I went out to the back garden this morning, to decide whether or not to hang the washing out before I went shopping (the answer was 'no', as it was raining!). I heard a lot of noise coming from the field behind us, and on seeing what was causing the noise, I quickly fetched the camera. I had missed the hay being cut, but two tractors, with attached machinery, were busy dealing with it
this one raked the hay into lines
then this one gathered up the hay and baled it
working together, soon the field was full of ....
neat hay bales
After lunch, I tackled a job I have been meaning to do for some time. The ceramic tiles on my bathroon floor are textured, and although I mop them regularly, the dirt collects in the ridges. So I got out the steam cleaner and the scrubbing brush, and in no time at all the tiles were gleaming again (no photo, much too boring!)
However, while I had the steam cleaner in the bathroom, I decided to tackle another job. When we bought this house, the bathroom was the only room which had been recently decorated, so we have yet to tackle it. However, the previous owner had painted blue squares on some of the tiles (very 'Changing Rooms'!) ........
...... but the paint was starting to peel off some of the squares, revealing patterned tiles underneath
The half-peeled tiles were annoying me - and when I went to take a photo of an unpeeled square, I discovered that the bottom edge had started to peel!
I was reluctant to use any kind of chemical paint stripper, but I wondered if I could steam the paint off. I quickly discovered that the answer was 'yes' - although while some squares came off in one piece, others came off in little bits. (and my hair started to curl in the steamy atmosphere!)
Now that we can see the colours in the tiles, we can choose a colour scheme for when we redecorate the bathroom later in the year - the walls are the same blue as the squares and as it is matt paint, it is quite dull.
When I was out for my walk this morning, I picked up this tiny conker, which has fallen off the tree just a little bit early. It is only the size of a large pea - by autumn, it would have been at least the size of a golf ball
I also picked some grasses and a spray of elder flowers, which I popped into a little bud vase, which I bought years ago in Jakarta
The last photo is from yesterday morning ....... as I was walking past some trees, I heard a great deal of noise. Looking up, I just had time to snap this squirrel before it raced off out of sight