New Lamps Being Born

The cycle of life continues with the appearance of the new little lamps on the Durham Dales. They are always fun to watch playing in the Spring sun shine. I always find it amazing how fast the little lambs grow.



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Tractor At Sunset

The farmer prepares his field as the sun sets over County Durham. A farmers day never ends but what a great work place to have.
Please feel free to leave a comment on any of the images !

While you relax and not having to prepare your fields why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors, you may just like what you find. If you click on the Link it will take you there.          http://www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk/

The Rhubarb Sprouts

The rhubarb catches a little bit of warmth and begins to sprout. Rhubarb is a group of plants that belong to the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing from short , thick rhizomes. Although the leaves are toxic, the main part of the plants have medicinal and culinary uses. The traditional Chinese pharmacopeia features rhubarb as a laxative. Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable, however in the United States, a New York court decided in 1947 it was to be counted as a fruit for purposes of regulations and duties. In the UK it is said the best rhubarb comes from the rhubarb triangle, that being Wakefield, Leeds and Morley, although I do have to point out the rhubarb from County Durham is pretty good. Other points on rhubarb and some uses will be covered in the coming weeks as the rhubarb matures.

Why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors you may find the perfect dish for your rhubarb in time for yours maturing, just follow the Link        http://www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk/   

Red Sky At Night

A fantastic sunset over Durham in the March skies. Weather systems typically move from west to east, and red clouds result when the sun shines on their undersides at either sunrise or sunset. At these two times of day, the sun's light is passing at a very low angle through a great thickness of atmosphere, the result of which is the scattering out of most of the shorter wavelengths, the greens, blues and violets of the visible spectrum, and so sunlight is heavy at the red end of the spectrum. So in order to see red clouds in the evening, sunlight must have a clear path from the west in order to illuminate moisture-bearing clouds off to the east. So from this we have the saying .
 
Red sky at night sheperds delight,
Red sky in the morning sheperds warning.

Many versions appear of this saying from in the Bible and even  Shakespeare, in his poem Venus and Adonis

Like a red morn that ever yet betokened,
Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field,
Sorrow to the sheperds, woe unto the birds,
Gusts and foul flaws to herdman and to herds.

While you are here why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors just follow the Link        http://www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk/  

Time To Chit Your Potatoes

Chitting your potatoes, means encouraging your seed potatoes to sprout brfore planting. This should be done about six weeks before you plant, so even in the cooler parts of the country you will be fine now.  Each potato has a slightly more rounded end and that end will have a number of eyes. You will be able to see the eyes, this is  where the potato will begin to sprout from. Stand the rounded end uppermost in trays of old egg boxes, with plenty of natural light. The potatoes will be ready to plant out when the shoots are 2-5cm in length. They will be the best potatoes you have ever had.

While you are waiting for your potatoes to sprout, why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors just click on the Link         www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk

Bird Boxes

Now is the time to clean the bird boxes, empty out last years nest and do any running repairs so the bird boxes can be ready for their new visitors. The birds that build nests in my boxes will probably be blue tits or maybe great tits, It is one of the things we have to wait that go to make this time of year very exciting. I will let you know who moves in.


Once you have cleaned up your bird boxes may be it is time you got a new addition for your home so that your home is ready for Spring also. So why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors just follow the Link           www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk

The Rubus

The rubus is a massive genus of flowering plants, raspberries, blackberries and dewberries are common. Most have woody stems with thorns, prickles and gland tipped hairs are also common. The rubus fruit sometimes called bramble. The generic name means blackberry in Latin and was derived from the word ruber, meaning red. The rubus has been around  about 36.6 million years. I wonder how long man has been making blackberry compote.

After looking at the rubus why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors just follow the Link           www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk

Primula In The Cottage Garden

Primula is a genus of around 400-500 species low growing herb in the Primulaceae family, including primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. The word primula is the latin feminine diminutive of primus, meaning first, so resulinting in them being among the first flowers to open in spring.

Now that there is colour appearing in the cottage garden may be it is time to add some fresh colour to your home, that being the case, why not have a look at Period Cottage Interiors just folow the Link       www.periodcottageinteriors.co.uk  

Ladybird

As the weather warms the ladybird puts in an appearance, and straight away finds what may be a suitable mate, on a apple tree sappling. The ladybird or by its full name coccinellidae is a member of the beetle family. Coccinelid comes from the Latin word coccineus meaning scarlet. The name ladybird originated in Britain where insects became known as Our Lady's bird or Lady beetle. Mary (Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings. The spots of the seven spot ladybird ( the most common in Europe)were said to symbolise her seven joys and seven sorrows.

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Miniture Daffodil

The miniture daffodil standing no more than 6inches high is a very pretty addition to any garden, but does look good in the cottage garden.
 The ancient Greeks believed the narcissus plant originated from the vain of youth, Narcissus. He died after becoming so obsessed with his reflection in a pool he could not leave. The Greeks say that the gods turned his remains into the Narcissus flower. This also led to the daffodils being a symbol of unrequented love.

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Field Mouse

A friendly field mouse pops out to enjoy some early Spring sun, and maybe looking for a mate. I will let you know if it finds one/

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Plum Blossom

Nature is ready to spring, the plum blossom is almost ready to open.

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