Tribute to Michael Jackson.

I just want to pay my own tribute to Michael Jackson. I could not believe when i heard he was dead at only 50 years of age...He was a troubled man, who was still a child in many ways..eccentric yes,... bizarre in many ways,yes....but a truly brilliant Singer and Dancer...he had a unique talent, but was also humble, gentle and kind.
He was recognised throughout the entire World..his music had appeal to all generations and age groups..He suffered malicious gossip the nature of which must have hurt him deeply,... because of his unwise, but always genuine care and compassion for children....He was proven Innocent in a court of Law of any sort of child abuse.... that was what his fans knew the outcome would be if there was any justice.

I wonder how the ones that brought about that allegation will feel about todays news ?? ..(guilty hopefully)..i still cant believe he as gone, so many memories of many decades enjoying his music, my daughter adores him as well...his music will live on....he will always be the King of Pop....i feel so much for the little ones he left behind...Goodbye Michael....your fans everywhere will mourn you for a long, long time.

My Mystery plants ARE pink poppies.

My Mystery plants have finally started to flower...and they are pink Poppies, both single & double ones..i am so pleased..but i have no idea where they all came from, it must have been the wind blowing the seeds from a neighbours garden, or maybe the cats bringing them in on their paws..but i am so glad they are not weeds...i have lots coming through all over the garden..lovely.

My New Family Member.

Here is my newest arrival, his name is 'Moses'..he is 8 weeks old...i love him to bits.
He sleeps on my head at night, he starts under my chin and works his way up to the top of my head, biting my ear on the way up !!..he keeps looking down at me until i close my eyes & then he goes to sleep as well. He has a huge appetite for such a small creature, he loves his kitten food, but chopped up chicken is his favourite..also he is good and always uses his litter tray....The other cats are not too impressed and just ignore him, except Jacey ( the old lady)..she keeps washing him and she even lets him into her box bed..none of the others are allowed to do that...i think they will all be friends eventually ..when they realize he is here to stay....I do put him in his cat box at night..once he as fallen asleep on my head i am able to lift him up and puthim in his box without him even waking up..he is so laid back nothing seems to bother him..but i suppose that's because he is so young...Bailey used to wake up at the slightest thing, you could never pick him up without waking him..but they are all different ..i think Moses just wears himself out running around and exhausts himself.

My Red Poppies are coming out.

My large Red Poppies are starting to come out at last..we had torrential rain yesterday and coupled with the heat & sunshine it seems to have got them moving...i thought all the heavy rain overnight would destroy them..but they were still standing when i got up this morning.

They are so dramatic..but sadly they only last a few weeks and then they are gone....until next year.

I have shared these with so many people over the years..and they all have them coming up now...thats a nice feeling.

Seb as moved home.

Sebastian (Seb) as moved into his new hutch...he loves it..hes got more room, as its nearly 6 foot in length (it doesn't look that big in the picture does it )? and he can also come out and run around the garden....when i am there to watch him...as soon as i put him in it he was running around exploring..then he ate some food, so i know he is settled ok...its good for him to get some fresh air...i will bring him in again in Winter when the weather gets cold.

Simon as been SO busy.

This is Simon my oldest Son..he as been so busy building Seb the rabbit a hutch..it is going to be a super dooper 2 storey rabbit house...it is so big he will love it when its finished...4 rooms for sleeping and eating in..on two levels ( he is even doing him a ramp to get upstairs)...To buy one like this in this country would cost a lot of money and not be half as good as the one Sim is building..i didn't realize how much work goes into building them..no wonder they are so expensive...cant wait for him to go in it...he needs some fresh air..he as been inside too long....i'll bring him in again when the weather turns cold in winter.

My Four Cats

Here are pics of my 4 cats..Lady is the here with Bailey the youngest one...they are always cuddling up to each other and are really good friends..they go everywhere together.

The other picture is the 2 older ones Smokey who is nearly 20 years old, and the largest and Jacey who is 17....they are all good friends, and get on well together..but the 2 older ones sleep a lot now and only go out if it is very warm (except for calls of nature)..but they are all lovely..i am having another kitten in a couple of weeks...am all black one..i would have LOVED a dog, but am not sure if the 2 younger cats would be happy with it..the old pair would be fine as they lived happily with Rosie (my Rottweiller) until she died 2 years ago..they all used to sleep together in front of the fire and she used to lick them both....i love my animals.

Lady.

Here is a picture of my cat 'Lady'..that i told Sharon about..she is pure white like those squirrels, that she has in her garden....she as blue eyes, so is not a true albino as theyu have red... The vet said pure white cats with blue eyes usually meant they were either blind in at least one eye or deaf, as it IS a genetic defect..but happily she was neither and is a very healthy 5 year old now...however she is an 'hermaphrodite'..she as no womb (from birth) but has got both male & female characteristics..and hormones, but i called her Lady as i wanted her to be known as a girl..that is what she looks like to me...she is a lovely girl and gets on well with all the other cats..just part of the family.

PLEASE let it be one of these not a weed.

I do so hope this is my mystery flower...look closely at the leaves..could this be what is taking over my garden ??....i do hope so as its so pretty...but i suppose there are all sorts of weird and wonderful WEEDS out there too ...i will have to wait and see, ... i will feel a bit of a fool if its not a Poppy as i have been showing them to everyone who as visited me this week, i think i am becoming a gardening bore !!!.....ill just put it down to old age and stupidity if they all turn out to be weeds LOL.

My Mystery plant..is it a Poppy ?

It seems i have got a mystery plant also, well at least its one i haven't planted ..i do think (and hope) that it is one of the pink poppies...They have so many varieties and all the leaves are different just like the flowers... IF its one of those i will be so glad, because i have lots of them popping up all over the garden..i know some folk say all poppies are weeds..but i love them all...i did plant a pink one about 6 years ago..it came up once but didn't re-seed or grow again..so where these have come from i really dont know..but i think the seeds travel a long way on the wind and a neighbour may have planted them in their garden.. knowing my luck it probably is a weed.....If anyone as any ideas please let me know......i will keep watching them with interest.

Foxgloves at last.

Its always lovely for me to see my foxgloves, these are my first ones in flower, i think they get more sun where they are, but the salmon coloured ones haven't shown at all...hope i haven't lost them...when we were kids we used to put the flowers on the ends of our fingers, and pretend we were monsters (well i was VERY young)..but then as i got older i realized i was playing dangerously as it is from the flower that we get the drug Digitalis (used for heart problems)..but i'm still here to tell the tale.

Birds LOVE red hot Pokers !!!

The only trouble with Red hot Pokers is that the birds love them as well...they eat right up the stem (well they do in my garden..even though i have got cats)..they swoop down and steal all the tops a bit at a time, until there is just a stalk left....a bit like us with sweetcorn i think !!..i wonder if that is another reason folk throw them out ??..must get myself a little scarecrow..i have only got the orange tops on most of mine already....i love birds..but they have got such a cheek !!

Could this be your mystery plant Kerry ?

I was looking at how scruffy my red hotpokers were getting again..they seem to need to be split every couple of years as they give out new shoots..and as i dont want them everywhere i usually throw them out or pass them on to folk..i was just wondering if this could possibly be your mystery plant Kerry ???..as folk do throw them out when they start to spread their new shoots.

I still keep the new ones as Red Hot Pokers are lovely when they are at there best as you can see in the one picture...but your plant does look like one to me....anyway it will be good to see what it is next year.

Lazy, Sunny afternoon.

We have had a few glorious sunny days, but today is the first time i have been able to just SIT and relax,...this is my idea of bliss at the moment..ice cold Cider (or beer) and a good book...I am not sure but i think Dee as read the 'Twilight' series of books ??..i am now on the 3rd one, Eclipse & i cant put it down..if anyone had told me i would enjoy a set of books on this subject (vampires) I would never have believed them..but she is just such a good writer, i read the first two in a few days..and will no doubt do the same with this and then breaking Dawn (the 4th in the series)..there are certainly unlike the normal books on that subject..which i wouldn't give a 2nd glance to..but these are so absorbing... Edward one of the main characters is the inately good, but Carlise & Esme are too..so its understandable..and Bella is so vulnerable you so want things to turn out good for her....am i losing my marbles ??....did i just say all that ??..about a book that i think my grandchildren would love (well they saw the film and loved that..and the books are even better, much better.)..anyway its a wonderful way to relax and spend this much needed sunny interval...sometimes a break from reality can do us the world of good can't it. ??

a single and a double yellow field poppy

They are like great big buttercups aren't they..very pretty, but not as dramatic as the red ones (in my opinion)

A Poppy Plate

Isn't this plate gorgeous ??..a typical corn /poppy field plate..i love it, i must try & buy myself one the same or similar for my living room wall.....and another for the cakes & biscuits...LOL..i do really love poppies, the colour is so rich, but you can get orange and even yellow ones too in the U.K...can you get them in the U.S. as well ?..i used to have some yellow ones growing in my garden..but they just weren't there one spring about 2 years ago & have not come up since

My Hand Juicer

Here is my hand juicer Dee...i have never had an electric one...these are so solid and i quite enjoy doing my fruit by hand..it gives just as good performance..and doesn't take up half the room in my kitchen....and theres much less to clean up afterwards..now i sound so lazy don't I ?.....(but its really only good for soft fruits), hard fruits and veggies need an electric one, I've got a food processor that will do lots of things, but its a real pain as these electric gadgets seem to take ages to clean all the little components...and they cost about 5 times the price as well..and i'm all for saving money....its so easy in the morning to just come down and cut the fruit in half & then throw the orange or grapefruit etc into the base part..pull down the handle and there you have it..fresh fruit juice...Lovely, and you can even drink it from the base container if you are really lazy !!!

Poppies in cornfields

Since commenting on Kerry's 'moving on' blog..i have been sorting out some pics of poppies in corn fields ( they can be found in any crop fields, but usually corn) ..these are not in Tamworth..but are pretty much the same..i will take my camera out..when the corn is ready & the poppies are in full bloom...there is a lovely field that is usually full of them as you walk along the outside edge of Hopwas wood..one of my favourite places in the area...but i think poppies in cornfields sort of go together..so its probably nothing new to you...i didn't realise how many paintings have been done on the subject..and even plates with the same theme...i must try and get one of those ( as long as it doesn't cost too much) ..anyway even if everyone as got them..they are still SO pretty, and i think worth a spot on the blog.

Bank Holiday this weekend

Its Bank Holiday this weekend..so i am going down to Vanessa's..must take my camera with me..will put it my bag now or knowing me i will forget it...like last time..hope to get some pics on here when i get back.

After all that rain..SUN !!!!!

After all the rain yesterday and last night..it was so GOOD to wake up to sunshine today...i feel so much better when the sun is shining...but the rain really did the garden good...i took this picture from the bedroom window this morning, when i realized how all the rain & then the early morning sun had helped the garden..still lots of spaces to fill with colour..but its getting there, there seems so much blue at the moment though, Aquilegias, vinca's, cornflowers and forget me knots all... blue..but the other colours will come later...smokey was out there enjoying the early sun, with his two bald patches..bless him.