Tuesday 20 May 2014

Lost and found



Marli found an Easter egg today.  Not one that was easy to recognise as such and let’s face it, Easter now is a dim and distant memory.  A good idea with Easter eggs that are being hidden in the garden  is the same  one that I have rigidly enforced when distributing metal flatware and cutlery at picnics or taking children to Newquay Zoo to see the lions: count them out and count them in again.  This way we would never have left out this lone survivor to battle the elements - unconscionably high temperatures, for so long. The result of this neglect was that this once finely sculpted piece of confectionary had morphed into a rather unpleasant mess of soft chocolate and foil. Marli didn’t mind but I imagine that the wrapping must have played havoc with his fillings!

What is surprising about this whole sorry episode is that nothing else chanced upon the egg sooner.  I’m kicking myself believe me but the garden has been alive with any number of woodland creatures that have appeared from who knows where in recent weeks.  You have seen on Facebook I’m sure, the woodpecker, but additionally we have also had a chaffinch and a goldfinch, neither of which have been seen for a couple of years in this neck of the woods.  There was a  rather rotund hedgehog, spotted lumbering across the lawn behind the cottages and even a slowworm which amazingly, Marli left to  wend its way into the hedgerow, unmolested.  Had it been covered  in foil, I have my doubts that it would have been so lucky.

We have been enjoying some truly glorious weather recently which always helps make the spring flowers look even prettier than usual. It was been a wonderful year for bluebells in our woods and the garden has been awash with primroses.

Talking of which, sadly, on one of the few less than perfect days of late, Trevithick Day took place in Camborne. As always, the magnificent steam engines took centre stage and paraded down Camborne Hill and up again!  Puffing Dragon, a replica of Trevithick’s original engine, headed the procession driven by a crew in period costume.  Happily, in the brief respite from the rain, I was able to enjoy the wonderful spectacle of many of these beautifully preserved pieces of engineering as they chugged by.

Another relic from the past that I have enjoyed this past weekend was a trip to the Lost Gardens of Heligan.  My daughter and I found them easily enough but the name actually refers to the fact that early in the twentieth century, the gardens became sadly neglected and overgrown.  In 1990 they were rediscovered and brought back to life by Tim Smit, the man behind the Eden Project, among others.  What we found were some truly wonderful gardens, bursting into bloom for the spring time.  It really is a magical place – testament to the hard work that has taken place over the past two decades and which continues today.  I would recommend it to anyone who is visiting Cornwall and maybe plans on going on to the Eden Project which is quite close by.   You do need plenty of time, though, if you hope to get the most out of these two Cornish gems.    Actually, some graffiti written by one of the workers in 1914 is said to have inspired the work at Heligan: “Don’t come here to sleep or slumber”.   Ezzett says that it sounds lot like working at Rayle Farm! Rest assured we toil tirelessly to make your stay with us a memorable one and we look forward to seeing you here at Rayle Farm soon.

Susan