Outdoor Living

As you can see, the sun continues to shine and the temperatures continue to make us Yorkshire dwellers feel like we are in high summer already. It's been absolutely glorious and seriously H☼T here today, I've loved it sooooooooooo much. After all the cold, wet misery of last week (when we had our central heating on, and our fire lit in the evenings), this week has been truly incredible, if a bit extreme.

But best of all, today I finally got to ride on a bus! YIppppppEEeEEE!!! I've been waiting to take a bus ride to Ilkely for weeks and weeks so that I could visit the gorgeous yarn shop there for essential rippling supplies. But it wasn't all about the wool (although boy, I am thrilled to have a fresh hillock of yarn balls in the Attic again), it was as much about the journey itself. You see, we often pass by the bus station in our town, and Little B is always fascinated by the rows of buses waiting for departure. I had promised him that very soon we would go on a bus ride, and I really wanted to keep my promise.

The bus ride was ace! The bus was a double decker affair, and we got to sit up on the top deck right at the very front. It was half an hour of continuous excited chatter from my Little Companion, oh my heart was fit to burst I tell you.

After a little gander around the shops, we walked down to the Riverside Park for a spot of play. The playground here is a good'n, even better on a week day when it isn't too crowded. We spent a lot of time on a wooden tractor pretending it was a bus. When it got too hot (and I really couldn't stand being the Ticket Inspector any more), I coaxed my little Bus Driver away from his beloved vehicle and we went in search of a picnic spot. We chose the above shady place under a cherry tree and settled down to rest and eat lunch.

We took our crocs off and wiggled our toes in the grass. The feeling of cool, damp grass on hot tired feet was utterly delicious.

My lunch was also delicious. I adore M&S salads, and this is one of my favourites. It's called "Lentil, Giant Couscous and Goats Cheese Salad with a Lemon and Basil Dressing". A real scrummy taste sensation which I would love to try and recreate at home....would need to locate Giant Couscous, I don't think I've ever come across this for sale in any shops? Anyone seen it/heard of it before? I love it. Mmmmmm.

After lunch, we toddled off to the little refreshment cabin in the park to buy ice cream. Oh boy, Little B's cup of joy did runneth over today. A bus ride and the playground and a picnic and an ice cream all in one day? Terrific! The latter was a messy affair, but all the better for it I'd say.

We took the bus home at 2pm and arrived back with 30mins to recuperate before heading back out into the heat again for the school run. The sun was still blazing down in the late afternoon, and the Little People sweetly requested that we go up to the park to eat our evening meal. It seemed like a good idea, especially as I had planned a salad for dinner which could easily be transported in a cool bag and eaten with fingers. Whilst in Ilkley I paid a visit to the famous Lishmans Butcher and purchased some of their medal winning sausages. I baked them in the oven when I got home (they were incredible), cooked up some buttery baby new potatoes and hard boiled some eggs. Then I packed up cherry tomatoes and cucumber, and a punnet of sweet English strawberries. Juice for the LP and a cold bottle of beer for J and I. It was a wonderfully simple but delicious meal.

The park really did look glorious in the late afternoon/early evening light.

Our picnic spot was right at the top of the hill at the place where the cut grass meets the undergrowth and the overhanging trees cast a dappled shade.

The undergrowth was looking so beautiful, a mix of dandelions, daisies, ferns, tall grasses and froths of lacy cow parsley.

I do have a real soft spot for cow parsley, it's incredibly pretty I think. I would love to scoop armfuls of it up to bring it home, but sadly it smells a bit yucky. Too yucky to tolerate in the confines of home.

Lots of dandelion clocks about too, which I love. Those seedheads are such a marvel of nature.

The trees in our neighbourhood are properly filled out now and I love that intense green of freshly unfurled leaf.

The colours, the light and the lush abundance of it all reminded me why May is my favourite month.

Everything is so beautiful and happy-feel-good when the sun shines and we can spend time enjoying the pleasures of Outdoor Living.

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Comments

[idiosyncratic eye]

Beautiful. :)

[Rebecca]

Oh so glad you have sun and warmth. You need that to dry out that wet soil so you can plant. Doesn't it feel so good. What a fun day with little B

[Taylor]

What fun! An outing to find yarn and a glorious day outside!!!! Love your pictures.

[Lauren]

So glad that the warm weather has arrived in your bit of the world! xx

[Fruitful Fusion]

Oh it sounds wonderful! I love daisy chains and having meals at the park. It's just getting too hot here in Saudi for us to do that! I have all sorts of couscous, from normal to wholegrain, teeny tiny grained to big pearly ones ... all from my in laws in Algeria! They use this big, huge type of couscous-looking thing that they call berkoukes. I don't know if that's the same as the M&S giant couscous though. I'd love to try this salad. I love lentils!

[Ana]

Oh Lucy, where you live is so beautiful!!!
Here, where I live, in Brazil, is not like this. In my city don't exist sidewalk, pavement, in the streets are so many cars that they is over us. It's dangerous whith my litle boy.
nevertheless I try to walk with my baby.
But my disposal in the moment is only crochet. Only crochet makes me happy. I'm fighting against the depression, but everyday I see my baby sick, it's too much to me, it's a lot of heft to my mind, to my head. Sorry Lucy for to be so boring, but I'm. Thanks for your post, I feel like if be there, as if I could be happy, as if I could to play with my baby more times. Thanks Lucy, your blog can make me go away, thanks!

[elsa]

All the photos are wonderful but it's the little chubby baby feet that got me!

[Penny L]

Lovely,lovely post. I too,love cow parsley. I compromise by putting it in a jug on my porch, or if we are eating outside on a jug in the middle of the table. Love Penny Lxx

[Lisa]

If anyone can't find giant couscous in Waitrose/Sainsburys etc you can get it online from this deli in London (Melbury and Appleton) >>> http://www.melburyandappleton.co.uk/giant-couscous-jumbo-couscous-moghrabieh-fregola---1kg-86-p.asp

[Dinahsoar]

Amazon has the giant couscous, often called Israeli Couscous: http://www.amazon.com/Barry-Farm-Israeli-Couscous-lb/dp/B000F9ZDKI.

That salad looks wonderful and I've never heard of giant couscous so had to google it.

Two picnics in one day--how awesome is that??...little B's chubby feet are so sweet and spending the day with him has to be even sweeter. They grow up so fast...blink and he'll be in school...and you'll be on your own during the day!

Another lovely lovely day on the books. Once again, thanks for sharing it with us.

[Bonnie]

Oh Lucy, what a truly marvelous post! On this cold, wet, rainy day here at the start of our long winter...I envy you..just slightly! (although not mad enough at winter yet! Enjoying the time it brings for cuddles, hot chocolate and movies!

I LOVE that cow parsley- I remember seeing it everywhere I went in England when I was there in summer! It was gorgeous! They use it a lot in weddings for Bridal bouquet!

Oh we get couscous here, it is quite easily available. I haven't heard of "giant" couscous though, but I am sure regular couscous would work just as well!
That salad looks yum!

Thanks for sharing your beautiful day and photos with us...so enjoyed it! :)

[penelope10]

What a beautiful Day!!

[Carole]

I told you that you would get a trip out this week, Lucy. What a lovely day you had too. Did you buy anything nice at the yarn shop,bet you did lol!
Love Carole from Rossendale xxxx

[Andra]

Don't you have mosquitoes? Is that just a North European thing (I live in Estonia)? Limits our shady-park-outings severely as they are very fierce this spring. Also, amazing to see so many nice parks everywhere you go in your neighbourhood. Seems like a really nice place to live :-)

[Adaliza]

You've got me in the mood for fresh air now! And - hear this here first - we're venturing out in our new campervan for the very first time TODAY! Wish us luck, Lucy! Not a new c/v obviously, but new for us. No kids, just the 2 of us with the 2 collies - will let you know how it goes!

[Sandi Lee]

What a lovely day, so nice to read whilst I sit here with heater on. Today was only 10 deg and we had 50 odd mil of rain, so you can imagine, it was very wet,very cold and very grey, such a contrast to your beautiful sunny day. Pity the Cow Parsly smells less then desirable, it would look lovely in a vase.
xx Sandi

[maggie]

A delightful day all around. Such lovely photos, as always and such a lovely report of your beautiful day. xxx

[DeeDee]

Wonderful pictures!!
You should use something like this ice cream drip catcher haha :)

kisses from Greece

[Marie]

Take yourself off to Sainsbury's, they have giant couscous for sale :-) There's nothing like eating al fresco when the weather is sunny, let's hope it will last a few days more!

[liora]

Hi,
A great day.
About the giant couscous , as far as I know , it is not a real
couscous, it is more like pasta at the shape of couscous..In my country they are call "ptitim" . They do taste yamy.

[Linda J]

What a lovely day! Thank you for sharing it with us, Lucy. I love the sound of that salad! My big kids (19 and 17) and I are going to be holidaying in Yorkshire in the summer - looks like Ilkley might be a place to visit! :-)

[Lynne Gill]

Beautiful post, Lucy, I was with you every step of the way. I do sometimes feel, reading your lovely family excursions, a little regretfu that we didn't do so much, all those years ago when my boys were small; I guess it just wasn't done as much. But they seem to be making up for it with their own chidren, and we have grandchildren we can spoil now.

Hurrah for a spot of really lovely weather - we are starved of it, aren't we?
Ooh yes, Giant Couscous, as folks have said, we get ours from Sainsburys and it's just a great salad 'filler' or a change from rice or pasta.

[grannytaughtmetocrochet]

Your yarn shop looks lovely. Very posh selection of wools. I love having a nosey at other peoples sewing shops. It's on my list to visit! My new challenge is to buy some yarn when I visit new places. We should set up a group of people who do this and then do a write up on the shop. Like a yarn shop reviewer. what do you reakon?

[Sandra]

A lovely post of outdoor family life!
By the way, do you have a follower's list? I have never seen it! Also, do you ever have time to visit other people's blogs? I never see you there either! I guess your life is full enough without spending too much time in blogland!
Have a beautiful weekend and may the sun continue to shine!
Sandra

[Rachell]

England really does look great when the sun shines! It's a lovely country we live in.