Brightness Falls

April, and it feels like June. As a consequence, the garden has been calling, and it has been hard to shut myself inside to continue with the mysterious Project X. Nonetheless, I have spent the darker hours of the weekend working on a new piece for the project.

The hot weather has meant more outdoor pursuits for the Squidlings - including eating ice cream...











The garden is taking a bit more shape now, although it will be a few years yet before it really gets going. The border we dug last year is looking pretty good for the time of year, with clouds of Forget-Me-Nots and big blazes of wallflowers. Must get those fences fixed sometime...











The vegetable raised bed seems to be working. Most of the seeds we planted have now germinated, and some are reaching a decent size. Thinning out will soon be required.











We've potted out 3 trays of dahlias and one of nicotiana, but the rudbeckia and antirrhinums still need doing.











We've also potted up three tomato plants and a chilli (Apache) for the greenhouse, and a cucumber which is going to grow in the mini-greenhouse near the house. I'm looking forward to the first harvest!

Catch the Wind

Hot on the heels of reading Donovan's autobiography, we spent a lovely weekend in St Ives, where, in his book, Donovan describes cutting his vagabond teeth. I've been there before, but never staying in a cottage right in the heart of town. It was fantastic - one minute (literally) to the nearest beach, the gorgeous sands of Porthmeor, and one minute to the harbour and high street.

I loved the Barbara Hepworth museum last time I went, and wasn't disappointed by our return - it was as delightful as I remembered it. I took lots of photographs, so these are but the selected highlights:



































































It was great to see the Squidlings enjoying the seaside, and the weather was more like summer than late March.











Our cottage was suitably cute too - I love the winding streets of St Ives.











We've been back a few days now, but the memory of our weekend in St Ives is still bringing a smile to my face!

We've been very busy in the garden this last week, and have been planting more vegetable seeds in our new raised bed. The compost heap has also had a gratuitous turning, as I needed to move the bin out from under a tree which has sagged after the recent strong winds. Things are really coming along now, but it is a slow process. The first lettuces (Little Gems and Lollo Rosso) have now germinated, as has the spinach. The first seedlings for bedding plants are now thriving in the greenhouse, as are our new tomato plants. There are clouds of blossom weighing down the nearby trees. It really feels like Spring has sprung.

And the music...Project X continues apace. I've done quite a lot of work on the artwork for it now, but there is still a lot to do. I've play-tested the second mixdown, and decided it needs a few tweaks, and a couple more songs. I recorded another song this weekend in a rough and ready form, but need to do quite a lot more work on it. I'm also doing some pre-thinking on re-designing SquidWeb.

Busy times! Thank goodness for bank holidays.