Sunday, August 20, 2017

20/08/2017 Another frantic day bottling!!!

Maximum temperature 24C, minimum 11C.   9 km/h SE wind with 17 km/h gusts.  Dry.
Baby common lizard just outside out front door, but then it dived under the door into the kitchen...

it was really very tiny as you can see by the egg cup I put nearby.

Bee, but not sure which one.

Butternuts in the garden are doing well.

Climbing rose....

this white rose is also on the same plant!

Grasshopper with one hopping leg but it seemed to be doing pretty well regardless.

Red Admiral. (Vanessa atalanta)

Now I thought this was a White Admiral but....

when it opened its wings there is orange along the lower wing so I am not really sure anymore!!!
Thanks Richard for identifying it as a Map (Araschnia levana).

Rose hips.

Viburnum.

Another 8, plus a small jar of bottled beans done today...

and they just keep appearing!!!!

18 comments:

  1. You did well to capture the lizard. Those things are fast! I'm envious of your green thumb! We're tried to grow our own food on our apartment balcony but we can't even get herbs to flourish.

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    1. I have always had a fairly good veggie garden even when we lived in South Africa. Here has been more difficult as we have a lot of clay, but the soil has improved over the years with all the work we have done in it. Certain herbs I find grow well but others just do not!!! Have a good week Diane

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  2. You're a working woman, that's for sure. And, I love your photos, the roses are beautiful.

    I don't want to talk about grasshoppers; they have destroyed so many of my flowers. aarrgghh

    xoxo

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    1. I do not see many grasshoppers here, snail are my big problem. Now of course if I had a bit more French blood I would collect them and eat them! I actually do not mind snails but preparing them is another story!!
      Hope you have a happy week. Diane

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  3. The beans that keep on giving ☺ lovely series of images Diane, love the climbing roses.. the little lizards are so cute.

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    1. Grace we seem to be low on lizards this year though there seem to be quite a few youngsters around so I guess them have been in hiding! Lucky that we really like the bottled curry beans we are going to have plenty for winter!!! Hope you are feeling better Diane

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  4. Beautiful photos, Diane, and your bottling is going so well!

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    1. Thanks Linda, it just all takes so long, chopping, cooking, bottling and more than half the day has gone. Today I am off to have my back seen to so that pretty much write off to day as well. Just not enough hours in the day and even less it seems at night!!! Hope all is going to plan for you Diane

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  5. Here's a thought - you have a bad back (and we can all sympathize with that) so is it good for your ailing spine to stand around so much chopping and slicing and dicing and canning and sealing? Seems to me that this would be about the worst thing. Fortunately, I don't have a bad back but like most people of my vintage, I have the odd day when it gives me a little grief. For me the best thing is walking. I can usually walk it off but standing around just aggravates it. Please consider these words of wisdom from Dr. David !!

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    1. David I have had a bad back all my life pretty much, I broke it when I was 16 and now it is well out of place lower down, probably due to horse riding! Who told you that I stand to do all this work? I agree I stand a lot because I actually find it comfier than sitting, but I have a bar stool in the kitchen if I need it. Nigel chops as well and he always sits because of his feet, he uses the lower counter with an ordinary stool. I cannot stand in queues that kills me and I have been known to sit on the ground when it is a slow queue!! In the kitchen I am always moving around even when chopping which is why I prefer to stand rather than sit there.
      My back treatment today was purely a routine three month 'back service' if I keep up treatment I am generally OK, next one if nothing unforeseen happens will be in November.
      Thanks for caring, but I became an aerobics instructor in my 30's to help my back and other people with back problems, I know my back fairly well and what exercises I can and cannot do.
      Take care and have a good week. Diane

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  6. Hooray for those done!

    Just how many more, do you plan on doing?????????? :-))))))

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    1. Not sure, there are still masses of beans!!!!! Take care Diane

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  7. So many interesting critters and beautiful flowers. I have not pickled any beans before. Have a wonderful day!

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    1. They are not pickled Nancy but curried and are very yummy. Diane

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  8. Hi Diane. What a splendid garden you have! That baby lizard is gorgeous.

    The butterfly is a Map (Araschnia levana). It is superficially very similar to the White Admiral. They have two broods a year. Those from the first brood (April to June) look TOTALLY different to those from the second brood (August & September)- you'd never guess that they were the same species in a month of Sundays. If you get a spell with reasonable internet connection, look them up.

    Take good care, and have a great week - - - Richard

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    1. Thanks Richard, much appreciated will up date the post. I did look at Map on the internet yesterday but the photo I found did not convince me!!! Maybe the picture I saw was from the first brood!

      That lizard is really cute, it appears to have found a spot under the front door without getting squashed, it has been around for 3 days now. It may soon get too big and have to move.

      Hope you also have a good week and the weather is perfect. Cheers Diane

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  9. I love the baby lizard. There are similar ones on the brick walls in my garden, I have to keep an eye on the dogs who love to catch and eat them.

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  10. We seemed to have had few lizards around this year but there are babies about so I guess I just missed the adults!!! Diane

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