A month ago the Tennis Club gardeners saved an exhausted Queen Bee. The last month has not been particularly kind to her as Spring has not quite hit the accelerator pedal with any reliability.
Yesterday might just have tipped the balance. A day of almost constant sunshine.
Pollen was popping out all over.
I was out and about in the sunshine a lot yesterday. The Tennis Club was buzzing with builders and allotment holders. But as yet no more buzzy bees.
The pollens are waiting.
An early start yesterday for wildlife. Not this beautiful seal, she was definitely a bonus. But one of my regular meetings with a Pest Control contractor called Annie. The Tennis Club I help to run is very close to the sea and considered to be a Winter Palace for the rats who choose to live on the coastline. For two years we have been diligently discouraging the Winter Palace theory with bait boxes and regular surveys of the rat population. Diligence has paid off, living in a Tennis Club is no longer seen as the Winter Dream of the local rat population. They will never be eradicated anymore than our Seagulls , but their numbers are manageable.
Of course the rats, seagulls and resting seals were all living here long before humans arrived possibly during the Iron Age. And certainly before humans thought it would be a good idea to run about hitting small balls across nets.
Seeing the seal just calmly doing her thing with no care for what century she was in was just a lovely peaceful way to start the day.
It has been a tough week at the office. Three large storms have taken one tree down and two huge boughs off others. Storm Chandra the last of 3 arrived yesterday and took down another already damaged bough.
On a positive note this morning, no rain, just wind, a lot of wind and some sunshine.
Tranquility Bay was looking and feeling fairly untranquil.
A day that required a dry robe and wellies.
The dry robe had a bittersweet moment for me in one of its huge pockets . On the day our dog Hugo died we went walking on the beach and I found a rock that looked like a cracked heart.
#1366 theoldmortuary ponders
I had tucked it in my pocket and forgotten about it. Until this morning.
So while I was busying about photographing damaged trees for Tree Surgeon quotes the heart shaped pebble found its way into my hand. I immediately realised what it was. A comforting sensation rather than completely sad. I might keep it in my pocket.
The Game of Storms. Trouble in Paradise. In the past week the tennis club that I help to run has been the location of an entirely different sort of competitive game. Last week Storm Goretti shed a large bough from one of our Ash trees into the gardens of our neighbours.
This week an unnamed storm dropped one of their Sycamore trees into our walled allotments.
A storm tit for tat that needs to stop. Thankfully neither incident caused any harm to humans. Humans though,on either side of the wall have worked together to clear the debris.
The smell of recently felled hardwoods has filled the air with woody fragrance which is a small recompense for the sound of shrill chainsaws that has dominated the usual peace of the place.
Not so tranquil days at the club that overlooks Tranquillity Bay.
We are so lucky that no-one was harmed.
Love All
I woke up cold this morning. The first time for many months. I also have a planned dip in the sea. Now I accept that I am fully in the Autumn Zone.
When my bed feels snug and the thought of a cold swim feels like madness.
Sunrise has yet to occur, although not a deal breaker, some sunshine would be most welcome.
Yesterday the sun made a most welcome visit to my morning dip.
Which was all very energising for the day ahead. Which is the point where reality steps in. Yesterday’s dip was timed to fit in perfectly with the day’s chores. The first of which was a Vermin survey at a tennis club that I help to run.
The club overlooks all my swimming zones. Proximity to the sea means this could be perfect Real Estate for rats. However we have a very diligent and effective Rat detective who ensures we have no long tailed members using the club on a regular basis.
In fact anyone seen on our courts with a visible tail will have their fob deactivated.
Life is not all about blissful swims in the sea, sometimes you encounter rats. ©theoldmortuary
On August 16th, 2025 Stonehouse Lawn Tennis Club celebrated 80 years since Japan’s surrender spread and World War II officially ended.Bunting and Union Jack flags were strung between the clubhouse and the marquee, enrobed by camouflage netting, protecting from nothing more serious than the sun on this occasion.
Sunshine, good food, great music and some wonderful dancing set the scene for an afternoon of catching up with friends, meeting new people and enjoying good nattering time with our family. Some dancing from the era of WW2 was achieved elegantly by some, less so by the rest of us…
The hard work that these events require from a few for the pleasure of a whole community is always amplified in value if the weather is good. Yesterday the weather was very very kind. Just a slightly nippy wind that made flags, skirts and hats fly but also cooled what could have been an over hot afternoon.
A concatenation of loveliness.
That was a busy weekend and we still have one day to go. Our geraniums found the sunshine to their liking and have begun their spring/summer showoffery. Blissfully unaware that this year we have had a hosepipe ban imposed already. The ban caught us all by surprise and only half of the yard has been power-hosed. The irony is that the ban was announced with four days notice and for those four days it rained so hard, power- hosing the rest of the yard was impossible.We are going to have to hope that prolonged sunshine bleaches out most of the winter mould and mildew, or spend the summer apologetic for our lurid green paving. May 1st already! Where did April go? A whirl of planning in all sorts of directions. A family house move, an exhibition and lots of social media activity for an upcoming Open Gardens event. Not, you will be pleased to note, our green back yard and the Geraniums, but a Tennis Club where we are members. I signed up to be a big part of the planning of the event in the depth of winter knowing full well that I would not be here for the actual event, but that I could continue to support remotely. The opposite of working from home.
Doing Home Work Away, I suppose.
To that end I have gathered loads of gorgeous photographs to share on Social Media. Instagram and Facebook. Here is the QR code for Instagram should you be interested in an English Garden by the Sea.
Everybody is getting a little excited.
This gorgeous old wheelbarrow was super happy to arch his back and pose like a Silver Fox at a fashion shoot and his drooping tulip friend also took little persuading to look winsomely out to sea.
May the first, one of my favourite months off to a good start.
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