bounce and were pleased to discover that after all we weren’t so very far from home …

Just half a mile – most of it downhill – back into the village and home.  Across the village playing field – deserted at this time of the morning of course …

Look at those tired legs!  No more running around for the terrible twosome – just a little further to plod – down the hill – Daisy always likes to peer through the fence to see if the friendly cows are there ….

And home for breakfast.  I took my (slightly well done ahem!) toast into the garden ….

And while I munched, Daisy lurked beneath the table (they had already had their breakfast of course) in the hope that I might share (I didn’t!)

And so, disappointed, she decided to open the greenhouse door – all by herself, it’s her new favourite thing to do – and check on my tomato plants….

There was just one slight problem!  Having got herself inside, she discovered that, as I had moved an old stool closer to the door, she was unable to turn her rather large and clumsy body around to exit – so became stuck – and had to be rescued of course!  There’s always one – and it’s ALWAYS Daisy!!

And finally – having mentioned the magazine earlier – I thought I would let you know that I currently have a super-special offer on annual subscriptions.  I’ve been able to reduce the price just a little, and there’s now a choice of free gift …

Yes, you can choose from either a Unicorn Head or a Festival Mandala kit posted anywhere in the world when you purchase an annual subscription.  Please just CLICK HERE if you’d like to learn more