Sunday 29 April 2012

Another wet weekend...

It's pretty much been raining for two weeks.  We've had more hail, plus some wind for good measure.  The local park (which is prone to waterlogging at the best of times) has a puddle big enough to attract ducks and swans to swim on!
This weekend it continued to rain.  We've stayed in, though Freddie has been round to his friend next door to play.
It's been actually properly cold.  It's the end of April, but we've needed the fire lit.
Rob and Betsy worked on making a birdhouse this afternoon.  Betsy painted it, and Rob screwed it together.  In a break in the rain he put it up on a tree outside our house.
In the evening it finally stopped raining, and the skies cleared.  Blue again!  The kids played in the garden, and we checked over some of the plants.  They've been loving the weather, everything is blooming!  The potatoes are doing well, the mint is up, and one of our shrubs has the most beautiful pink flowers.
I tackled the shelves of doom.  I got rid of some books, moved some others to the loft, and had a good sort out.  I'd forgotten half of the cool books and resources I had squirreled away!

Thursday 26 April 2012

...there's no such thing as a Gruffalo....

Freddie, Betsy and I went to see The Gruffalo at Milton Keynes Theatre today.  We had great seats, at the front of the circle.  When we looked behind us we saw this:
 Our view below:
And the lovely lights in the ceiling:
The set was simple but effective.  
Freddie and Betsy had their ear defenders on.  Betsy took hers off during the performance, Freddie kept his on.
It was a great show, we all enjoyed it.

Monday 23 April 2012

Critters

I haven't mentioned the weather much.  It's been much more interesting than usual.  Lots of hail, thunder, fabulous downpours.  We've spent a lot of time looking out of the window, enjoying the drama of it.
It has meant much less time outside.  We got to the skate park this morning, and planned some time there and at the playground further into the park, but we got rained on so came home again.


Before that, we'd been to the pet shop to buy some pond weed for the tadpoles.  We looked at the fish and reptiles, rabbits and guinea pigs, gerbils and hamsters.  We're in the market for a new hamster as Whitey died a couple of weeks ago.  I think we'll get one next week.


At home the kids checked on the tadpoles and gave them their new plant.  They're noticeably bigger now, but no sign of any back legs yet.
I saw this great idea the other day on pinterest, where you put yarn out for the birds to use in their nests.  Meg helped put the yarn in the feeder cage, and we hung it outside.  I really hope the birds use some of it.

Three fifths here

Rob and Betsy went to Stoke On Trent this weekend.  They travelled by train, and Rob's folks picked them up at the other end.  Freddie could have gone with them (that had been the plan) but he didn't want to go.  He's feeling quite fearful at the moment, and said that when he's not near me he feels like he's been lost.  I'm not pushing him to 'get over it', as I think that would make it worse.  
We took it easy.  Freddie *loves* the cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender so he watched a lo of those on Netflix.  Meg tootled about playing and dressing up.  We took advantage of a break in the weather to go to the playground.  Freddie spent most of the time in a bowl-shaped roundabout, and we pretended he was in a washing machine.  Fun!

Monday 16 April 2012

Wheels!

More time spent on the little road again today.  Freddie is loving his bike.  Betsy zoomed on Freddie scooter as Meg had purloined hers!  We're planning on getting Meg a scooter for her birthday but I think she wants one sooner rather than later....


This very pretty flower was growing through the crack between the pavement and a fence.  It has some other buds and the kids want to go back a pick one.


While we were hanging out a duck waddled over.  Freddie was a bit worried that she wasn't by the canal so he asked me to get some bread.  We made a trail to the tow path, but she didn't want to go in and popped into our neighbour's front garden instead!




We checked the tadpoles, who seem happy.  We'll buy some fresh pond weed for them in the next day or two.  Betsy did a frog lifecycle picture.  Freddie didn't want to make anything but chatted about what she was doing.
The frog spawn is made from bubblewrap!  I got the idea from this website.
Lots of rain forecast for the next few days.  Bummer.

Sunday 15 April 2012

A slow start to the growing season

It's been so chilly for the last couple of weeks, and the seeds we sowed in the warm days of late March have done very little.  None of the tomatoes have germinated, only one of the French beans, and about half of the sweetcorn.
The GYOP potatoes have sprouted, withe the aptly named rocket potatoes growing the fastest.
Rob moved the wormery from the garden to the allotment today.  The worms had made some gorgeous looking compost, which I worked into the plot for an onion bed.  The red onions are a bit late going in, and we haven't planted any seeds there yet.
It was pretty cold at the allotment today, so we took the teepee for the kids to shelter in.