Showing off.

We would just love to know what this plant is. We first saw it at our previous home. It just appeared, all by itself, and even my sister in law who is a great horticulturist was baffled. This one was seen by Mike on his morning walk where food is laid out for the pheasants, so it may be from a seed in with bird food. Any ideas?


The yellow flower is Corn Marigold. As farmers reduce the amount of pesticide they spray on the crops these beautiful wild flowers resurrect themselves. Wonderful.

Which in turn assists the insects to thrive.

Small Heath Butterfly.

Meadow Brown.

Common Blue. But how common is common?

Isnt it beautiful?

Last night we got the chance to 'Show off'! We had friends round for dinner. Mike took over the cooking some time back , and excelled himself. Prawns for starter from Lebanon. Lamb Tagine for the main course and Cranachan for pud. Cranachan is a Scottish Dessert made with cream, whisky, honey and raspberries.

Cranachan - serves 6.

1 pint double cream

3 tablespoons clear honey (heather honey is best)

3 tablespoons whisky

4 tablespoons of thick, plain yoghurt. (This is a substitute for Crowdie, a soft Scottish cheese)

1 oz fine oatmeal toasted

6 oz raspberries (actually use more!)

Put cream, honey and whisky in a bowl and whip together until it forms peaks. (I use food processor or electric hand whisk)

Spoon mixture into serving bowls and chill in fridge for 2 to 3 hours. Sprinkle oatmeal before serving and pile on raspberries. Enjoy.

We did eat inside after all, but later took our glasses outside to watch the sunset. We lit the wood burner in the garden tho!

I have spent the day today recovering after having far too much wine. Can you see the size of the glasses ? More like buckets. Yet more showing off.