Down by the river

Well I would have been happy with this as a summer's day! 18', sunshine all day, no wind , birds singing, wild flowers blooming - what more could anyone want? Well I decided that both dogs would really welcome a swim so we enjoyed a wonderful walk beside the river and what a change from when I was here last. Not all the trees have greened up but there were enough to make for a very pleasant canopy through which the sun could send long, dark shadows. Cara, as you can see from this shot, is in and out of the water whenever she spots a section which is not running too fast although as she is a very strong swimmer she can cope with currents quite well. Bruce contented himself with wading in as far as his tummy and guddling for large stones which he would then carry triumphantly to the river bank.

Once home I busied myself in the garden. For a few years now I have been happily training a Bramley Apple tree as a cordon and the last couple of years it has sported a reasonable amount of blossom but very little fruit. A friend has now told me that Bramleys need another tree to pollinate the flowers!! So, I googled it and discovered that Bramley apple trees are in fact sterile and need two pollinator trees! So I had visited the garden centre yesterday and returned with a cunning miniature apple tree - it has been grafted with two varieties so I have hopefully solved my problem, except that i now have to decide where to put it so the bees will find it. This afternoon, among other things, I was trying it out in a couple of spots as when it is planted in its enormous pot I will not be able to shift it.