Easter holiday

The first week of the school holiday we were on duty keeping an eye on The Boy. The weather was good, sunshine and the cold breeze didn't stop us from going to the beach at low tide to play football on the damp sand. That and a bit of digging kept us busy.

Every day we found a job for him to do. (Learning through doing is my approach, and he is a good helper.) He set to work unloading our winter fuel delivery for his grandad to stack.

The second week of the holiday his Mom took over and we went to Yorkshire. The florist in Leyburn always has lovely things to sell. Her Easter window looked so inviting that I had to step inside to look around.I have bought lovely flower arrangements from her in the past. For Easter she had some delightful small posies - good ideas to copy!

The good weather continued and it was lovely to be out walking on the hills.

Good also to have dry weather for the lambs in the lower fields.

As usual I set to work on the front garden and cleared out half a sack of snowdrops along with the weeds. Luckily the garden is very small!

The trickiest job is trying to clear the river stones that used to be on the floor of the stables before the property was converted. The millstone had been set in the wall but had to come down so that we could fit in windows!

Our elder daughter came up from London to join us over the Easter weekend. We had a tasty Sunday lunch out and did lots of walking and talking. What a treat. My starter was good!

And Yorkshire drinks, rhubarb gin and Black Sheep beer!

/b>< MOOR TOP Purple bruise the hills, the heather almost black. I'm back on my home turf walking the moorland track. High green roads, and easy underfoot, there's been no rain for weeks. A lapwing calls. Somewhere above a skylark sings, it's message clear. Home, I'm home, and it is joyful here.

Blue skies

Pink blossom looks especially good set against a blue sky, and that is what we have had for most of the week. Some wind and rain today has made the petals fall like confetti. My scrawny magnolia is looking lovely and the massive white magnolias in neighbouring gardens are spectacular.

Everything is colouring up.

I dug up the tree peonies and put them in pots when we moved house two years ago. They are still in those pots, half in, half out of cover. I don't have anywhere in full sun where I can plant them and they seem happy enough for now with a good number of promising buds. "/>