Summer!

I've been meaning to sit down and write a post for days but a miraculous thing has happened in the UK - Sun! Almost over night the weather has gone from cloudy, rainy and a bit chilly to brilliant sunshine. It was even warm enough to wear shorts today. Although after months and months of jeans my legs are impressively white. Perfect sun reflectors.

Thanks to the sun the flowers have come out in the garden. There are tulips, poppies and forget me nots and a few slightly bedraggled looking bluebells. The shots of colour these flowers provide are wonderful and have thoroughly shaken away the winter look of the garden. Harvey likes to sit behind the taller flowers and either pretend he is a flower or it's his secret look out for birds. I have my fingers crossed for no furry or feathery presents on the doorstep.

On the way to the beach, the fields of mustard flowers are currently in bloom. This is where my blog's main photo is from above. This is West Wittering beach and I have watched this field in it's cycle of rich brown earth to little shoots of green, tall waving plants and finally a burst of yellow spreading as far as you can see. On the other side of the road is the car park and you definitely don't need to see that! 

The beach was packed today. I think everyone is relieved the sun has finally appeared after a very long winter. We have no idea how long the sun will last in this country so it felt like everyone got the same memo to run to the beach and buy every BBQ set in sight ready for dinner in the evening. Not that I'm judging - it's exactly what we did! Fingers crossed this lovely heat continues, I think it makes everyone relax and feel happier. There were also local school groups on the beach and you could see how happy they were to be out of the classroom and enjoying the beach. I hope the teachers enjoyed it too.

I finished the day with a new cast on and a typical British BBQ ie on a tiny charcoal tray from the local shop.

This is going to be a Flax Light jumper by Tin Can Knits. And if I have cast something on, that can only mean something has been finished! More on that later. I am knitting with a mix of 4 ply Purple Berry Tart by Easy Knits Yarns and Delirium by Third Vault Yarns. I think I'm a little bit in love with this project. The colours of both yarns blend together so well that I can't always tell which yarn I'm using. I am alternating the yarn every two rows which is causing a bit of yarn tangling but it's worth it for the end result.

The sausages and turkey kebabs are from a local butcher just 100m from the house and tasted so good! I wouldn't be able to afford the prices for every meal but the difference in taste is really noticeable. And, when possible, I like supporting local business whether it's a butcher or a yarn shop or any individually owned shop. Do you have any independent shops near you? And any new projects for the summer?

Fingers crossed, summer is finally here! 

Have a lovely week, Charlotte and Harvey x

Autumn

Its been a lovely, lazy Saturday morning so far but I had to share my delight in finding conkers! I collected a pile of them and put them in all the pockets in my coat. I felt like a child who discovered a secret treasure. I received a few funny looks from passersby but I didn't care - I was happy. I managed to grab one of the few sunny moment yesterday to take a photo. Don't they look rich and brown and lovely? I love the intricate patterns on the outside of each one. I have a feeling they will be resting in a bowl on the dining room table for a while to remind me of nature's little wonders. 

Do you remember playing with these as a child? I'm not sure if its specific to the UK?

Have a great weekend x

Away from the big smoke aka last alpine trip of the year

Sometimes its nice to get away from the city and to surround yourself with great scenery, long walks and lovely company. Last weekend I hosted a group of students from my university alpine club of which I am secretary. Our original booking in Somerset fell through, which seems to be a running theme for that particular hiking hut! So instead I invited everyone down to Chichester to see a new part of the country.

I don't think any of them had been to this part of the UK before so it was a delight to show it off. We walked from Chichester to West Wittering on Friday through beautiful fields like the one above and only one small stretch of scarily busy road. The less said the better about that road...

It was slightly more grey on the Sunday but we still headed out to the South Downs Way for a small loop walk of around 8km. The other half of the group did a longer route with a pub stop along the way. Sounded tough....

We saw bluebell woods.

Baby cows (ok calves but baby cows sound cuter).

And more very yellow fields although from further away. I'm guessing its rapeseed? 

Our group looking slightly damp!

Monday was our easy day with a little jaunt around Arundel.

A stop for lunch

And then 20 metres later, a stop for creme tea. Yum! 

This was the last trip of the academic year and my last as secretary of the club. It has been a great year for the club and I am very proud to have been part of it. It was a wonderful weekend and I look forward to many more! 

Winter has come

I woke up this morning to the lawn covered in frost. With the fields across the road beckoning, I grabbed my camera and a warm woolly hat and headed out.

Although it was only 8.30, the frost had already begun to melt as the sun hit the trees. 

I'm not a regular photographer but even I appreciated the shards of sunlight piercing through the canopy above and landing on the ice and leaves and berries.

  

And the frost lined leaves.

Walking out into the main park, the normally vibrant green grass had been muted and sparkled.

  

The individual stalks reminded me of sugared angelica with the ice as the sugar. 

The perfect start to a rare day off. Have a wonderful week everyone :)