flowers without gardens

Because we don't have a garden, more of a yard with lots of steps, we have to use our town parks for garden stuff.  The kids and Jason do grow food with some friends on a plot of land, but this time we wanted flowers

so this is Morrab gardens, full of beautiful flowering magnolia trees at the moment

and of course daffodils, we sketched and sketched, there are so many beautiful flowers there.

we photographed too

We feel lucky to have such a beautiful garden a five minute walk away

we did have some crocuses in a pot in our yard but they died so quickly

and I just love magnolia trees when they're flowering.  It feels like summer is on its way...

a very windy day

We took a walk on the prom yesterday, it was so windy!!  But we saw the starlings coming in to roost around the church tower, a truly amazing sight, the whole group swooping and curving round gathering more and more birds as they go.  Teague managed to capture a little bit of it on video.  But if you have starlings near you it's really worth going to watch them roost.

On the way back we took the sheltered route to avoid the wind and popped into Penlee Memorial Garden, one of our favourite places for flowers.  We're thinking of going back in the week, on a less wild day, to do some drawing.  But this time Teague took some lovely photos of what's blooming at the moment

we have no idea what this tree is, the fruit are actually quite small, smaller than apricots so if anyone knows...

more autumn

just when I think it's time to cosy up and start the bookish learning the sun comes out.  After years of living in Cornwall I have learned that if it's dry we must leave the house because there are no guarantees that it won't start raining tomorrow (and not stop until next spring!)

So off to Trevaylor woods today

Teague and Annis love the woods and could happily spend all day there.  They take penknives, camera and sketchbooks (we rarely actually take the sketchbooks out but we could!) and everything else they need is in the woods

today such strange mushrooms, again we're assuming they're not edible.

and leaves to swish our feet through

and a stream for pooh sticks (which I never win)

and I'm messing with my template, can't seem to make up my mind but it's fun so maybe a new one every day?!

bits of late summer

time spent on Penzance beach, not the prettiest beach, it's kind of industrial with the railway running just behind and the heliport (although the heliport is moving to make way for a Sainsburys).  But we love this beach, not too busy, and I just love that it takes us ten minutes to walk to it

sea life,

sea, sand and seaweed,

a view of the mount,

muddy sand (the best kind for building even if it does take days to get it off your skin!

and did I mention seaweed, this beach really would be heaven for a permaculture gardener with a big wheelbarrow!

Blackberrying

I absolutely love this time of year, when the blackberries are out and we can pick our own pudding for free!

how ridiculous that there isn't more fruit for free, we get elderflower and berries for wine and sloes for gin but really that's about it for West Cornwall.  Perhaps there is more in other parts of England, I hope so

it's not just the blackberries, everyone's up for going out for a walk and the insect life is so abundant that Teague gets to use the macro setting on his camera

to startling effect!  Now I know where all those science fiction creatures come from.

and crickets are happy to land on a pair of fuschia leggings, and stay there for quite some time

and we still have flowers.  In fact it almost feels like too much, a last burst before autumn.  Time to get our dusty nature diaries out again I think.

this could be seen as a little showy offy but...

...it rains in Cornwall such a lot that sometimes we're left wondering why we live here.  and then a day like this arrives, out of the blue

and we remember why.

this particular beach is our favourite, we used to live nearer to it, now we have to drive for half an hour and i can't remember the last time we went to it ... until today

we actually ummed and ahhed, we only had three hours (and there's a half hour walk down after the half hour drive), it's a long way...

but i'm soooo glad we made the effort (we stayed longer and were late back, but who wouldn't!)

and there was a seal (can you see him?!  he is there, honestly) and he swam with two surprised swimmers for half an hour, circling them and playing (seals are curious).

the path back is teeming with wildlife

and plants

and even the first blackberries.

It feels like autumn

A beautiful walk on the cliffs picking blackberries

Gorgeous blue sea and autumn sunshine

Makes us glad that we home educate.

And even still some butterflies around.