Sunday 21 May 2023

Up in the air

 














Vertiginous shots from the top of St Mary's Church at Hawkesbury. It doesn't look that high from the ground, but it felt a bit scary up there to be honest. And it was a very tight squeeze going up the stairs and out of the tiny door at the top. Lovely views though, so all worth it. I didn't go too close to the edge, the parapet wasn't very high and I'm definitely one for keeping below parapets whenever possible.

No Mow May is in full swing in the garden. There are all sorts of flowers coming up, which is nice. There is a tiny scrap of grass near here and I have counted at least 12 different wildflowers in it. It's around one metre by two metres and just stuck at the edge of the pavement. But so much variety in there, it's wonderful, I have been fascinated by it.

The wisteria is in full swing in the garden and I have spent far too long looking out of the window at it. The dog keeps standing right under/in the flowers wagging his tail because of the loveliness of it all so that the petals fall off on him, then he brings them all into the house on his fur and they fall off all over the carpet. And the littlest boy dropped a cactus in his bed this morning. So all of the usual clearing up to be done around the homestead.

I took the middle boy to an author book signing thing last week. The author has a book on astropolitics out and the event sounded really interesting. In fact it was a big disappointment. The interviewer was a young chap from a local paper who just asked a load of questions about the author's childhood heroes and how he got into journalism. Astropolitics was hardly mentioned. There must have been almost a hundred people there and I bet they largely felt the same. Of course we all clapped politely at the end. It's like the green bench all over again. Which incidentally has not faded in any meaningful way and is still really shiny and really bright. 

I have been hedge trimming today, but the battery will only hold enough charge to trim for two minutes at a time. I am taking the hint and giving up. I did make sure there were no nesting birds before starting.

I discovered The Glucose Goddess the other day. She is all about keeping glucose levels steady, which is something I struggle with sometimes. I remember years ago going to the doctor about it and she had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. There seems to be a lot more knowledge and understanding about it all now.

The Glucose Goddess has lots of simple recommendations for avoiding glucose spikes, such as drinking apple cider vinegar before meals and adding more fibre to a dish and eating things at different times than you might otherwise - such as fruit after a meal and not on its own. It's all been very enlightening. 

Right, I am off to do a final two minutes of hedge trimming now, then it will be weeding the strawberries and then maybe going to the shop and buying some strawberries that someone else has grown and weeded and watered. I hope all is well at your end and that you have sunshine and some berries. xx

8 comments:

  1. I am not sure I would enjoy apple cider vinegar before meals or ever really, unless in salad dressing (I am a bit of a wimp). I do enjoy fruit after a meal, so a good start. I love a wild patch with lots of biodiversity. So fascinating. Are the daisies in your photos from this patch? Love a wee daisy. Our wildflower meadow in the front of our house is amazing just now. So many species, some new I think (an not identified as not in flower yet). Every year, I am surprised by what comes up and where it came from. Happy hedge trimming! Have a lovely week x

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    1. The daisies are in the garden, I have hundreds of them but they don't seem much use for bees which is a shame. Well done on the front garden wildflower meadow. CJ xx

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  2. Lovely views and well worth the squeeze to the top. I think your hedge trimmer is definitely telling you not to bother. Beautiful wisteria it’s doing so well and I love the white version. I would have been irritated at the author event too. I’ll admit to having to look up astropolotics. ! Something new in my day. Have a good week. B x

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  3. Someone would have to hold my hand very tightly to get me to the top; I'm not very good with heights. Darling Bertie - I can just imagine him standing under your Wisteria wagging away. I did notice the green bench in the last photo but its floral surround really distracts you from the Kermitness! :O) I had to Google Astropolitics too! xx

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  4. I do use apple cider vinegar with the mother - that sound wrong! - but I don't fancy drinking it.I'm not a heights person. Ladders are a challenge. I have had to abseil a few times - school trips and not wanting to look like a wimp in frony of my class - I had jelly legs when I reached ground level.

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  5. I've never liked heights, and nowadays would struggle with getting up/down stairs like these. Good views though. Shame about the author book signing, it sounds like it could have been far more interesting than it was.
    It's all good here, have had some sunshine and the berries are on the way. xx

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  6. Corinna Mazzotta22 May 2023 at 23:02

    Cinnamon is fantastic for stabilising blood sugar levels naturally & much nicer than drinking apple cider vinegar! 🤣
    I too had absolutely no idea what astropolitics was, so I've learnt something new today. 😊

    I'm so glad that it's berry season. 🍓My local farm shop bought a huge glasshouse in lockdown so we now have fresh, organic strawberries from early May. Such a treat. We too have our own patch, but it will be July before they're ready.

    Hope you got the trimming finished. 😊

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  7. Thank you for advice about glucose levels. I’m noticing the effects of them much more these days and will consult the goddess further. I often climb the stairs to the top of the turret at Sissinghurst but being short do feel reasonably confident that the walls will prevent me from inadvertently hurling myself off. I love a bird’s eye view.

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