Perranuthnoe Beach

I was surprised to see the waves raring in at Perranuthnoe's beach
yesterday afternoon

With an hour to lose while Charles had his hair cut at the village hairdressers, I wandered down to the cove, after a little window shopping in the Cowhouse gallery and Village Crafts of course! Well I was surprised to sea the sea starting to boil again and thrashing against the rocks that protect the soft earthy cliffs here in a churning relentless mass. As I watched the sea birds feeding in the relative calm under the western cliff and tried unsuccessfully to capture the moment the wave broke in spray over the slip way a succession of walkers came and looked down, with their dogs at their heels, as the lack of sand before turning away again. One little whippet bravely crept after his master, down the steep steps to the beach, much against its better instincts but soon retreated back to higher ground.

A little dog wondering if he dare take another step
(there s a slip way to the right)

Sea birds feeding under the cliff

A little essential window shopping on the
way to the beach

The foaming tide from the slipway

Just a quick picture this morning

Spud Taylor Esq. Mouser extraordinary

I couldn't resist sharing this quick moment from our day yesterday, snapped as Spud cat sat on the bales supervising morning stables in the early sunshine. Well a cat has to look is best as a combined Bed and Breakfast host and Farm patrol officer doesn't he! Another day in the garden planned for today hoping to finish the courtyards and get out into the garden proper today.......watch this space......well maybe I should sit on a bale with Spud and sun myself instead - It's a cats life!

The assistant gardener

Spud Cat Gardening assistant extraordiniare 

The first assault of the garden went pretty well really, ably assisted or should I say supervised by Spud Cat. Of course a cat shouldn't leave these serious matters to chance and so while we laboured and clipped in the afternoons sunshine, Spud leapt and twirled and came perilously close to the shears. All in all we moved four builders ton bags of debris and trimmings and Spud slept very well that night after his efforts and I do believe it really is starting to look a lot like #Spring in #Cornwall at last!!

I like to start to trim the box topiary at this time of year because
I don't have so much time later in the summer for the fiddly jobs

So on with the roller coaster of Spring and looking forward to balmy summer evenings!!

Signs of spring in the garden in #Cornwall

The first early daffodils at Ednovean Farm

Each day now I look for the first signs of spring in the garden as I go about my daily tasks and this week I've stolen an hour here and there to start to big clear up from winter. Pride had come come before a fall of here course -  as I'd congratulated myself that the we'd kept the lawn quite clear of debris from the palms - that was until the gales of course and now - well lets just say we've got a bit to do!

Cordyline leaves raked into heaps ready for collection
on the lower lawn

The garden has survived quite well so far tough (hope that isn't another pride before a fall statement!) We've only had a suspicion of  a frost on a couple of mornings ad so the majority of damage amounts to wind scorch and scattered leaves and so this morning "once more into the breach" before launching the "Is the lawn dry enough to mow campaign! At the moment the rabbits are doing a sterling service small brown automated devices that hop discreetly away at my approach, the animal version of one of those impossible robotic vacuum cleaners that pop in and out. Mind you they do have a problem discerning GRASS from PLANTS at times!

Early morning sunshine on the lower terrace below the Italian Garden

So to finish this morning,  here are a few of the flowers i found walking around the garden the other evening - the first exciting signs that spring is really here in Cornwall

Hyacinths replanted in the garden after flowering in the house make
a welcome appearance in the garden this year

Tiny miniature Daffodils set amongst the box balls

Fabulous Helabores but why of why do the relentlessly
 look down!

Fresh new flowers to admire and faded to collect

Tough and dependable shining brightly after on of our heavy showers this
week

A final crocus bright with rain drops

Find us at www.ednoveanfarm.co.uk

Painted days

This time of the year leads to my "painted days" the days when I spruce up the furniture and tweak the looks and moods of the bedrooms ready for the year. This year I started three pieces with a base coat of a moody Farrow and Ball deep Grey called "Down Pipe" and then I followed it up with a top coat of new White. The other afternoon I was able to put my work out to dry in the courtyard and start to gently rub it back with 0! steel wool to expose some of the previous layers and by the following day it was ready for a protective coat of wax.

The finished peices

Rubbing back to gently distress

Not a tidy worker!

At the moment though,  I'm torn between my original idea of having the chair re upholstered in a chic broad strippey fabric in creams and greys, to tread the path between vintage and modern and keeping the original but slightly work cover, after Patti asked on our Facebook page if there was a picture of a man and a woman on the seat...........Decisions decisions What would you do?!

and briefly for our garden lovers signs of spring as the garden starts to fill with splashes of colour with the early flowers ( but till officially a disaster zone out there!)

Crocus's bright with rain drops after a shower

We live at Ednovean Farm just outside of Perranutnoe, in Cornwall find out more about us here :- www.ednoveanfarm.co.uk

A day in two parts!

I watched the sun setting across the bay from us

It was a day of two halves yesterday, starting with unexpectedly heavy rain and finishing in brilliant sunshine. At least in the morning I caught up on my "paint anything that doesn't move" programme and the horses enjoyed working in the afternoon sunshine. We finished the day with a pretty sunset across the bay and at the moment, the courtyard gate to the main garden is the perfect spot to watch the seasons progress. As I share our sunsets throughout the Summer you''l see the track of the sun moving far to the right along the horizon in a strange movable feast that always makes the day a little bit special for me.

Baby rabbit season has started and alas Spud proudly carried in his first trophy (I managed to rescue it) so spring really is here in Cornwall.

A window in the weather

We sat in the garden on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed
a window in the weather

After Fridays infamous "Valentines Gale" we enjoyed a window in the weather for the weekend giving Cornwall a welcome chance to take stock and start to clear up after the storms of late. By Sunday we woke up to china blue skies, with cool clear air and just maybe a hint of frost on the dew laden grass. Our world was still filled by the sound of the waves but less angry now and the nearest hint of the taste of sea salt in the air.

On my morning ride with Danni who was in more than a hurry to get going when he saw the warm sunshine waiting for him I passed photographers with back packs full of equipment and cars laden with canoes all heading for the beach, as I made my way in land to the country lanes around us.

By the afternoon it was still far too lovely to be indoors and so we set off into the garden to rake and clip in a first brave effort to reclaim this domain from winters wrath and then after a happy hour of "meuwselling" we sat with a pot of tea and some delicious home made cake from the local Farm shop, a short walk away across the fields just to enjoy the warmth of the afternoon.

Our quiet tea time corner tucked just outside of
the courtyard garden

I've spent my spare minutes sheltering from the weather decorating and renovating the furniture ready for 2014. This set has just had a coat of Farrow and Ball Down Pipe in dead flat oil and now I'm off to rub it back with )! steel wool before applying a muted creamy white top coat , rubbing back again and finally finishing with clear wax.

I'll leave you with Spud rabbit watching in the late afternoon this week - I think the distance between him and the Rabbit can be measured as his ambition don't you!! have a good week

Christine and Charles xx

Spud on Mousing HQ