Nearly Spring. Meanwhile, Bridlington.

It's been a bit fresh up this way over the last couple of months. Nothing really to report on the garden. I've had a nicely timed visit to Homebase a couple of weeks ago. It must have been just after they had a delivery of garden containers, which they decided to kick into place, or something. I managed to get a massive 48cm glazed pot (with a hairline crack in it, but I'm going to seal it, and if it breaks, I'll stick it back together and use a plastic pot inside it) reduced from £30 to £7.50. And a lovely terracotta strawberry pot with 6 planting cups (one of which has been half broken off, but I can always put that to the back) reduced from £15 to a fiver. Pleased with them. Pics when they are in the garden. I've got them indoors at the mo until I can seal them so they are reasonably frostproof. Not sure what I'll put in the large container yet. I might transfer my apple tree into it. Or I might get a different tree to go into it to add to my container tree collection. I need some more height in the garden. If nothing else to tempt the birds back in. I'm not sure what's happened out there but the sparrows and starlings are avoiding my bird feeder like the plague. I can see them in a garden with fat balls out a few doors down. And everywhere you walk round here there are sparrows in the hedges and starlings in the trees. Just not in our garden. The only birds we occassionally get in are a couple of wood pigeons.

Bridlington South Beach.



Anyway, due to it being too snowy/wet/windy to do anything in the garden, I'll give you a quick look at Bridlington in the snow. I love Bridlington. It's just like I remember seaside resorts being when I was a kid. With a touch of modern about it too. I'll do a proper 'Walking East Yorkshire' review of Brid in the spring/summer when I can get lots of spring/summery shots. But in the meantime here's a few pics of Brid in February. It actually wasn't too cold, even though there's still some lying snow on the beach. We sat outside at a cafe for a brew and didn't die of exposure. It was quite pleasant.



The promonade kids' paddling pool. It could be Spain.



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Down on the promenade on the South beach there's some lovely beach huts with dark wood fronts to them, and the kid's paddling pool with it's terracotta walls really add a Mediterranean feel to the area. I know that sounds a ridiculous thing to say about Bridlington, but honestly if you time it right the sun beats down on that Prom and the way it's been designed down there is really great. I love it. You can see the glass balcony that overhangs from the road on the paddling pool pic too. A lot of the design along the top is done like a ship with masts and white railings and decking. I will take proper pics of it all in my spring/summer blog post.



North Beach with it's shingle and pebbles looking round to Flamborough Head cliffs



If you like beaches you'll love Bridlington. The South Beach is just miles and miles of gently sloping golden sand. And the North Beach is miles and miles of sand with shingle and pebbles which I love to pick through to find interesting things. Usually sea glass. I'm collecting it up to make a mosaic from. In the centre of the two beaches is the harbour, which I will again get pictures of for the spring/summer update. You can get boat trips from there on a pirate ship, or one boat will take you up to Flamborough and Bempton Cliff bird colonies. There's a fun fair. Slots. Crazy Golf. Pitch and Putt. The Bridlington Spa a historic venue which has lots of summer shows on. A land train that runs from town to the end of the North Beach where Sewerby Hall and it's gardens and mini zoo are. What more could you want out of a seaside resort??!!

Gardener's Gift Ideas (pt. 2)



Sunbleached Ripple Bird Bath



If you are still struggling for gifts for gardening family members and friends, or if you just fancy something a bit different that you won't find in the shops, I've just done a blog post on my designing blog with an updated list of handmade items from Folksy.com. If you think handmade might be a bit naff for a Christmas present, have a look at these items and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised -

Gift Ideas for Gardeners

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Gardener Gift Ideas





My mosaic ornaments are suitable for garden use


I was on Gardener's Corner forum yesterday, and I found a thread discussing Folksy.com, which is the craft website where I sell my handmade bits and bobs. On my other blog, which I use for telling the story behind some of my items, I have been doing a series of themed Gift Idea Lists using items from Folksy,  and one of the themes I've done is for Gardeners. I ended up linking the list on the forum (after checking first because the list shows some of my own items). I think it might be a good idea to have a link here too.





One of my mosaic bird baths



This is a link to my other blog, and then there is a clickable link in the blog post that takes you to a gallery of items all picked from Folksy.com sellers which show you what you can get on the site for the garden, and there is some pretty nice stuff on there, at a range of prices too -

Handmade Gift Ideas for Gardeners

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Summer's Back. Then Autumn's Coming. Again.

How odd has this year been, weatherwise? Boiling in April, tailing off to a mediocre summer, and finishing off with a boiling week in September.

Autumn's coming.

Walking in East Yorkshire - Hull Marina and Waterfront

Not strictly a walk, but a stroll along Hull's marinas, along to The Deep aquarium, and a stop off for a brew.

Walking in East Yorkshire - Canal Head, Pocklington







Ducklings at Canal Head