Neil,

Thank you so much for all the pictures. I also loved the Dutch Arbor chair. The lilies are stunning. Is the pink clematis the one name after Princess Diana?

Dear Tami, the Dutch Arbor chair was really lovely! I can just imagine sitting in that on a warm day with a ice cold drink, and letting the world go by without a worry! How pleasant would that be?
The pink Clematis with the curled out petals is indeed 'Princess Diana'; many people and myself thought it was , and reminded us of our beloved Princes, for it was as beautiful, and as stunningly gorgeous as she was.
Having met Princess Diana at Greenwich I have always been an admirer of her and her work for charity. The day she was killed our entire Nation was in shock, the whole place was silent!
On the day of her funeral every shop and pub shut down, you could hear a pin drop it was so silent, with no traffic or aircraft anywhere. Tami I do not think there was one dry eye in our Country.
Some lovely plants came out named after her, and I got a Ceanothus 'Princess Diana', which is also beautiful. I look after this plant most carefully, as it brings back a lot of memories for me.
I am also told Princess Diana was well liked in America?
I hope you are well and it is not too hot for you?

Neil.

Neil, I agree with the notion of a cold drink on a warm day under the Dutch Arbor chair or a warm cup of morning coffee on a cool Fall morning. The pink Clematis is lovely as was Princess Diana. She was very loved here as well. I think every little girl dreams of being a princess and she was a great role model. I don't believe there were many dry eyes here when news reached America of her death. Such a sad day for all. The heat here in south Georgia is most unbearable. I can only go out early mornings to do any gardening. I am eagerly awaiting Fall.

Dear Tami, or my homemade scones! With strawberry jam, loads of clotted cream, and tea, once the temperature had dropped a bit! I am lucky that I have traveled around a lot, and been in some hot places, but there are different sorts of heat as you know. Britain is only 866 miles long and is surrounded by four oceans/seas, so no matter where you are there is always a waft of a cool breeze. Although we are warmed by the Gulf stream we are in the northern hemisphere, which can get a bit cold in the Autumn/fall as you call it! I was working at Slimbridge which is near Wales surveying 1000 acres of salt marsh for the plants and how it affects the wildfowl population. I lived 8 miles form the base in a tiny caravan on my own, and only saw someone when my food and fuel supply for my little generator came once a week (sometimes). Two American students were sent to Slimbridge to study something, and they brought them to meet me. When they arrived they were shocked to see me in a T-shirt and shorts as to me it was a warm day. They had clothes on that you would go to the north pole in. One of the young ladies asked me if I was cold in this polar zone, so I checked the temperature and it was 69F, which was warm enough for me when you are working. They were from the south of America, but I never did find out where, as I could not understand what they were saying!
It being a maritime climate here does rain, and that is why most of the time everything is green, but I am afraid as a gardener you cannot have it both ways! Did you know for instance that tea grows in Cornwall which is in the very south west tip of England, and it is a member of the Camellia family! Kew gardens grow coffee. That we have a thriving wine industry; as the Romans brought vines with them in 43AD. Most things grow well here and even things that everyone seems to love we have farms for, like chili. The list is endless Tami, from our world renowned Asparagus to Scottish raspberries.
Also we do not have mosquitoes here and we only have one very rare venomous snake, that does not kill adults. We do have a lot of wildlife, and birds especially as they use our island as a haven on there migrations.
I so hope that the heat does not get to you, I enjoy your posts?

Neil.

Neil, I would love to try your homemade scones with strawberry jam! They sound delightful!
I was raised in the state of West Virginia which is known for very cold and snowy winters but moved south to the state of Georgia where it is either very hot or very cold with no snow. At my age 69F sounds wonderful. I wear shorts and tank tops all year round if I am working. I tell my daughter that I can't wait to get old enough to feel cold again.
No mosquitoes? Mosquitoes and gnats drive us crazy here. I have also noticed a lot more yellow flies this year. They hurt when they bite and then will hurt and itch for a week or more. I bought an Off brand bug repellant fan that clips on your waist band and it works well. We have venomous snakes and have to be careful when working outside but they will slither off if they don't feel cornered.
We have all kinds of birds, rabbits, squirrels, deer, foxes, opossums and of course stray cats and dogs that come by to visit. Our neighbor has horses and chickens and they wander into our yard from time to time. My dog started barking around 3 a.m. one morning and I looked out the window to see two of their horses on our carport. I guess they wanted to check out the new neighbors.
I enjoy our posts and learning about your country. My sister was born in England while my Dad was stationed there in the Air Force. My parents had three girls and we were all born in different places because the military moved him around so much.

Dear Tami, we have an immense amount of wildlife here and especially birds. I love to walk just down the road from me and see the migratory Kingfishers catching small fish in our clean streams. It is going to be hotter today as we are having another Royal Wedding, which gives me an excuse to go down the pub for a pint and watch it! Red, white and blue flying everywhere again!
We do have midges in the west of Scotland that bite, however they do not bite me at all, mainly because I come from Scottish descent. They attack my wife savagely, and she hates them. All the pubs, Hotels and stores sell this midge repellant cream, but i am most cynical about it; as when I put some on my hand I was bitten. Personally I believe it is a Scottish way of making money!
Horses are ridden in the streets here and even in central London. The Police use Horses and God forbid you if you hit one of them in a car! For they basically lock you up and throw the keys away!
Or worse still take you to the Tower of London!
Deer are in abundance here, and they are culled as we have too many of them. However it is done humanely and only the old or injured are taken out!
In Scotland the Forestry Commission put up Deer proof fencing to stop there precious trees getting damaged. The result was 175,000 Deer starved to death, what a waste!
We do have lots of Otters here, and they are fun to watch, although do not mess with them. Sea Otters are so funny they have me in fits of laughter, just the way they can turn upside in the sea and go to sleep!
My favourite is to watch the Peregrine falcons come down at lighting speed, what a treat.
Badgers with cubs is a wonderful sight, but you again have to be careful with those, as any mother protects its young.
You should get over her and wear your shorts, i could show you around!

Neil.

Neil,

I didn't know that someone's lineage would keep them from being bitten by insects.
I would enjoy watching the wildlife you have also. I am very fond of our frogs here. They come sit on our porch in the evenings and they are comical to watch. The lizards are also comical when they try to let you know you are in their territory. They shake there heads from side to side and blow out the red sac under their chins.
Oh please do not run over the Police horses! I would hate to hear you are in the Tower of London!
In West Virginia they hired people to decrease the deer population and then they where overrun with coyotes that decimated a lot of the rest. If they had known that there was going to be a surge in the coyote population they could have saved a lot of money. Sometimes I think if they would leave well enough alone nature will balance everything out eventually.
I would love to see the otters. They must be a sight to see.

Dear Tami, we do not have coyotes here! The only thing we do have is the red fox and they are not stupid enough to go near a deer. I would never hurt a Horse, but many drivers who are in a mad rush have driven in to them, and the Courts are not very nice to them to say the least!
In the UK we have, Red deer, Roe deer, Fallow deer, Pere David's deer and Muntjac deer. Only three of them are native, the last two being escapees that have spread into the wild.
As deer have no predators here, apart from man. Man is the most destructive force in the world, and in the UK deer are the second most destructive force. Then the European Union stepped in and banned us from selling venison unless it was meat inspected. That would mean taking a Veterinary surgeon along with you out into and up the mountains of Scotland. This would not be cheap as some days you do not see a deer at all, and other days thousands of the things. They are not just in Scotland as most of our Royal Parks have them as well. Even in north London there is a big herd of them in a park, and we have hundreds of Roe deer near us all the time. They are everywhere and a pest! Muntjac deer were brought in and escaped into the wild and as they are small and very hard to see, have colonized whole areas. Venison is 9% fat compared to the 38% fat of beef, and is totally organic as deer are a wild animal, so why waste it?
The sea otters are so funny that you can hardly take pictures of them for laughing at there antics. Always happy, always fun, and a wonderful sight to see. unless you are a fish of course!
As for lineage and our ability not to get bitten, that is because I come form Scottish descent, whereas my wife is a true sassanach.
We are having Roast lamb today with all the trimmings, so I will be busy.

Neil.

Neil, I could not imagine having to take a Veterinary surgeon with you hunting. That would be very expensive. I hope you enjoyed the Roast lamb and all the trimmings. Your wife must be a wonderful cook. I hope you are doing well.

Dear Tami, my wife never does any of the cooking at all for I do it! That is why I have all my grandmas and my recipes on cubits, pus a recipe Database. From homemade bread for the entire family, to lately cooking for my parents as they are unwell. Having three hungry nieces that love to come over for dinner at my mothers and here, also increase my time slaving over a hot stove, as a lot lately my mother cannot manage to cook for them so I do it! Thank goodness they come over only once a week for something to eat! I am always cooking something ranging from; traditional British, Indian, Nepalese, Italian, Chinese, and yes I even make my own burgers!
I made a huge lasagne last night for my wife to take to work, as she works from 5 pm till midnight, and nothing is open in the City at that time.
Sausage, mash, and onion gravy tonight, a British classic.
I hope you are well? It has cooled down here as it is raining, which is great for us.

Neil.

I am going to go look up your recipes. That is awesome that you are such a great cook. Your wife is lucky. I'm sorry to hear your parents are unwell. I will keep them in my prayers. I know I will have to face the death of my parents one day but I cannot imagine them not being here. Even though we live far apart just knowing they are just a phone call away is comforting.

Dear Tami, I am afraid it comes to all of us! On Sunday we lost my Uncle Franks wife, but that is the way things go. Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die, as the saying goes.
I go by this, as we lost a lot of people in the military.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
we will remember them.

That Tami sums it up for me, apart from this to my fallen comrades where I was.

When you go home today, tell them of us and say
for your tomorrows, we gave our today.


Neil

Very well said.

Dear Tami, on my cubits site there is also quite a few food Articles! Some may interest you, and of course some may not.
Be good?

Neil.