Garden pics!

First of all, one that didn't really catch what I wanted to catch, but looks really pretty nonetheless:


The peach is still hanging on the tree, and it's getting peachier and peachier each day - but is still really hard and not yet really ripe. I'm patient, though.


There's the first autumn flowers blooming...


... the bumble bees make use of the flowering mint species...


... and this wasp robbed a spider of its prey to munch on it:


I hope you have as nice and sunny a day as I have!

 

There's been a nice surprise in the garden - suddenly, a red-blooming flower appeared:


We didn't plant this, and we certainly didn't expect it - but it is very welcome in its beauty. It's also blooming at a time when there is not so much else colourfully flowering around, so it is doubly welcome. Looking at the leaves, it might also have brought some friends in the same bed, though they are still a little shy and not showing any signs of a flower stem... yet. Maybe next year.

It's not looking quite as lovely and happiness-inducing on the peach tree: Of all the flowers and subsequent tiny little peaches, there is only one single peach left.


So I'm hoping that this one will continue going strong - that would mean a harvest of one peach, at last, some time later this year. Which would delight me no end!

Today is not as nicely warm and sunny as yesterday - the ideal weather to gear up with a cup of coffee or three and take stock.

I have a current count of things in stock, obviously, due to the webshop - but there's sometimes a little safety margin between the number of things listed in the shop and the things actually in stock - in case I need an extra because something gets lost in the post, or because something sold in real life versus via the online shop, for instance. Plus, from time to time, something gets lost or breaks while on an event... which means it's good to have a spare or two.

This, however, also means that occasionally I need to go through the actual, real, current stock and make sure that the numbers still match (or match as far as I intend them to). And since more fairs are coming up... now seems to be a good time. Especially since taking a look at all the things and counting them up means I can check their packaging, too - and in some cases re-pack into a smaller, or more sensible, or sturdier, or otherwise better way. Which is also a good thing to do before an event, as every big box takes up space, and space to store the stock is always, always less than it could be.

So you can picture my workspace cluttered with boxes and things in various states of packedness and unpackedness; with me and my list and my trusty cup of coffee in the middle of it. I'll spare you the picture of that clutter - instead, take this gratuitous picture of the sole sunflower that came up in the garden this year (even though I scattered seeds really generously):


It has grown into a very tall and very lovely plant - I'm just a little sad that it's the only one...

First of all: Poppies!


These guys are trying to take over the garden, and I actually do not mind at all...

 
And now a few links:

Jim Hines has done some gender-swapping of texts from classical SFF works, and a corresponding blog post about the differences between writing men and women.

If you need a geeky t-shirt for the summer, getdigital has a selection of geeky and nerdy stuff like this "Batoro T-Shirt", printed on fair-trade organic grown cotton. Yay!

In other news, I've been busy sorting out things, washing wool and making new distaffs. I've also made a bit of progress on the two-colour renaissance shawl:


I've finished with all repeats of chart E (I did one extra), and now I'm slowly working my way through F (who'd have thought?). I have also more or less figured out where I want to change back to the night-blue colour, though there's still a way to go. And I'll have to print out the final chart again, as I have all the other sheets (even though they look... mangled, and sport more than their fair share of stains and notes) only not the last one, which probably got re-purposed at some point.

Now the big question is - will I finish this thing before our summer break? Or not?

It's finally sunny again outside (yesterday and the day before we had rain like for the end of the world), and the garden... is looking like it's early summer. The poppies were in full bloom yesterday, but the night's rain has stripped them of most of their petals. The rest of the blooming things, however, are giving their all:

[caption id="attachment_2449" align="alignnone" width="366"] Nigella damascena - one of the German names is "Jungfer im Grünen", literally "maiden in the green". I really like these, and I'm happy they are returning every year in their little spot.


[caption id="attachment_2450" align="alignnone" width="359"] Iris, in blue. They are a little too tall for this spot to be seen from outside the garden (the willows are purposely stripped of any buds at their very base), but they are very visible from the inside.


[caption id="attachment_2451" align="alignnone" width="383"] More iris - this one is one of the take-over-the-world plants.


[caption id="attachment_2448" align="alignnone" width="533"] The cat, meanwhile, is utterly unimpressed and prefers to nap on the sofa.

It's Whitsun - and thus a nice long weekend, isn't this nice? Even though the weather forecast doesn't sound so splendid, we're hoping to make the most of the extra day off.

[caption id="attachment_2409" align="alignnone" width="379"] Aquilegia in front of our willow fence. It's fascinating how quickly the willows grow at this time of the year!


 
Weather permitting, we'll be outdoors, enjoying the colourful flowers of this time of year...

[caption id="attachment_2411" align="alignnone" width="372"] This plant is called "Doldenmilchstern" in German - literally translated "umbel milk star". I like the English name better: "Nap-at-noon" (or Star of Betlehem, but I prefer the nap).


 
...as well as some time spent with friends.

Have a nice long weekend, and I'll be back on the blog on Tuesday!

I have a stack of links to throw at you again - but before that, here's proof that our garden knows which month we have:


These are called Maiglöckchen in German - which literally translates to "May Bells". The German language seems to like flower names with a time of year in them - we not only have "Easter Bells" (daffodils) and "May Bells", but also "Whitsun Roses" (peonies).

Cathy from Loose Threads has something else: a list of tutorials. I haven't looked at any of them yet, but they range from medieval things to Victorian, and you might just find something that amuses you - or might prove helpful.

Erik Kwakkel at the medievalbooks blog has a fascinating post about medieval scripts, including a picture of a scribe's advertisement sheet.

Aisling has a list of tablet-woven bands from the Anglo-Saxon and Viking period found in Great Britain and Ireland.

Rainer Schreg has some thoughts about the Vienna Statement about the threat to cultural heritage in the Near East and North Africa. If you want more about that topic and don't mind a gruesome read, check out Heritage for Peace's newsletter about damage to heritage sites in Syria.

To end with a lighter note: There's a new Jane Austen film, "Love and Friendship", coming to theatres tomorrow. It's a screenplay adaptation of "Lady Susan" (a short epistolary novel). Here's an interview with filmmaker Whit Stillman. If you'd like to pass the time until then with more Austen film adaptations, you might want to check out this list.