A short break

We have been in and around the town of Dartmouth for a few days visiting a couple of National Trust houses and gardens that I have been wanting to see for quite some time. The first day we bought tickets for the ferry that would take us up river to the home of the crime writer, Agatha Christie.

We sailed past Agatha's boathouse, a delightful place where we sheltered from a spell of bad weather on our wander about the gardens.

Here is our first view of the house, just peeping out above the trees.

A cottage by the jetty, now a holiday let.

The view from the boathouse is lovely and the interior a delightful place. During a heavy downfall of hail we sat happily inside until it was over and the sun shining again.

The house stands well and is crammed with 'stuff', all of it was collected by Agatha Christie and her family, nothing brought in to set the scene as in some houses that are on display. We had a very satisfying nose all about the place, with such a lot to see.

Autumn

Leaves are falling, we have had some rain, but there is still warmth in the sun and we sit out to enjoy it whenever it shines.

We are busy in the garden removing the bushes and plants that didn't survive the summer draught.

It is a pleasure to see a bit of rainfall even if it means that the leaves stick to the roof of the veranda!

Once a month we have a meal where we eat whatever we want, the rest of the time we eat to a cancer inhibiting diet. The access to the beach is a steep climb. We walk down a zigzag, along the beach and up another zigzag. It gives us a good appetite, ready to enjoy a meal in town. (And it works off a bit of the indulgent eating on the walk back!) We passed this pretty in pink bike and rider, well placed in front of a colourful beach hut.

We ate our starter and main course inside but the weather was so tempting that we took dessert and coffee outside.

I'm happy to be back working on the allotment now that the soil no longer looks like dust. It was not a productive year. I was so envious of the local Saturday morning veg stall, how did he manage such fantastic produce? He must have had access to far more water that I had been able to carry!

I've got lots of oranges on my small tree, but will they ever ripen? I doubt it.

Oops!

Last weekend our elder daughter was home for a few days and we went for a swim and then a hot drink at the beach café. We were surprised when we got down to the sand and saw a beached sailing boat. What was the story behind that? I like swimming here because the sea is shallow for quite a while and therefore very safe, I can have a good swim without getting out of my depth. Was it the shallow draught that scuppered this boat? In the week a friend came to stay, happily another swimmer and we had a lovely dip. The beached boat was still in place looking more forlorn than ever.

The sea is still warm but the weather now is very autumnal. I'm clearing ground at the allotment ready to put in some autumn planting onions and garlic. It has been a very poor year for homegrown food. Small parsnips and leeks have survived the drought but whether they will play catch-up now that we have rain I shall have to wait and see. The tomato crop has been the most successful and is still going strong.

The gazebo is now rather chilly but the conservatory is a nice place to be at this time of year. A solitary rose has bloomed. Maricel Neil, a china tea that struggled in the extreme heat but has given me this one flower to say that it's okay. The plumbago has flowered throughout the summer and I've taken a number of cuttings.

This delightful, dainty poppy is flowering in the garden. I love everything about it and hope to collect enough seed to have more flowers next year.

We gardeners are (generally) an optimistic lot!

Rain at last!

At last we have had a couple of really good downpours. Hurray, the tyranny of the watering cans is over! I was very pleased with myself for having cleaned out the empty water butts before the rain came. We have had some lovely evening walks during this continental summer; bleached grasses, golden colours on the leaves, dry underfoot and no need to carry a mac. The local golf course looked like a desert but it was beautiful on the heath.

This rowan tree looked splendid, holding onto it's berries, although the top of the tree was bare and had obviously strugged with the lack of water.

Back at home we have tended to skulk in the gazebo or the conservatory. At least there I've been able to water freely with our soapy bath water and the flowers have so far not complained.

The conservatory has a number of plaster casts. The female face is a cast of the stone face that was built into the house that my father built in the 1930's.

The male figures are not altogether complete!

I have had some lovely swims at the beach. Sometimes I go down intending to swim and the waves are too strong. I have to be realistic as to what I can and cannot do and getting knocked over by a stong surf is something to avoid.

Garden party

This week I gave a garden party to raise funds for breast cancer research. I had breast cancer surgery last autumn and have received exellent ongoing care since then. Neighbours and friends that we have made since moving to Bournemouth came, ate cake, played games, bought plants from my plant stall and made up limericks for the limerick competition. I set out various small tables around the garden so that people could wander about and mingle. There is always plenty of shade in my garden, something I usually moan about but in the present weather an absolute godsend.

Food was on a table in the cool of the house so that people could wander in and out to refill their plates

and take a look at the plant stall as they walked past.

Thanks to everyone's generousity I raised £400 for breast cancer research!