Unhinged

Let me start by asking who has been doing a rain dance?  I know the gardens needed watering, but really, it's getting ridiculous now.  Can we please have some semblance of summer and stop with the crazy weather?

Monday marked the date of Lotte's second jab.  As usual, she was the perfect travelling companion, making absolutely no noise and not attempting the splits when I placed her in the pet carrier.  Sadly, that is where the straightforwardness ends.  My attempt to resolve the chip number debacle failed miserably.  The vet scanned her, confirmed that the number was indeed the one on my records, but that she is registered under a totally different name (yet another one!)  Frustratingly, when I attempted to change the official microchip records online, none of the names I have match Lotte's number, so I'm unable to register us as her keepers.  Her previous owner is just as mystified, so for now, the ball is back in her court.  

In other news, her climbing skills know no bounds.  This week, she has added the following skills to her repertoire:-

1.  Running up the trunk of an oak tree and backflipping out of the tree onto the ground.

2.  Climbing the wisteria to roof level and sitting, like a big furry owl, keeping watch for birds, as per this rather hastily taken mobile shot - taken from the landing window.  

She is almost certainly unhinged.  Last night she woke me up by jumping on my pillow and chomping through the alarm clock aerial.

Wednesday marked a day of appointments; routine eye test at the local opticians and a visit to the chiropractor (turns out they know each other).  Like Lotte, my back is also unhinged - literally.  It's been playing up a lot lately and due to the pandemic, it's been 14 months since my last visit.  As a result, I now have one leg shorter than the other, which is kind of sexy.  Apparently this is a common and thankfully fixable complaint ("Just mechanics!" I was assured), but it can cause referred pain in addition to the usual back pain that causes me to walk like a scarecrow for a couple of minutes after sitting for too long.  I will have to re-mortgage at this rate or move to Cornwall, where chiropractic treatment is available on the NHS.

After a tip off from Vix, I ordered a home trial selection of glasses from Glasses Direct, convinced that my prescription had changed.  For once it hasn't, so, despite having fun posing in a selection of posh bins, I won't be needing them just yet...although I did sit on my other glasses once and Gareth had to glue the arm back on...so if the fix doesn't last, I know where to go.

The moody weather has been great for photography.  I cut short my evening walk through the woods on Tuesday night after a couple of very loud claps of thunder.  However, here are the resulting images.   An Instagram follower tipped me off that the first photo had been featured by Shefali on the late BBC Midlands weather bulletin.  

There has been some debate online recently about the bluebells in the wood with some people mistaking the prevalent Spanish Bluebells for English Bluebells.  We have an area of our garden, which at this time of year, is totally dominated by Bluebells and White Bells.  However, they are Spanish.  But, an eagle eyed local pointed out that there appear to be hybrids springing up now and she's right.  Sometimes, it's quite tricky to identify with any certainty which are which.   

There's also a patch of wild garlic growing in the wood, which I'm very happy about.  Last year I made some wild garlic pesto and with that familiar aroma on the storm front breeze a few nights ago, I think it's time to harvest some for this year's pasta dishes.

When the rain finally stopped, Gareth started on the patio walls, finishing the first coat on the longest wall last night.

I put our Hollyhock seedlings out in the late afternoon sun and celebrated the opening of the first of the last batch of tulips.

The woodland ferns are popping up in all the right places this year and have started to unfurl.

 

The Laurel blossom is exploding like fireworks...

...and I just can't get enough Forget-Me-Nots...

...so much so that I created this experimental image, which in retrospect, looks a little like the rear of the female form.

After a tip off from a friend, I've also submitted a photo to another Exhibition, to be held at The Hive in Shrewsbury later in the year.  Fingers crossed.

I'm expecting some much anticipated news this weekend on the interesting building I mentioned in my last post, after a Twitter user put me in touch with the owner.  Twitter isn't all about trolls - there are some great people on there.  

Have a wonderful weekend!