A cat with a view

Spud Cat enjoying his snooze in a window

Spud cat has promoted himself to a Captains chair that sits in one of the barns upstairs windows and I couldn't resist trying to capture him with the Mount in the background - I'm sorry it is a bit dark so maybe I will have to read the camera instructions again rather than setting to Auto!!

Olly has still left a big hole in our lives and his sunny bench is strangely empty in the evenings but Spud is trying hard to "own" the house and little by little making it his own - sprinting across the lawns today to shin up the palm trees or lounging in the shade as the lawn mower went passed. The garden? well the Olympics have taken their toll I'm afraid and three days watching dressage and show jumping when I should have been weeding have exerted their price so back to work for me in the borders this week!

My white agapanthus have flowered at last

The exit from the gravel terrace in front of the
garden room

The skies cleared on Sunday beyond the garden to give
us a realy hot day not forcasst at all!

Looking down to the village of Perranuthnoe form our garden this weekend
doesn't that sea look like silk

The shipping lanes on the far horizon beyond our
sheltering Palms

One of the many tables and chairs that I have tucked away around the
garden

Archie one of Danilons sons now aged three

Charles working with Rodger a nice young four year old - as you can
see it was quite windy that day! Rodger will be looking for a brilliant
home soon

A light super by the beach

My delicious Cray fish tail salad

Our guests came home the other day, full of praise  for the little Cabin Cafe, that is the last stop before the sea in Perranuthnoe and some times the washing up just doesn't call so it seemed an idea opportunity to sample this new young (two years probably but i move slowly sometimes!!) local eatery the other evening.

We found a proper beach cafe with the golden sand trodden up the slip way from the beach to its welcoming serving hatch surrounded by a gaggle of pre loved books for charity , buckets and spades beach ball and post cards. We pored over the black board menu and chose the Cray fish tail salad brilliant value at under £7 and just right for us before choosing a table on the deck too watch the evening surfers in the sea below and we were soon tucking into supper with a few other diners that appeared still sandy from the beach - couples nibbling ice cream, beautifully behaved children quietly eating beans on toast for high tea - as I said a proper beach cafe.... in fact boy did that cake look good i might have to go back - purely in the interest of research you understand!

Looking across the little cafe garden towards the gently
lapping waves

info from their web site:- "We offer food, drink and a smile throughout the day, from breakfast until teatime. Our opening hours vary depending on the time of year - 8.30am to 8.00pm in the high season, and 10.00am to 4.00pm in the winter. We are here every day except Christmas Day. If you want to check if we're open, feel free to call us on 01736 711733"

Also in Perranuthnoe the yummy Peppercorn Cafe I'm hoping they will open some evenings again this summer because their Pizzas were delicious and I'm too busy in the day tome to enjoy there wonderful food!!

and not forgetting the seriously foodie Victoria Inn (book at least three days in advance though)

Has anything happened this week?

St Micheal's Mount has looked enchanting from our garden for the
last few mornings as we basked in proper summer sunshine

and a gorgeous day leads to a wonderful sunset

and that in turn leads to a crisp clear morning with the heat
still hanging in the courtyards form the evening before.

a little spider had been busy at the table that I sat and enjoyed the warm
evening only a few short hours ago

Another day, another sunset from our garden

I added a little table and chair to a quiet corner that should be in the shade as the day goes on

Tha beautiful blue sea across Mounts Bay

Looking across the bay and down to the village of course from our garden

Has anything happened since I last wrote our blog? Well the sleepy rhythm of the country side has moved along - the crickets have begun to sing  into the night and with a roll of the dice we had the sort of summer days i remember from ooh only a couple of years ago of bright blue skies and infinite blue seas....and promptly retired to the shade complaining of the heat! Walking along our lane today i noticed that the corn has started to turn colour but don't bring autumn yet it is far too soon!!

In honour of Agapanthus

August is here and it is time to honour the Agapanthus that have stolen
across the garden to fill the gravel terrace in front of the garden room.

Large blousey pom poms of bright blue colour they never fail to please me
in the mornings

Each year they march further afield

tucking themselves around the pots of Geraniums

I'd swear they had grown bigger this year as they had matured

In case of rain i retreat to the Garden room and one of the cosy wicker
chairs

and if thinking bright think very bright in this case our Crocosmia Lucifer
and those lively "Annuals" that have lived on from last year

Looking out across the lawn towards the Italian Garden with the far reach
of hills in the background that separates us from St Ives

A last look back towards the courtyard

and that wicker chair is just for me tucked amongst the Agapanthus
for a sleepy afternoon ( I wish!!)

Vacancy for this week!

A snap of our dining room ready fro breakfast from yesterday morning





















Well stunned! The pink room is all ready, flowers arranged, buffed and polished with piles of fluffy towels folded just so nothing for us to do now but wait for our guests with a wlcoming pot of tea and cake............. and they have just e-mailed and cancelled.................so at this late hour, we have the Pink room ready and waiting for you for Wednesday Thusday and Friday with a heat wave due

@£110 a night for two for Bed and Breakfast a bargain for five star gold

a view over the four poster bed to the hand embroidered
silk hanging behind the dressing table

Ednovean at dusk

I took this photo of Dusk falling over Mounts Bay from
our lawn

Some evenings are special, just watching the day unwind towards nightfall from a comfortable vantage point - the daily rhythms of the sea birds returning to their roost; the swift erratic flight of the house martins catching the last bugs of the day; the sun slowly sinking far to the west of us beyond Mounts Bay. Some evenings we are lucky enough to sit and eat our super watching the sailing boats beating across the water and this week was extra special because we could see the horses winter hay safely baled in the fields below us. Spud of course livened up our soporific scene by diving into the border and coming out with a hapless victim that has to be rescued but generally it is a peaceful time. I walked down through the garden for a last glimpse of the sun, pausing to look at a few flowers along the way..........

Perranuthnoe in the dusk

The last pink rays catch simple daisies

The Day Lillie's develop their very own glow

The racing yachts going about a marker beyond those
precious bales of hay

Young thoroughbred Dolly totally unaware or all of the effort
thta goes into hay making, her glossy black coat
glowing in the dusk

Spud stalked the ost and rail fence to make sure he
didn't miss anything

and finally the long awaited sunset

still watching!

and tomorrow is a new day!!

A little peice of heaven

Sharp sunlight in the early morning dew

We woke up to a little piece of heaven on Saturday morning when a high edged itself into position banishing the bands of rain that have plagued the "Summer" Did I say Summer?! i know we have been a lot luckier hat the rest of the country but to walk into the courtyard with the early rays of sunshine gleaming on the tops of the Parterre hedges still spangled with dew was pure bliss and all of a sudden I realised we had missed the buzz of insects in the garden. I have put together another garden album for our facebook page 
Do take a peek I particularly liked the chocolate flower found on a trip to the corn merchant to buy Danni's tea - naughty me!

It's surprising what you can find at Cornwall Farmers!

We found the big metal buoy years ago in a field beside Wheel Neptune Boundary shaft - or at least that is what
I think it is unless you know something different??!

Rampant Crocosmia Lucifer and the Aloes of course

Last years purchase from penzance show has survived the winter

Charle's newly mown lawn

A particularly nice Crocosmia

The tranquil shade of the courtyard