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Box Hedge Caterpillars...

Talking with my girlfriend the other day I happened to mention that I was more than sad to see that my box hedging seemed to have been badly scorched while we were away for a few days, I know it was hot but they have never shown any problem of drying out before. Have a closer look she told me as I bet you will find caterpillars on them. 

She was right if I had my glasses on the first time I looked I might have spotted them. The  Box Hedge Moth is indeed  the culprit.

I spent hours picking them off with tweezers and I kid you not picked over 1,000 the picture above is about the third of the amount collected. I have now sprayed the plants and will be watching very closely to see what happens over the next day or so.. There is a good chance that I may save my hedges but only time will tell. Have a look at this link for treatment.
Box Hedge Caterpillar .Treatment.

Madam Picasso

A friend lent me a book called Madame Picasso and so I took it with me on holiday to Seville, it amused me that I was reading this book only to discover that Picasso was born in Malaga approximately 200 klms from where I was sitting reading it. I really enjoyed the book although found it a bit over romantisied  in parts but it left me wanting more information on Eva Gouel and  Fernande Olivier which thanks to the internet my appetite was sated. But it didn't stop there!

I saw the above  poster and his cheeky face made me want to go see this exhibition also because Picasso was menetioned, so the following day  headed off to go have a look. I was not disappointed works by artists as Diego de Siloe, Luis de Vargas, Murillo, Joaquin Dominguez Becquer, and of course Pablo Picasso.

I have to admit that only the name Picasso and Murillo was known to me and to be frank Picasso's style doesn't do much for me...  when I came across Francisco de Zurbarans art it took my breath away he is primarily know for his religious paintings which depict nuns, monks and martyrs, his still-lifes are truly exquisite.
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   So all that because I took Madame Picasso to Spain with me, and I have my lovely girlfriend to thank for this journey and I got a little culture inside me xx....

Spring in Seville

I have wanted to go to Seville for many years and last week my dream came true. What an amazing city bursting with  life and energy, and being spring all the Jasmine, Orange blossom, bougainvillea were throwing out perfume in abundance. We were to stay for 7 days but got caught up in and Air Traffic Control strike, our flights were cancelled and we had to wait another 3 days to get home which at first did not please us one bit I can tell you, but you then resign yourself and make the most of it which we did...
Visiting the Maria Lusia Park is a must if you visit Seville, the park stretches along the Guadalquivir  River and is  home to many  monuments, ponds and fountains.

This one below is of the three ages of womanhood being my  absolute favourite monument in the park, stare at it long enough and you can almost see their dresses flutter in the breeze.

You could literary spend hours in this park just strolling, listening to the birdsong, watching the parrots and breathing in the scent from the Orange blossom or you could take a horse and carriage ride round the park.

The park also houses the Museum of Arts & Traditions which blew me away with the lace and embroidered work displayed. The lace is behind glass hence the not so brilliant photos.

The Plaza de Espana  which is right next to the Maria Lusia  park is a landmark example of the Renaissance Revival style in Spanish architecture. Breathtakingly beautiful, the tiles alone are just exquisite.

As for our poor feet they are in dire need of some tender loving care as we averaged about 10 klms walking every day. If you have ever been tempted to visit Seville then all I can say is go for it and take a good pair of walking shoes.

Dyeing Eggs with Silk

I saw a video showing how to dye eggs with silk and my daughter and I decided to give it a go, fortunately she has chickens and so provided the white eggs we needed, had a few pieces of patterned silk to hand so had all we needed to start. One of the silk pieces dominated the other eggs and they all turned out with a pinkish hue to them but the overall effect was pretty good. If you want to try it for yourself then here is the link to the Video. We also made an Easter tree using a few branches from a twisted willow.

I am pretty excited as we are off to Seville for a week so wish you all a Happy Easter and see you soon. If you do the eggs let me know how they turned out. xxx