Sailing away with a daffodil gnome

There's been more than a breath of spring about the place over the last few days.  Firstly, a daffodil gnome arrived, something I won in Katie's recent giveaway.

She didn't have far to travel to get here, just a few miles from Cirencester, where she was created by the talented Svenna of Stitch and Purl.  We all think she's lovely, and she looks just right down amongst the (many) daisies in what I laughingly call the lawn.  A bit later she went for a sail.

The boat is courtesy of the middle boy, who had a Beavers sleepover last night.  He had a happy day of games and walks and sailing boats in the stream.  He was thrilled to win "Joint Best Sailor".  Today he was more than a little tired though.  The biggest boy made sure not to miss an opportunity to tip him over the edge.

After lunch we went for a walk up to Painswick Beacon.  Some of the shorter legs were tired from a lot of early running, but it was nice to get out and feel the sun on our skin.

I found lots of oak apples, something I hadn't seen for ages.  It was a new thing to show the boys, and explain how they are caused by gall wasps.  We could see the holes where the wasps had left the apple.

Towards the end of the walk we found a tree to climb.  I boosted the littlest boy up, then the other two climbed up by standing on my back.  I've put my hoody in the wash.

At the edge of the picturesque beacon is this quarry.  It's completely out of place, but I suppose all of that beautiful Cotswold stone has to come from somewhere.  It was deserted on a Sunday, and had the feel of a setting for an Alex Rider book (a bit like a James Bond for children if you're not familiar with it).  The stones look like pebbles from here, but they were five to six feet tall.

The last picture I took was of this tangle of nature, above an old stone wall.  It fascinated me to see how all of the different plants were mingling and struggling for survival and dominance.  I'm not sure what the main tree is, beech maybe, and then in front of it there's yew, as well as ivies and a rhodedendron.  Hanging down are lots of bare stems - brambles probably.  It must be a jungle in high summer.  Nature, full throttle.

Here in the UK it was Mother's Day today.  Each of the little people made me a card, and the middle boy made me a coconut mouse while he was on his Beaver's sleepover.

The littlest boy was especially sweet, saying "Happy Mother's Day" to me throughout the day and asking me tonight when we were doing some colouring together before bed whether I'd had a good day.  Well yes, I do believe I have.

Before I go, I want to say a huge thank you for all of your lovely comments on my last post.  You have all been so kind and encouraging, I've been quite overwhelmed.  Thank you.