Rock me Amaryllis

What a contrast to yesterday! We abandoned plans to go for a walk around Cherington pond, and I set myself on a never ending journey of doing the washing and some really exciting online courses in Safeguarding Children and Food Hygiene. Eventually I emerged and descended to what I now realise is my very unhygienic kitchen, and made some broccoli and anchovy soup. Lo, it was good!

Apart from that, I fiddled around with another jigsaw. This one is about the coast of the UK and seabirds. I read online that almost 12 000 puffins that next/burrow in the Atlantic may have been killed in the recent storms. People walking along UK beaches have reported seeing 'carpets of dead birds'. I am deeply saddened by this, having only come very close to puffins in the summer of 2006 (in my pre-digicam era) on the Treshnish Isles. I would like to return there with CleanSteve, but he does not like small boat trips.

We watched a documentary about Tony Robinson walking around Northumberland, following Saint Cuthbert's way and ending up on the Farne Islands. More puffins and Lindisfarne, both on TV and the jigsaw.

As you can see from the photo, the scarlet geranium is magnificent (though backlit) and the Amaryllis is going to be very phallic! It shot up while we weren't looking. It's an old bulb that CleanSteve saved from last year. He is a sort of plant rescue officer, and often brings home stray plants from Homebase that he found for 95p! So the plants are always plentiful, and the jasmines you may just see at the bottom of the frame have a delightful aroma.