Jazzy weekend

On Sunday we were due to have a Garden Party here but because the lawn was still recovering from the rain and all of our "dabbling" , which had made it a bit of a mess, there were no garden games played this year - just as well as it did thunder and rain in the morning.  We did have music though with Paul Douglas and his daughter Jess otherwise known as Blue2 playing some lovely chilled out music from a gazebo in the garden, the sun came out and the audience relaxed....

Blue2 playing Jazz in the gardens

We had some visitors who heard the sounds from Hanbury Church and came down to have a listen - it normally works the other way around with the church bells calling to us from the hill!

Some of the audience - relaxing ...

We also had some baby hedgehogs here this weekend - they are still very new and are being fed at regular intervals by carer Jane and the team at Willows Hedgehog Rescue who visited this weekend.  We don't see a lot of hedgehogs in the Jinney Ring gardens - we are told that this is because there are too many badgers around and they eat them!

We are looking forward to more music next weekend and as there will be a lot going on in readiness for the annual Blues Festival which is here next Saturday -- lots of music with 6 bands playing.

A Midsummers Night's (and Day's) Dream!

This week end was full of unusual folk - dressed in curious costumes.... The Norbury Theatre came to the Jinney Ring with their outside theatre performance of A Midsummers Night's Dream.  We had all been a bit worried about this because the weather has been some dreadful and the lawn is very very soggy (in part due to all of our dabbling about!), however we had a splendid weekend.

On Saturday evening the performance was held near the restaurant and there was a meal as part of the ticket.  The performance in the courtyard worked really well -- only interrupted occasionally with passing traffic (at one time a tractor!).   The players did a great job and everyone who came seemed to thoroughly enjoy it.

The setting for the Sunday Matinee was a little more idyllic and similar to the wooded area that the play is principally set in.  This time we had a "birds eye view" as it was right next to the pond.  We did enjoy it and joined in occasionally as we felt appropriate!  It is an amusing play and Bottom was a real Ass!  We did quack!

We had such a lovely afternoon and so did the visitors, hopefully we will see something like this again.

The dry weather this weekend has already helped the lawns so we are keeping our fingers crossed for continuation through the school holidays now.  We have not seen our friends the cows much this weekend - they have been banished to the top field as they broke into the falconry field area on Friday to eat the grass cuttings and are in the "dog house"!

Disco Duck!

We have a couple of comical ducks within the clutch of newer duckling - they are keeping us all amused even through they are still in the penned off area of the pond!

First of all there is "Disco Duck" -- ever since he was first let out on the pond he has been showing signs of being just a bit different - he paddles backwards at the slightest opportunity - this means he can do some really 'cool moves',   all he needs is some music!   The other comic we have named "Jar Jar" after Jar Jar Binks in Starwars - He is a lanky black and yellow duck with the big floppy feet which are orange - he was a walk just like his namesake.  He is keeping us 'quacking-up' regularly as he has worked out how to escape the pen (by swimming under the bar) and then spends the rest of the day trying to get back in again!

We had a pretty busy weekend, people wise last week - a lovely hen party of 16 girls who had lunch and then made pottery all afternoon - there was plenty of laughter!

As well as this the conservatory was full all afternoon with a school retirement party - High Tea for 45 people, looked lovely.  The weather even brightened up a bit for some of the guests to visit us too!

Our Feathered Fiends!

The new ducklings in the pen and segregated pond area have been reducing in number almost daily - the smallest ones going first. Of the original batch of 12 or so there are only 5 left and fortunately they are now quite big.  Yesterday when the new ducklings were let out one of them disappeared almost at once... this has been most disturbing and everyone has been on the look out for the culprit.

The latest suspicion is that it is either a buzzard or a sparrow hawk that is talking them away.  The new ducklings are still good prey for these birds and they are amazingly fast to swoop and collect - they will be kept in for a couple more weeks until they grow up a bit - we don't want to lose any more!