June is almost at an end and honestly, if it wasn't for the assortment of photos gathered on my camera, I would be hard pressed to tell you anything much that has happened during these weeks of early summer. Every year is the same, in that this month generally feels quite hazy and sluggish to me (I think maybe it's due to the onslaught of the hayfever season). I know I've spent very little time at my desk/computer and a lot of time outdoors enjoying the weather which has been beautifully summerish for much of the time. I adore this time of year and my summer-loving soul is very happy soaking up these lengthy, light-filled days. The warmth/heat we've had has been fabulous, but it's the light that I love the most. Oh, and the green, green lushness of the countryside too. It's just lovely.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already, but back in January J had the opportunity to change his job which involved staying within the same company but moving to a new role in a new department. Most importantly (and after much deliberation) he took up an option of cutting back his working hours and now only works a three day week. Although the days sometimes change, he usually chooses to work Tues-Weds-Thurs which essentially gives us a four day weekend. Every. Single. Week. It's taken us a while to stop feeling ridiculously guilty on Mondays and Fridays when it feels so much like we are bunking off from real life! But it's been the BEsT thing for us as a couple and for the family too, and I can't tell you how much I am appreciating this change to our lives.
Monday mornings now feel amazing, and if the weather is good then we nearly always choose to head out of town and into the Yorkshire Dales. Sometimes this might be a gentle pootle along the riverside and sometimes we might decide to take a longer walk with a picnic lunch. The photos above are from one of our Monday walks around the picturesque village of Grassington a few weeks ago. It was warm and muggy with a threat of rain which never came, and I loved being out in the green of the countryside eating a picnic lunch beside the river.
The Little People have been enjoying the long light days too and when the weather has simply been too good to ignore, we've taken to heading up to the park for an hour or so after dinner. This suits me just fine as I get to sit on a blanket with a little bit of crochet happening whilst the rest of the fam engage in more energetic pursuits. I sky gaze and watch the swallows swoop low over the grass, throwing out the odd words of encouragement to my frisby-throwing offspring when it seems appropriate.
Our eating habits have altered with the hot weather and easy-to-make meals with lots of salad have been the thing. I'm not sure why I photographed this pizza at the time, but I think it had something to do with the fresh Summery look of it. This is me loading up a basic pizza - basic thin crust Margarita pizza's which we always have in the freezer, with some extra goodies piled on top. Sliced tomatoes, crumbled goats cheese and rocket, drizzled with a little olive oil and seasoned with herbs....
....which makes for a beautifully tasty, quick and easy meal. We have buttery corn on the cobs and a mixed salad to go with it, and I can tell you the Little People thoroughly approve.
J and I have walked a lot at Bolton Abbey during the past month, well during the past six months actually. We have a season ticket which gives us access to the whole of the estate for a year, and we've really made the most of it. Some days we just take a short stroll and have coffee at one the cafes, sometimes we walk for a good 4 or 5 miles all along the woodland footpaths which border both sides of the river.
The summer when I was eight years old, I woke up one morning not being able to open my eyes and that was the start of my hay fever. Growing up in Dorset I suffered quite badly every Summer, but I seem to do a bit better up here in Yorkshire. Despite my allergy, I am fascinated with summer grasses (in a similar way to my moss obsession) and love to look at them up close. There is something so delicate and fleeting about these pollen laden plants, a reminder of how short our British Summers are and how fleeting the good weather generally is. Sigh. Right now it's pouring with rain and I want the sun to come back!
Sun-dappled woodland paths are just a delight at this time of year - this day was really hot (well, it was around 26 degrees which is considered sweltering in Yorkshire, borderline heatstroke you know). The woodland pathways at Bolton Abbey carry you quite high above the river level, but at times they do drop down so that you are right beside the water where the play of light and shadow is magical.
A couple days before the Summer Solstice last week, we decided to bring a picnic dinner to Bolton Abbey. As it was a school night this was seen as quite a treat and the Little People were appropriately excited for an impromptu jaunt out and an al fresco meal. I made up a big batch of chicken and bulgar wheat salad with a red pesto dressing (my own weird recipe, but surprisingly good), which we ate out of bowls with some crusty french bread. We had cherries and strawberries after, elderflower cordial to drink. It was delicious I can tell you, and such a lovely treat to eat outside whilst twiddling my bare toes in the cool grass. My crochet project is travelling everywhere with me at the moment, these Summer Harmony squares are super addictive and I cannot get enough of the joyful colours.
We stayed at Bolton Abbey until 8pm or so, then drove back over the top of the moors which were looking glorious in the early evening light.
Sheep roam freely up on the moors as there are no fences or anything to keep them in, so they wander around as they please. They are obviously used to people and don't seem at all bothered by us parking up and talking to them.
Ahh, Little B, he enjoyed this evening so so much, delighting in the fact that he was still prancing about on top of the moors after 8pm on a SchOOl NighT. His excitement matched my own!
I should probably have entitled this post "Summer is Happening at Bolton Abbey" as I realise now that so many of these images were taken there. We are getting some good use out of that season ticket aren't we just?! This was last week (Wednesday) when my lovely friend Christine was visiting for the day. Usually we spend our get-together hours at Coopers Cafe catching up over coffee and cake but last week we took our continuous chatter into the wilds and nattered our way along the riverside instead. We walked along to the Strid which was as spectacular as ever even though the water levels are ridiculously low here in Yorkshire at the moment.
I've never noticed this rock carving before at the Strid so maybe it's new? New LOVE.... it did make me smile :)
We walked for a good 5 miles or so (that's a lot of footsteps and a lot of chatter) so of course we were in dire need of refreshment by the time we returned to the cafe. I can report that the generous slab of homemade coffee cake hit the spot rather nicely, and definitely replenished the expended energy caused by walking and talking for two solid hours.
Ahhhh, sweet elderflowers, the very essence of a June Summer!
We went to gather in the floral booty on the day of Summer Solstice last week, which secretly delighted me no end. I didn't voice this out loud to the family (yes, it was a family affair this year, even J came to witness me getting all giddy over the free hedgerow gatherings), but I have this fanciful idea that somehow picking the flowers on the longest day of the year makes them extra special.
The flowers were almost, (almost but not quite) on their way out and many were already at the not-nice brown stage. Even so, we managed to gather fifty frothy white heads from a good number of trees which was enough to make 3 litres of extra special solstice-infused elderflower cordial this year. My, my, it really does taste like Summer in a glass.
In other summery tasting news, we are celebrating our very first allotment crop!!!!!!!!!!!! Lots of excited exclamation marks for this event I can tell you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously, this row of greenery really has delighted us, and we are stupidly proud of our humble first veggie growing efforts. I was a bit confused for a while as I thought we were growing sugar snap peas here and have been checking on progress daily, waiting for the pods to swell and look more like pea pods. However, yesterday I was informed by friends-in-the-know that these are more likely to be mange tout which will stay flat and so I should be picking the things right now and not waiting for any swelling to take place. Righty-o then, I am beyond excited to go forth later today with Little B and gather in the harvest!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Allotment progress in general has been slow and sporadic, and I don't have much of anything else to show you just yet. We have a weird shaped yellow courgette which has grown round like a golf ball instead of long like a sausage. We have some baby cucumbers which are still very teeny tiny and we have some green leafy things which are still recovering from a savage slug attack. But we do have baby plum tomatoes, and I am chatting to them daily to encourage growth and hopeful progress towards colour change. I've got a whole set of progress photos of our little half plot which I will spin into an allotment story at some point, it's nothing much really, but we are getting there slowly.
I was chatting to a friend the other day about the whole business of being engaged in The School Run, and how this routine dominates our lives for so many years. For my family with an age gap between second and third child, my years of doing the primary school run will be lengthy. I'm talking fifteen years in total......currently with four more left to go.
But I am in no way complaining - I have come to LOVE this daily routine, especially as we have such a great walk to and from school, and I know I shall miss it when this part of my mothering comes to an end.
At this time of year, our school run is just beautiful, and I love to see so many boats coming and going along the canal. Only three more weeks after this one and we will break for our summer holiday, I really can't wait actually. That break from routine is so liberating when it happens and I am looking forward to it hugely.
Before I pop off and make myself a mug of tea, I wanted to thank you for all your lovely chatty comments about my Summer Harmony blanket in progress - ThAnK YoU! I'm so excited by the whole thing and it makes me beyond happy that you are also loving the idea of it too. It's coming on a treat, and I've almost finished writing up Part 2 to share with you, hopefully tomorrow if I can manage.
Thank you so much for reading my witterings, and for taking time to write back. I appreciate your words more than I can say.
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Lovely to catch up with your canal. You used to photograph it a lot on your way to school. You will miss the walk in a few years time and if you aren't careful, so will the waistline! Coffee and cake without the walk is a recipe for disaster I have found!
I do wonder what happened to Connievan? Has she moved on or is life just too busy?
We have friends who moved to Bridport to escape hayfever with the sea breezes. You did it the other way round!
Posted by: Caz | June 28, 2017 at 02:54 PM
It's lovely to read this and see all your beautiful summery photos as we're on the way to -4 here in my part of Australia 😊 Love all your happy colours and I think the Summer Harmony blanket will be my next project 💜🌺🍄
Posted by: Karen | June 28, 2017 at 02:40 PM
We went to Bolton Abbey on Sunday during our few days in a farmhouse above Skipton after our trip to Woolfest. We walked up the rocky path over the river and back along the other side.It was a lovely day.
Posted by: Denise | June 28, 2017 at 02:40 PM
I always enjoy your posts and a tiny peek into your life. My ancestors were from England and I'm drawn to the lovely greenery and even the sheep meandering in the meadows. Someday perhaps I will be able to visit your lovely country. Beautiful first garden! You obviously also have a green thumb. God's Blessings on your day♡
Posted by: ann monarch | June 28, 2017 at 02:39 PM
Really enjoyed your latest blog, Lucy and the gorgeous photos...
Have just started on your Granny Stripe Blanket...
Thank you also for your beautiful projects....
Nora xx
Posted by: NORA | June 28, 2017 at 02:35 PM
I feel like I was in Yorkshire for a few minutes there. Thank you for sharing all your lovely photos, they remind me of happy holidays in your area when my children were young. Fiona x
Posted by: Fiona | June 28, 2017 at 02:33 PM
Thank you for sharing your wanderings--both pictures and stories. It makes me so nostalgic for 'home' although I have never lived in England.
Posted by: Juliana | June 28, 2017 at 02:28 PM
In May on a ridiculously short 24 hour trip to Yorkshire (all the way from South Australia) I passed a sign to Bolton Abbey and i had to explore.It was such a delight to see in person one of the places that you have been talking about and I managed some photographs of bluebells. so it's lovely to read this month's blog with all the details of the place that I now can visualise. I really think the Yorkshire tourism board should be giving you royalties
Posted by: clare | June 28, 2017 at 02:07 PM
what a lovely time you are having with your husband. So lucky to get those few child free days a week. I love this time of year as well and picking produce that I have grown. I am lucky as I have a greenhouse so grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergine. All did well last year.
Posted by: Carol | June 28, 2017 at 02:06 PM
What a lovely post! Thank you for the beautiful start to my morning. Your village must be one of the more picturesque places in the world. I love the photos of the canal, boats, and sometimes the castle in the background. Now I wish we had visited Bolton Abbey while we were there! Next time.
Posted by: Jill | June 28, 2017 at 02:01 PM
Sounds like a lovely summer! Ours has been wet more than not, but after last years drought we're not complaining. How fab to have a 4 day weekend, EvErY wEeK!! Ah yes, the milestones with children, we look forward to the next while mourning the last, my baby will be a senior in college this fall. Where did the time go?! Congrats on the gardening! Those first tomatoes will be heavenly!xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Posted by: Angela-Southern USA | June 28, 2017 at 01:57 PM
Thank you for sharing your photos of lovely Yorkshire. I lived there for a year and I do miss it. Jean
Posted by: Jean the Creative Pixie | June 28, 2017 at 01:34 PM