June was a busy month and it was hard to find time to blog (I posted some photo only posts from Instagram, but words were a bit of a step too much). 30 Days Wild saw us getting out of the house every day (even if it was ‘only’ to walk the dog – something that I hadn’t done for a while due to mobility issues whilst pregnant and afterwards, when I had to be careful of any sudden pulls or jars), but I have had to take it carefully as I still have some residual difficulties with my knee, back and neck.
It was Stinker’s third birthday during the month. Moo made a wonderful birthday cake: sponge flavoured and coloured with berries, layered with whipped cream and more berries, covered with a marshmallow frosting made from marshmallows she made herself, coloured with – yes, you guessed it – more berries (our strawberries have been busy in the garden!) She decorated the cake with a particularly impressive calendula bloom, surrounded with pinks and violas. It was very pretty and tasted amazing!
We were gifted some rhubarb and, along with a punnet of strawberries, Stinkers made her first crumble (which was served with some homemade vanilla ice cream made by Moo).
June is the month for foraging for elderflowers and making elderflower cordial/syrup – some bottled in the fridge and some frozen for later in the year. It’s wonderful for adding a dash to all sorts of things (including the crumble above). I also made a mint syrup from chocolate mint in the garden (I have a few different mints) and Moo made various ice creams and sorbets.
June also saw Erk back from university and doing a national tour of family and friends.
It’s been hard to get into the garden and do much. HipHop wants to be held all the time and isn’t great about being laid down (if he’s asleep he swiftly wakes up again). He seems to know when there is work to be done, or if there is something else I’d like to do, but whenever we are out, he will sleep through with no problem at all (even in a busy indoor play area!) Still, I managed to get a bit done and helped Stinkers pot on the experimental tomato cuttings.
Ted had his first sports day at his new school and did well in his races (generally coming second or third). Stinkers had an opportunity to compete in the pre-school siblings race – she really enjoyed it and couldn’t understand why she wasn’t allowed to compete in every race!
It may have been ‘slow’, but all-in-all it was a tiring month!
