Sunday, February 15
Waterworld
Monday, February 9
What a miserable week
What a truly miserable week it’s been. There have been the odd flashes of brightness, but for the most part the days have been damp, drizzly, and thoroughly dull. On our walks, a bitterly cold wind has stung our faces, making us question our life choices.
Ruby, naturally, remains completely unfazed. She has continued to explore every interesting smell with great enthusiasm, while we’ve been keen to complete our walks at record speed and return to the warmth indoors. Priorities, clearly, differ.
Aside from Ruby’s walks, most of our time has been spent inside, so there’s little to report. Even when we have ventured out, it’s been far too cold and wet to hang around taking photos. Here’s hoping next week brings something a little brighter — or at least drier.
Thursday, February 5
January in pictures
Monday, February 2
Stocking up
We visited the local garden centre this weekend after they announced it was their annual Potato Day, which is when we usually stock up for the growing season ahead. Alongside the usual bags of seed potatoes, as usual, they also sell individual tubers - ideal for us, as we enjoy trying out new varieties without committing to a full bag.
This year we chose four we haven’t grown before: Harry, Jacky, Caesar, and Mozart, buying five tubers of each. It’s always fun experimenting with different potatoes to see how they grow and, of course, how they taste. Any favourites may well make it onto our general growing list in future years.
The potatoes are now home and ready for chitting. We’re looking forward to planting them out - once the ground finally (if ever) dries out - and hopefully enjoying a great harvest later in the year.
Monday, January 26
Snowdrops
At the beginning of last week, we were treated to murky, misty, and, to be frank, absolutely miserable weather — the sort that makes staying indoors feel like the only sensible option.
Of course, with Ruby around, that really isn’t an option. She has a lot of energy that needs using up, otherwise we’re faced with full-blown doggy sulks. So we wrapped up warmly and headed over to Temple Newsam. As usual, Ruby likes to kick things off with a game of chase, and Martyn had to keep adjusting his throws so they didn’t go so far that she vanished from sight altogether.
Sunday, January 18
In the bleak midwinter
Thursday, January 15
December in pictures
Sunday, January 11
Double birthday
Last week, we celebrated two birthdays. Martyn's was on Wednesday, and on Thursday, it was Ruby's sixth birthday. How time flies. Martyn's birthday marked several multiples of six and some.
It would take several posts to create a photo history for Martyn but Ruby's is more manageable, so here goes.
Saturday, January 10
Walking on water
Sunday, January 4
Happy New Year
I know that I am late with my New Year's greeting, but as the saying goes - Better late than never.
We've had a lazy time. Our afternoon walks have been local, as we reckoned everywhere, including the roads, would be really busy with many people still taking time off work and school.
Staying local was a wise move as Nostell was heaving on the two days that we visited. Hardly surprising, as one was New Year's Day. Extra areas were given over to parking, and it was even too busy for Ruby to have a ball chasing game.
This week, we will probably have the place more or less to ourselves.









