Bees, butterflies and blooms

I watched the third episode of "Bees, butterflies and blooms" yesterday, a programme by Sarah Raven promoting her campaign to halt the decline of habitats for bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects in the city.

I then watched episode two, set in towns.

Excellent, very inspiring and informative.

I plan to get some single dahlias and some cosmos. As well as helping insects, they should give me some late summer colour as well.

There was a bumble bee in my garden yesterday. I hope he found the crocus, primroses and primulas.

Making the most of February sunshine

I washed some jumpers today and hung them to dry outside. While they were in the machine I cut away my neighbour's clematis that was covering my wisteria and pruned the autumn raspberries.

I then did the "Limehouse Loop", the longest bike journey I do on my own, about 14 miles. As I was leaving late morning there were more walkers/joggers/cyclists than if I had left earlier but, considering what a wonderful day it was, I would have expected more people. Every now and then a bush or tree covered with small white flowers.

Back home, after a quick lunch, I was out in the garden again with the stepladder cutting back as much of the clematis climbing over my shed as I could reach. I also did a bit of weeding.

I saw a bumble bee.

This warm February weather is not unusual. In my perpetual diary I noted two days before this time last year that it was so warm I went to the post office without wearing a coat.

Fox brooch from old jumper and buttons

On the Lea Navigation there is a painting of a fox on a building which is very simply done but wonderfully foxy. I have used the design to make a brooch.

I had an old orange jumper which got a moth hole. So I washed it in hot water to shrink it and matt the fibres. I cut out 2 x 3 shapes - the head, body and tail. I sewed each setof 2 shapes together, but didn't turn them inside out. I then sewed the shapes together and added buttons for the eyes and nose from my button stash. Then a brooch clip on the back.

It is 5 inches (13 cms)tall, which is bigger than I would have liked but I am not neat enough to attempt making it smaller. I am still very pleased with it though.

Cycling: not just safer roads but less broken glass

To encourage cycling we need not just safer roads but less broken glass so less punctures.

I got a puncture on the way home from kayaking today. That spot has had a lot of broken glass for a couple of weeks and I have been getting off and pushing the bike so less weight and hopefully less likely to get glass stuck in the tyre. Today I was planning to go another way to avoid this bit of cycle path but it was very windy and I wanted to be off the towpath as soon as possible. Didn't fancy being blown into the Navigation!

The glass had been cleared so I was cycling over the area, seeing the odd bit of glass, so hoped for the best (as I do on similar stretches the other side of the road on the way to kayaking). To the crossroads, across the junction, along a little way, then thump,thump thump from the back wheel.

My third bike as an adult and yet again it's the back wheel that gets the puncture. I am about to have supper then will grit my teeth and change the inner tube. Grrrh!

First of the early daffs in the garden in flower in the garden today.

Sourdough bread - like the bread, not the washing up

The March edition of Country Living has 2 sourdough recipes and I fancied using some of the sourdough starter from the Friendship Cake to make bread.

The Country Living recipe required mixing/kneading 5 times, so I did an online search to try and find a simpler method. All took ages (one including leaving the dough to rise overnight) but decided to try this one

http://www.shipton-mill.com/the-bakery/recipes/article-328/

I made this yesterday as I had the day off and could light the wood burning stove in the late afternoon to start getting the sitting room warm.

My was very wet and the first rising it seemed hardly to have grown at all. The second rising was better but the dough had not risen as much as ordinary bread dough. But in the oven it went, it cooked in the time stated in the recipe and tastes fine. I can taste it slightly sweet, but then I know it is using cake starter. Someone else not knowing this might not spot the sweetness.

Reading the notes at the bottom on the recipe (after cooking!) I see I should held back some of the water to stop the dough getting too wet. But one is supposed to add the water, except for some to disolve the salt in. So to hold some in reserve would have meant another jug - yet more washing up. My washing up as a result of breadmaking is:

Two large mixing bowls
one jug
one wooden spoon & 3 spatulas (I can't remember how I needed quite so many!)
one baking tray and one loaf tin

I don't see myself making sourdough again, but ordinary bread seems easy by comparison so I plan to be making that more often, especially for the next month when I should be having the woodburning stove on so can raise the dough in front of that.

Smells of a country home

The new March issue of Country Living magazine has a "Promotion" feature (ie an advert done to look like an article) on 'Refresh your home for spring'. Some nice pictures, but the advert is for something you plug into a socket and it gives out a fragrance. Fake fragrance doesn't seem at all country to me!

The (real) smells I associate with a country home (even a one in the city) are:

Freshly made bread
Home made jam and marmelade
Soup
Cakes made with ginger, cloves, mixed spice etc,
Indoor hyacinths
Sweet peas
Other scented cottage garden flowers
Wet dog!
Geranium leaves (From my memories of A level English, T S Elliot thought geraniums represented dryness and aridity, but as both my mother and my father's mother both loved geraniums to me they represent home)
Herbs, including Lavender bags

Recycling plastic bottles as bouyancy for kayaks

My kayak club (Leaside in Clapton) had a trip with the teenagers to the Dart recently - whitewater river kayaking. Bryan spent so much time emptying kayaks after capsizes he came back determined to have bouyancy bags in the back of the kayaks so greatly reducing the amount of water he has to lift and empty next time. He has asked for plastic bottles which will go in a heavy duty bag which will be stuffed into the bag of the kayaks.

I use 5 litre bottles of water (I know, not supposed to be green, but no fluoride, no excreted medicines such as the pill, and no lead from pipes). Luckily these have a little handle so I can tie that to the handle of the back of the dry bag I use as a ruck sack as I cycle with all my gear to the club. I hope I don't look too odd!

As I have mentioned kayaking anyway, I will write about today, even though I can't find a particular link between in and being green and country in the city! I was in a kayak this morning, but not on the water, instead using it as a sled to come down Wilsons Hill in Springfield Park. Only a trip of packed snow down the middle of the hill, so off that and the grass acted as a brake (except for the guys, 4 or 5 at a time in a double kiwi when the weight meant they kept going even when they hit the grass).

Surprise prize

A book called "More rag rugs & recycled textile products" came in the post. I couldn't remember ordering it, and thought, I am getting far too many books if I can't remember what I've ordered. Then I found a compliments slip inside - it was from Makeitandmendit - a website http://www.makeitandmendit.com/

I had entered a competition. I had to suggest something they could cover on their website and I suggested how to make patterns for 3D objects, being particularly intrested in making cloth masks.

There are some lovely rugs pictured in it and I am trying to find something I could have a go at.

Snow!

We've had 6 inches (15cms) of snow overnight. The reosemary in the front garden was flattened by it - branches lying along the ground, so I went out and kicked the branches up, dislodging the snow as I did so.

I haven't the heating on at the moment, so the snow on my roof could be looking as good as that on my neighboours' because of there's not much heat to escape. I did notice on the roofs over the road that a couple of those with loft conversions weren't looking as thickly covered, though the snow on the loft conversation immediately opposite me is nice and thick.

It is now 10.30 and the first children are playing in the street. I don't want to show my age, but I'll say it anyway - in my youth we couldn't get out into the snow fast enough and had to be forced to eat our breakfasts first. I don't think London gets that much more snow than West Cornwall so the children round here can't all be blase - it's been a year since the last lot!!!

Layered up on the bike

On my bottom half it's pants, winter cycling leggings, cycling pants (because the leggings don't pad my bottom enough), cycling trousers (because even if I wasn't wearing the horrible cycling pants, I am a slow cyclist and would look silly pottling along in cycling leggings). I think it will be my fleeced-lined trousers as top layer if this cold keeps up.

On my top half it is vest, jumper, cycling jacket and scarf.

I wear a fleece band that covers my ears which I got from the skiing section in a sports shop. My helmet fits over this. I could feel the cold wind through the gaps in my cycling helmet today, but usually that keeps my head warn enough.

Socks and fleece-lined boots on my feet.

It's snowing now (Saturday evening) so probably not my usual cycle ride tomorrow.

Frugal soup needs less cooking!

This evening I tried a frugal bread and soup recipe from the Metro newspaper.

I fried onions and garlic, then added a tin of tomatoes. I sprinkled with cinnamon (don't know why, it was in the recipe!).

I was then supposed to simmer for 20 mins then pour in half the stock, season if necessary, add the chunks of bread, pour in the rest of the stock and simmer until the soup gets a thick texture.

That uses an awful lot of gas, so hardly frugal! Instead I added a little water, pepper and dried thyme only, so cooking much reduced. It made a very satisfying soup, so I'd make my version of this soup again.

The soup "bowl" is a large cup I got at a charity shop.