WARNING! Lots of pictures of my garden ahead!
Bridge over Tranquil Waters
We got back from Hivefest late last night. The plane landed at around 11pm (23:00) and we were home by around 2am. I enjoyed Amsterdam so much, but WOW I’m happy to be home!
Walking back from the final dinner
Not my door
Walking in the rain
We spent Monday morning having a bagel breakfast and saying goodbye to everyone that was leaving. It’s always a sad time at the end of the hectic schedule. I was at a loss – a bit broken, tired and kind of aimless for the whole day.
We finally set off from Volkshotel and walked to the tram stop. Waiting there, we realised we were on the wrong side of the road and changed just in time. It’s so frustrating when you’re waiting at a stop and the bus/tram/train you need sails past in the opposite direction to what you expect (not that it’s ever happened to me… well, not many times).
Outside space in Amsterdam is a premium
So grow your garden UPWARDS!
I was so tired after the weekend and walked slowly until we decided the best thing would be to eat. Just like the Brits we are (were?), we decided upon Fish & Chips. Delicious but more expensive than in the UK (though not by that much), we sat and enjoyed our meal before moving on.
The plan would have been to do some sight-seeing in the Museum District, but I was (am) really wiped out and we made our way to the shuttle bus to go to the airport. 
We took our time and saved as much energy as possible in the airport. Everyone runs around in airports as though they’re about to miss their flight. I understand some actually are about to miss their flight, but hurrying to get to somewhere to sit and wait for hours isn’t my idea of fun.
On the way into Amsterdam from France, I was searched and I was determined to not go through that again. I took off my boots and placed them in the tray along with my luggage.
My luggage tray was flagged… At least I could sit down while they swabbed my belongings.
I’ve discovered that I no longer like shopping. Before we moved to France, I would have dragged Trev into the duty-free shops and buy at least some liquor or chocolate – or something silly that I’d find in a few years and smile about (or wonder where the hell that came from) but now, I’m perfectly happy with everything I have. It’s a peaceful feeling.
We waited down in the basement… lower floor of the airport and finally our flight was called. We were called in seat-order and boarded the first bus, then went on the longest roundabout tour-in-the-rain-so-you-see-nothing to finally arrive at the plane. The bus that had been waiting for the second passengers was already there. A nice technique, I think. They boarded the passengers at the back first as we were occupied by the ‘tour’ of the loading bays.
Finally on-board and settled, the Pilot announced there was a slight delay while luggage was loaded and the appropriate papers were delivered. Then he had to wait for a ‘tug’ to pull the plane into position to enter the runway.
Waiting in a queue for the runway, the lights diffused by the rain, I settled into my seat and looked forward to going home.
Sorry, the pictures are blurry
But you get the... picture
Homeward Bound
It’s like a huge sigh of relief. As much as I enjoyed Hive Fest and meeting some old and dear friends, not to mention making new friends along the way, it really is a relief to be going home.
We disembarked quite quickly and phoned 
The dogs had missed us! It’s always nice to think our pets would miss us and be happy that we’re back, but the cats and horses this morning were like: “Oh, did you go somewhere? I hadn’t noticed…”
I have missed my garden SO much!
View from the bathroom window
View from the bathroom - again
Rosehips
Jasmine
Thyme... or it could be Rosemary
The roses have gone to seed and their pods, the rosehips have started to ripen. I’m leaving them for the birds over the winter. The jasmine has bloomed again – that’s three lots of flowers this year! We get bees, butterflies and hummingbird moths on those plants and they’re fascinating to watch!
The rest of the garden is starting to recover from the drought we’ve had this year. Since May, we’ve hardly had any rain at all and some days the temperatures have hit 42 – swimming pool days for sure!
I sprinkled a few carrot seeds before I left for Amsterdam (literally the very day we left) and covered the seeds with two pieces of pallet to keep them damp. If they sprouted, all well and good – if not, no harm done. As you can see, it wasn’t a total failure. We may get a few late carrots for Christmas dinner.
Trying something...
Doesn't look like much is happening
But there are a few seedlings... look closely
The raised beds are a work in progress. I’m going to try the ‘No-dig’ system – but more on that later.
The trees seem to have coped with the drought, but some of the shrubs didn’t survive.
This tree is crying out for Christmas lights!
Succumbed to the drought.
Small but delicious figs
The fig tree had a problem to start with, the figs were small and dried out, but one day of rain we had a few weeks ago seems to have perked it up. I’ve used fresh figs in a couple of recipes lately (with chicken – delicious!)
Wisteria - poisonous - DO NOT EAT!
The Wisteria has some seed pods that I’ll harvest when they dry out a bit more and the butternut squash is a runaway success! It took over my front garden. I’ll have blackberries next year, on the bush I’ve trained along the fence and the strawberries survived all summer. They are weird-shaped, but delicious too.
Butternut squash flowers
Butternut squash - grown from seeds from a squash given to us by friends last year when they visited
The picture doesn't do justice to the colour of this fruit
Odd-shaped but yummy!
Working towards next year's blackberry crop!
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed ‘walking’ through my garden with me. It’s lifted my heart to be back. I’m so lucky to live in this wonderful part of the world.
All pictures are my own.
