Compliments

Another early start and the painter arrived.. he has more woodwork to do in the hall as there are a few beams and understair cupboards etc to coat so the office is finished and the hall needs 1-2 layers of gloss work then the bathroom.  He is coming back tomorrow at 8 (horrors!) so no lie in on a Saturday.. will have to make sure I get one on  Sunday instead!   
I popped to the farm for milk and eggs then in to town to grab a few bits for the weekend .. I bumped into a friend I hadn't seen in a while who said she had walked down the footpath next to us a couple of times recently and thought my wildflower area was , in her words 'absolutely beautiful' and that she had taken a photo of it as she 'thought the whole of England should look like this!! '  I was thrilled!!  It isn't a big patch but the neighbours own it and they used to let nettles grow in abundance here.. one day I asked if they would mind strimming it as I was fed up of the nettles which had migrated into my garden.. he strims everything to within an inch of its life all the time so for a few years it was just bare soil and lumps of rock.. it looked horrid.  Eventually I asked if they would stop strimming it and let me see if I could grow some wildflowers there instead.  Delighted that they said yes and this unpromising little strip between the footpath and our garden faces north and is under birch trees and as dry as hell.. the plants don't seem to mind one bit and now they are getting quite well established.  Ox eye are moving in.. I may have thrown a few seed heads over the wall to see what happened.. but otherwise it is mostly campion both pink and white, hedge bedstraw, yarrow, poppies but not thriving there, and vipers bugloss (extra) which is self sown this year and half the size it was the first year. Having such a wonderful compliment was lovely.. I feel chuffed that other people appreciate it too. 
Today two lovely but ancient cherry trees were cut down by our southerly neighbours.. they have said I can have some of the wood so perhaps I might get my salad servers out of that.. (fingers crossed) We have so much more light without them there it is wonderful but I will miss the blossom in the spring. 
Eldest daughter coming to pick up a few parcels this evening and have supper with us.. it will be lovely to see her but I must get to bed not too late tonight 
Hedge bedstraw makes a lovely red dye apparently.. from the roots which is a blow as I don't want to dig it out from this patch.. but might think about growing some elsewhere in the garden perhaps that can then be harvested