NEST BUILDING AT THE COTTAGE.

I have spent the last week enthralled watching the swallows building a nest on top of the waste pipe under the eves of the cottage. the birds have been swooping over the lake scooping up mud to build the nest and have almost completed it now.It seems the finishing touches are being applied now,so should be ready for egg laying any day now.I doubt if I will get any photo's of the eggs as the nest is so high and too close to the roof to get the camera over it.
These photo's are not good quality as these birds are too quick to keep changing the camera settings,so I just set everything to auto and hoped for the best.

First survey the  neighbours.

Having built your nest,look for improvements to be made.

Adjust as necessary.

Add furnishings.

Luxury soft furnishings.

More lambs wool.to lay the eggs on??

Lets wait and see if the other half approves  of my efforts !!

I will be watching,hope to get pictures of the fledglings when they arrive.

FRIENDS REUNITED IS GREAT!!

Well I found Janet.I went to friends reunited and found several people to choose from,trawled through their profiles till I found one that sounded close to what I was looking for and bingo ! it was her.
We have exchanged some emails and she was as thrilled as I was ,so thanks to the person who suggested this site to me.
I still have to find the other friend,but that is proving a little more difficult ,but I will go on trying,spurred on by my previous success.

OLD FRIENDS,WHERE ARE THEY ?

Do you have friends from the past that made an impact on your life,that you have lost contact with.?
I had two friend in my early teens ,Janet Collins and Launa Young.Both these girls had a huge impact on my life and I have never forgotten them.
Launa,I met when I was working in Cheltenham,Glos in the UK,she lived in Warden Hill,Hatherly.
I am giving as much info as I can remember ,as she went to America and may still be there,she might even read this.Her mother was a nurse and it was she who inspired me to take up nursing,it was Launa who encouraged me to marry John,she took a photo of me in the Imperial Gardens,in Cheltenham and told me to send it to John,she wrote on the back ,Carrie , the name she always called me.I have a more personal message for her,if she ever gets in touch.
Janet and her mother were very good to me and I stayed with them at weekends,her mother was a widow ,and they lived in a flat in Cheltenham,then moved to Huckelcote,Glos.Janet married and moved to Taunton ??Down somewhere in the south of England,anyway.I do not know her married name,or where she is now,I also have a message for her if I find her.
I lost contact when I married,I went abroad and never came back,except for holidays,but every one had moved including my parents,who moved to Wales,so I never got back to Cheltenham for decades.
I made lots of friends as an army wife,but because we were moved around the world,often with little or no notice,it was difficult to keep in touch ,so these people were transient friends,still remembered and talked about,but we don't have anything in common any more.
On the remote chance that someone reading this can shed some light on my two friends would you email me please.

CORK ON A COLD BUT SUNNY DAY

I wanted to post a video showing the vibrant Cork City,this video was the best one I could find on youtube.The proper
videos were copy rights so could not down load them.
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I went to Cork with my daughter and granddaughter on Saturday,a big event for me as I do not go very often,too much traffic and parking is a nightmare,for me any way.Vicky drove and found parking no problem at all.It was a beautiful day but the breeze was cold and I wore a warm coat,the photo below shows people in their summer clothes,I can't believe they were
not perished,must be just us oldies that feel the cold.!!

The second photo was taken down one of the many side streets.You can find all the interesting little shops in these allys
but this sign made me smile,it also is a worrying sign of the times,cannabis today,heroin tomorrow.??

After spending several hours here ,all I bought was a leather belt and a load of curry spices from the market.
Am I the only person who never sees anything I want to buy when I have a wallet full of money to spend.?
You can bet anything you like that if I had no money,I would have seen loads of things that I wanted .!!!!
Still,it was a lovely day out and we had a nice lunch at an Italian restaurant,alfresco,as the sun was shinning and they had glass wind shields around the tables.


My post editor is playing up again,sorry about the text layout,hate it when it does this.

Mystery flower.

At last we are getting some colour and spring flowers in the garden.The old favorites,bluebell etc,but we have a plant that has come up several years running and I do not Know what it is,I can not find it in any flower books we have.I am hoping some one will recognise  it,I would love to know what it is.

Each single stem has one round head of these pink flowers,they have no scent.
The stems are thick,pink/red in colour and covered in silky hairs.they grow to about two feet high and when the flowers are gone ,the leaves grow.The leaves are huge and resemble rhubarb leaves,in the autumn they turn red and orange,the plant by this time is over three fee high and very dense,if not thinned out it takes over the flower bed.

I am looking forward to your help identifying this monster plant.

We have plenty of bluebells but this year I have found these pink bells as well.

The pear tree on the cottage is coming into blossom and the rockery is coming into life.

OAP,OFFICIAL

Life as I know it has changed for ever,I am now officially classed as old !!
Firstly I had to renew my driving license ,which in Ireland is every 10yrs, only to be told that I could not have a 10yr license because I would be 70,before the time expired,then I would only get a 3yr license,supported by a medical.OMG,what has happened,I do not look old,I do not act or think old.
Secondly,I had to go to the hospital a few days ago for an appointment with the osteoarthritis consultant.
When I eventually found the clinic which was in a prefabricated building in the car park,I was appalled at the sign over the door.----DAY CENTRE FOR THE ELDERLY and AGE RELATED ILLNESSES.
I do not use a zimmer frame or a walking stick or any other aid,thank God,but boy did that sign make me feel old.!!!
The consultant was a geriatric consultant,very kind,most helpful and very fastidious in examining me,no complaints about that,but he then went on about all the aids available to me if I needed them--nnooooo.!!!
I do take comfort in the knowledge that the elderly are well cared for and catered for here,but I do not need this,for a long time ,I hope,but I have to attend this clinic on a weekly basis for physiotherapy which I am not looking forward to.




Well this oldie is logging off now to make a cup of tea,be back soon,hope you all enjoy MayDay and enjoy the holiday.