My Birthday, In the Garden and a Walk.

Happy Birthday to Me

A bit of a strange birthday this year.  Normally I am in New Zealand to celebrate my birthday so have missed celebrating my birthday with my husband.  This year ironically he couldn't come down to the island as is unwell, so I have ended up on my own!  

Normally I am quite happy on my own, but I have felt a little 'flat't today, but that could be in part to the dreary weather today.  It is cold and grey outside.

Fortunately I received some surprise parcels in the post from my friends during the week with strict instructions not to open until today.

This one has come from my friend Dawn in Scotland.

Love the card, it is so me.

Some fun gifts, although as I only just turned 36 (again!) this year, she seems to have my birthday decade quite wrong!  ha ha!

Some wonderful gifts...I have already started digging over a place in the garden for the butterfly mat to go.

This parcel arrived from my friend Sharlyn.

A Rabid Rabbit Fuggler!

Ha ha, he looks like he could be trouble...

Another parcel...

This time from my friend Gemma in Devon.

Again she knows me so well, a beautiful little card with Wren's on it, and a cloth kit set to make an outfit for a baby Sasha doll which will be perfect for the Sasha baby I found in the Charity Shop just before Christmas.

Some of my birthday cards:

From my husband.

My husband bought the wheelbarrow for my birthday.

My Mother in Law and her Partner

My neighbours on one side

My other neighbours on the other side.

How lovely of both my neighbours to give me cards for my birthday.

My Son and Daughter in Law

My son and daughter in law bought me one of the wooden compost bins for my birthday

So the morning and early afternoon was relatively quiet.  The day has been pretty grey, but I managed to get out into the garden in the afternoon.  

The daffodils are looking lovely, and it is so nice to see them as I look out the kitchen window.

I have some tulips starting to flower.

The bank has lots of colour, it is so pretty.

I found the two packs of 'missing' seeds in the bottom of my back pack so planted some of those out in seed trays today.

I was delighted to see that several of the seed trays have seedlings starting to sprout...difficult to see in this photo!

Some of the pots also have seedlings.

Very exciting to see this new growth.

I worked a bit more on the top garden by the compost bins.  I laid some slabs to walk on and dug over the ground a bit more.

I plant to plant a couple of rows of potatoes in here.

I dug this patch over.

I'm planning on planting some sunflowers along this fence.

I moved some rocks from the top of the garden down to the pond.  Hoping that these will serve as a 'warning' point for Percy once he is here.

Next I decided to dig over the bit of ground between the flat grass area in front of my garden shed and the bank.

Made a start...

Getting there...

I transplanted the reedy grasses to the corner.

All dug over.  Along here I am planning on planting sweet peas along the back and my Butterfly mat along the front and if room will plants some more butterfly attracting seeds.

The Rosemary is in flower.

Pretty blossom is starting to form on quite a few trees...

Once I'd finished in the garden, I took myself off for a walk down to the bay.

The tide was out and it was the first time I have been able to see so much of the harbour wall that is now known as Spindler's Folly.

By golly it was cold down there!

I sat for a while watching the tide come in and out.

Soon time to walk back home along the coastal path.  I took one last shot of the bay.

In reply to your comment Graham about it being a very low stone wall, this is the other side, much higher!  

Brrr...it was  a chilly walk.

The wind has now picked up and it is windier than when we had the storms as I've just noticed this evening that it has blown my bird feeder over.  I will have to right it in the morning.