Night Skies

Another wonderful sky last night (in between the downpours!). We are lucky to be able to see right across the valley and have the most amazing sunsets which John always tries to catch on camera but the photos can never be as good as the real thing. Here are a couple of examples

Somehow the sunsets are more spectacular if there's a bit of cloud about!

Another example of a recent Herefordshire sunset can be found here on The Compostbin blog.

Ledbury Poetry Festival

The Ledbury Poetry Festival runs from the 29th June to the 8th of July and has a full programme of events over the 10 days.

From the official website:

"The Festival includes readings, performances, exhibitions, music, walks & talks, workshops and a wonderful atmosphere. Ledbury is unique in its historical associations with poets and is a charming mediaeval market town nestling in the Malvern Hills.A visit to Ledbury Poetry Festival is a memorable and uplifting experience, valued by many of our audience members who come back to see us year after year."

Ledbury is just 25 miles from Yew Tree House

A non-paying guest!!

The weather this morning was atrocious. Low cloud and drizzle. No sign of Hay Bluff. I went out at o7.30 and found this very bedraggled racing pigeon (3 leg rings) sitting on the drive. He/she (would I know?) was obviously knackered but wouldn't be picked up or ushered into the garden which is full of things that birds eat. Happy to just sit on the gravel and doze. He eat a few of the sunflower seeds I'd scattered. Later on he/she (would I know?) went on to the roof above Mission Control and but still woudn't be tempted down by the delicious lentils and the mouth-watering uncooked rice (I'd read the RPRA website advice) I'd put out. We'd grown quite fond of him and had thoughts of winning big-money races with him but he left.
Didn't pay his bill,though!

Queen of all she surveys...

Our cat Deedee has found a gap in the thunderstorms to climb the hedge and check we haven't been washed away! Surprisingly her presence doesn't put the birds off at all.....

Pages from 25 Beautiful Homes

As I mentioned previously, we were written up in the July issue of 25 Beautiful Homes. Here are the pages I scanned (not great I'm afraid, but there you go!).

They used some 'Before' and 'After' shots that really remind us of what a job it was to convert this house to a bed and breakfast.

Visitors to the garden

Since we've been living here, we've seen a great variety of birds in the garden, but this is the first time we've had a visit from a Green Woodpecker. He spent 20 minutes pottering about and digging up insects before flying off to the fields behind us. We were surprised at how big he was, but not as big as the pheasant who has taken up residence!

Write up of Yew Tree House

About six months ago we were visited by a photographer from 25 Beautiful Homes magazine. He spent a couple of hours roaming round the house taking photos of each room. It was all very exciting.

The pictures taken that day have just been published in the July issue!

The Herefordshire Trail

We are very lucky to live in one of the most beautiful counties in England. The local countryside provides some quite breathtaking views when out walking.

There are some wonderful walks around Yew Tree House. The Herefordshire Trail, which is made up of 150 miles using existing public rights of way to give a circular tour around our county, passes by the village of Kilpeck. The trail links the five market towns of Leominster, Bromyard, Ledbury, Ross-on-Wye and Kington.

This picture, which looks across south Herefordshire towards the Black Mountains, is part of a beautiful collection of photographs on the Herefordshire Trail website. Click on the picture to view the rest of the gallery.

Three Counties Show

The Three Counties Show takes place from the 15th to the 17th June. The show is regarded as the region’s rural showcase, and still its biggest annual event, the show is a celebration of British food and farming at its very best.



The show takes place at the Malvern Showground which is 30 miles from Yew Tree House