Out of the in the field the sheep are happily eating the grass and Poddy comes for a cuddle

The enormous lime tree next to the courtyard is in flower and……..

Out in the field the walnut trees are laden with fruits

Dad passed away at home with his usual style and lack of fuss. Today we mark his yahrzeit and remember the wonderful son, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather he was and the great memories we cherish.

He left school during the war when not even 14 and worked as an office boy. He only returned to study when he met mum. First matriculation, then working for accountants and studying accountancy at night. Mum and dad both worked, financially supporting dad’s parents as well as studying and also fitting in friends and sport

Undeterred he played cricket snd tennis

He took us, my brother and me, swimming early Sunday mornings before dropping us at Hebrew classes. His great delight was to watch Michael play football and then to watch both his grandsons when they joined football teams. He shouted encouragement from the touch lines and applauded loudly if they played well

One Friday night we jokingly suggested that dad take us all to Disneyland, Florida during our childrens’ half term holiday. The next week is was booked and two weeks later we were in a crazy Disney land having the time of our lives

Family was everything and dad looked after his parents, mum, all of us to the best of his ability. He could have worked harder and longer hours but instead he showed us how to work and play in equal measure and how to be generous and charitable and dutiful and never to owe anyone a penny.

“Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?”

Two lines from Brooke’s sentimental poem The Old Vicarage, Grantchester that I recited to my fellow walkers.

Nigel curled up on my lap as I sit under the pergola

All the birds and animals have been let out of their houses, fed and watered and new straw put into the old duck house. Last night, when baby duck and his companion were abed, I changed the water in their bath. They came out for a swim into a clean pool and loved it.

The trees are all heavy with ripening fruit and soon we will be picking and eating and giving away apples and pears and nectarines and plums – late summer and autumn bounty

When I find her up there she often looks a bit “sheepish”!

I called the roofer yesterday as a damp patch had appeared on the ceiling just above our bed. I thought it was a slipped tile on one of the roof gables (there are several gables here hence the name) snd he did a quick reccy and arranged to return on Thursday with his extra long ladder. At half past midnight i went upstairs to go to bed. The sight that met me was not pleasant. There were several wasps buzzing around and a wasp crawling out of the hole in the damp patch in the ceiling. Yikes! I called J and he grabbed his bee suit and a screwdriver and a can of insecticide that I keep downstairs. He battled the wasps, removed the honey comb in which they lay their eggs and pulled out hundreds of grubs

We decided to sleep in a different room until we could call our reliable pest control guru, Jamie, who arrived this morning and donned his bee suit

He cleared out the remaining few wasps snd spread a noxious powder into the cavity. Then he taped up the hole and, with a bit of luck, that’s the end of that particular wasp nest.

On the way out he and Jeremy talked about the different lifestyles of wasps and bees and Jamie (who had cleared 20 wasp nests yesterday) told J that he is often called to collect bee swarms hanging from peoples front doors. He puts them into boxes and then rehomes them with clients who are beekeepers. J is going on his list of potential bee recipients! Wasps keep away!