Campsite ready for our Open village Day

Where has all the time gone? April just went in a blurr, a slightly wet blurr. The reservoir garden is  decidedly overrun with weeds, which I have been telling myself are protecting some of the succulents and I now realise are probably smothering some of the plants. So, time for some serious gardening this week, not least because on Sunday 24th May we are playing host as garden No. 21 in our Village Open Day.

There will be both large and small gardens to wander through, art exhibitions (and we have a wealth of hidden talent in the village) live music, cream teas, plants, stalls and a treasure hunt. You can even climb the church tower to catch a view of St Michael's Mount. Yee-hah!

Our own little old reservoir garden will be open, with a slack-line to have a go on, a farm produce stall and some books and other things for sale, with the option to watch the woman-at-work, trying to tame her garden, which as always, is a work in progress!

The magnolia has been budding for a couple of weeks now, Auntie Jimmie's Magnolia, it has survived 3 years with me, so I am hoping it will grow to a lovely big mature tree in time.

Over the valley the solar panel field is complete and in the right light it almost looks like a field of bluebells.

And although we had planned to open in June, since it is bank holiday weekend and half term from the 23rd May, we thought we might just as well open the campsite at the same time. Officially then we are open from next weekend! And Lakki is looking forward to meeting this summer's visitors.

This year our youngest is in charge of selling eggs to campers. His birthday present in April was a new henhouse and his own hens (at his own request), 7 copperblacks, to add to the 5 we already have, whose produce are already being sold to villagers.

He has become our village egg entrepeneur, smartened up his go-kart and given it a new number plate to ensure there can be no doubt as to what he is selling.

Eggs have also been the subject of a school science project, making crystal egg geodes with home layed eggs and some magnesium sulphate from the horse first-aid kit! A real dad and lad project.

First you take a hen and a goose egg.....crack them and use the contents for an omelette, wash the shells out, dry them, glue them on the inside and sprinkle with crushed magnesium sulphate and then soak them in a saturated solution of magnesium sulphate and some ink for colour and voila!

very pretty on closer inspection

Other highlights in April included a morning at Port Isaac

as the egg entrepeneur had a go as an extra on the set of Doc Martin, earning his own wage to boot! No pictures of the set are allowed, so here's one of the happy wage-earner sat on the policeman's landrover at the end of his shift.

Right, must go and get the gardening gloves on. More blogs to come soon.