Cathedral Flowers

Will and I took Stirling and Friday (the dog) to the Cathedral the other weekend.  It was a misty morning but we hadn't been up to the Bishop's Garden in a while and we wanted to see what was in bloom.

Rows of tulips, irises, peonies, and daffodils were out.  Narcissuses and Paperwhites, and an orange bell-like flower I wasn't familiar with.  The dogs romped, jumped, rolled in the green in the amphitheater.   Stirling chases Friday up and down the rows and stairs.  

The flowers in the Bishop's Gardens seem to be a few days ahead of the ones in our garden, as we are only now getting irises ready to open, though our tulips have now gone.   Our azaleas seem to be ahead though--with several of the buds opening.   But the Cathedral's redbud tree was stunning, whereas our trees have finished flowering entirely. 

Taste of Scotland

After the rugby (below) we went local for dinner. A lovely haggis from the butcher at western corner. Sadly these beauties can't be imported into the states (since 1971 they've had a problem with one of the ingredients - sheep's lung) however I think I will have a go at perfecting our own recipe once I get back. Any takers...?

My visit coincided with an important rugby match. Edinburgh were up against Toulouse in the Heineken Cup.  So mum and I decided to tootle over for a look. The stadium was busy with 37k in attendance and fortunately there was space for us. We enjoyed a thrilling match against one of rugby's heavyweights and Edinburgh pulled off a famous victory!

Murrayfield has changed a bit since I last took in a match there but the home of scottish rugby is a terrific venue with a great atmosphere. Hopefully I'll get around to seeing an international there sometime.

Match article - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17639378

Edinburgh moment

I've had the pleasure of spending the past couple of days in Edinburgh. The city is stunning, as always, and if you haven't been, get here - even on a grey day.


The city is still dealing with the building of the trolly system. So far it's been a lot of money with minimal result.....Princess street below is totally dug up and only passable by foot. Locals seem skeptical of the entire project - we'll see...



Sylvia and Edward have been busy in the garden and we're now enjoying the news and golf on a quiet Saturday night. The house as lovely as ever.

Getting the Garden Ready

The garden is springing back to life with the season turning.  The days are longer and warmer, and the plants are waking up from a nice winter's doze-- cuz let's be honest: it never really got cold enough here to truly be called "winter." 

We have vegetables and fruits poking their heads out of the soil or starting to bud.  The newest rhubarb plant is enjoying its new home. 

 Our fig tree is starting to produce lots of figs again and our grape vine has the smallest of leaves. 

The strawberry plants are starting to take over the ground in the lower garden, which is fine by us.  A few plants even have buds on them. 

The big rhubarb, also in the lower garden, already has produced huge leaves.  We just need to let the stalks get a bit longer and we can have an early harvest for pie or crumble. 

The grass is looking quite lush and green (ignoring the chickweed and crabgrass of course) and we have several new bulbs coming up: lilly of the valley, chinese lanterns.

Indoors, we have our seedlings, some more ready than others to be put outside.  We will have to get most of them in the ground shortly-- they are getting too tall for the growing tray. 

8PRIL!!

MY KENTUCKY WILDCATS DID IT!  They are national champions in college basketball!  What a season!  What better way to celebrate a victory than with an Ale 8.  But what if we combined Ale 8 with the Wildcats??!!  How AWESOME would that look?

THIS awesome:

Happy Birthday, Becca!

Happy Birthday, Becca (here with Baby E).  Hope you have a marvelous day!!

March Madness: To the Elite 8 (please)

Got my drink ready in my special UK blue glass.  On, ON UK! Beat IU!! Let's get to the Elite 8!!