Sunday 16 August 2020

Glaciers melting in the dead of night

Our heatwave has finally upped and left, leaving us with much more bearable but still warm enough temperatures in the mid to high twenties range.

In spite of all our efforts, Dove Cottage's upstairs rooms still feel as if we've left the oven door open, and we know from experience that it will take a couple of days at least for things to get back to normal. Until then, there's nothing for it but to bear those sweaty, glacier melting nights!

We were still in the thick of it on Friday before last. With temperatures set to reach 37°C, Code Red weather warnings were issued, advising people to spend the daytime hours in a cool indoor space and keep doors and windows closed to keep out the heat. As usual, not too much exertion and a regular fluid intake were also on the list for surviving the sweltering heat.



Always contrary and unwilling to face a string of days spent indoors, after breakfast we packed a picnic and drove back to Blaasveldbroek, the nature reserve we only visited on Tuesday.

Those of you who read my previous post might remember that we took a wrong turning somewhere on our way back to the car park, ending up walking along some paths we'd never walked before. It was on one of these paths, not far from a second, smaller car park, that we noticed a boardwalk leading down from the path to a platform at the edge of a pond. We could even make out a bench, but weren't able to go down and investigate as there was someone sitting on it.




Hoping for a stroke of good luck this early on this baking hot day, we parked our car under the trees in the small car park, and with some trepidation, strolled along the path leading to the boardwalk, all the while keeping our fingers firmly crossed. 

There was nobody there, how absolutely divine! We made our way along the boardwalk and sat down on the bench, taking in the view and relishing the fresh and still relatively cool air. The only sounds were the high pitched clucking of a plump of moorhens (had to look up the collective name) and the rhythmic thwoks of an early morning tennis game on one of the courts hidden by the trees somewhere behind us.




All too soon, the sun's rays pierced through the canopy shading our secluded little oasis, dappling the bench with searing sunlight. We decided to walk into the direction of the visitor's centre, where shady picnic benches would be on offer.



But again, our walk turned out to be longer than intended, taking us along a mixture of sun-baked trails and woodland paths, and along various stretches of water, including Hazewinkel, a well-known rowing course at the edge of the domain (bottom left).



The visitor centre and surrounding picnic area were completely deserted, so that we were spoilt for choice, opting for the long communal picnic table situated on the secluded so-called otter and beaver island.

Afterwards, we trudged back to the car park, making a slight detour to the boardwalk and bench, where we watched dragonflies hovering over the lake in search of a meal. Speaking of the latter, we fortified ourselves for the journey home by eating the waffles we'd brought as dessert.



A final view of my outfit, which consisted of the charity shopped Zara trousers I wore on our previous visit, this time accompanied by a printed cotton shirt picked up on a charity shopping trip back in July.




The searing and sultry temperatures continued over the weekend, prompting me to wear clothes I'm only considering on the hottest of days.

Take this jumpsuit, for instance. I'm unashamedly wearing retail here and not even a sales bargain at that. Making a shortcut through Antwerp's walk-through Mango shop, it was love at first sight last Summer.




I can report that it was extremely comfortable to wear and didn't cling anywhere. For the sake of modesty, I did pin a brooch to its decolletage. After some trial and error, I found one that fit the bill perfectly! The wooden beads were the only thing I could bear against my skin




Any gardening is confined to either early morning, when there's still enough shade in the garden to do my deadheading round, or from 9 to 9.30 onwards, for a watering session when the sun has dipped below the horizon.

Hats off to all the annuals who keep going in the face of extreme weather conditions!




I almost forgot to show you the back of my jumpsuit, which is another reason why I was hardly sweating in it at all!



We put up our 1970s parasol - a family heirloom - in our bistro courtyard, even though it's too hot to sit out there. This is mainly for our poor plants' benefit, in order to prevent those residing there burning to a crisp. I even took down the two pots hanging from the brackets of the enamel sign, as keeping them up there would have resulted in their untimely demise.




The King Louie halterneck dress I wore on Sunday was another charity shop find, incidentally picked up in the same shop near Bruges as the Zara trousers.

Too hot for accessories, I kept it simple by pinning a vintage daisy brooch to the dress, and briefly wearing a fused glass ring. Shortly after taking the photos, I took it off to yet again wash my hands, and forgot to put it back on.

The red suede Gabor wedges were last Summer's sales bargain.



Once again, we mostly took shelter inside, at one point dragging ourselves out of our lethargic states to lug a bag of holiday maps and booklets downstairs.

If all goes well, we will be in our usual cottage in Belgium's west country in two weeks' time. Do keep everything crossed for us please!




I'm leaving you now with some more garden loveliness, as in spite of it all, and helped with some of our rather sweaty tender loving care, some plants are still thriving. 

Our hanging strawberry plant is still treating us to regular berries, while pale pink Malva, lavender Salvia and a happy marriage of Verbena and Rudbeckia stubbornly refuse to succumb to the heat!




This will be my first post published through the new Blogger interface, so I do hope everything goes well. Wish me luck!

As always, do stay safe, sane and fabulous! Hope to see you again next time!



34 comments:

  1. What beautiful photos, Ann! You showed wonderful nature and I took a nice walk with you! Here the temperatures are very high, over 40 ° C and the humidity is really stressful! it's still like that for a week, but I hope not ... I love your red jumpsuit! You wear it very well and the necklace is absolutely perfect! A great inspiration for me! it's nice to see our beloved flowers resist! Davide also has his own strawberry plant and we enjoyed it over ice cream! Very good holiday!
    Carmela e Davide

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    1. Thank you Carmela! I can imagine the heat and humidity are very stressful. We had 40°C for a couple of days in Belgium last Summer - highest ever - and I still don't know how I survived! The strawberry plant has been providing regular berries since May! xxx

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  2. What a lovely walk! It's great you were able to enjoy the nature on your own, it is always good when we can have some beautiful scenery all to ourselves, especially nowadays. Nothing quite like sitting on a nice bench and relaxing.
    That red jumpsuit suits you so well. I like the purple and red necklace you wore with it. The red brooch is a nice accessory as well.
    The halter neck red dress with polka dots looks amazing on you!!!!!! Such a gorgeous look, makes me think of Marilyn Monroe.
    The flowers in your garden are looking good!

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    1. Thank you Ivana! I love the solitude of being among nature. First wear of both the jumpsuit and the halterneck dress, and both were really comfortable to wear on a hot day! xxx

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  3. Serious red jumpsuit envy! I can understand why you had to have it. The spotted red halterneck dress is also gorgeous. I'm glad the heat broke-in a year of so many extremes the last thing anyone needs is a heatwave.

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    1. Thank you Goody! I have no regrets about that jumpsuit. I'm glad the heat broke too, I seem to be coping worse with hot weather each passing year. xxx

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  4. Oh, you made it through the new Blogger! Well done, Ann!

    How nice that you were able to go back and avail yourselves of that cool bench overlooking the water. The thwock of a tennis ball has to be one of the calming noises.

    I adore your red jumpsuit (sexy! that brooch is perfection at your decolletage!) and your polka dot dress is amazing on you - what a lovely back you have. :)

    I love your vintage sun shade umbrella, and am glad your former heat wave has eased. I am envious of your homegrown strawberries! Good luck and all my fingers (and toes!) are crossed that you can make it on your mini-vacation in a couple of weeks!

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    1. Thank you Sheila. It wasn't too bad, although I do not really think it's as user friendly as the legacy one. I've never realized I might have a lovely back, so thank you for that! xxx

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  5. You look fabulous in red. Wow what an amazing jumpsuit and red polka dot dress. Perfect for these heatwave days. Your garden is wonderful.
    I keep fingers cross for you Ann.
    a very huge hug Tina

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    1. Thank you Tina, another week to go, I really cannot wait as this will be my first and only proper holiday this year! xxx

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  6. I love wood carvings, we have a wooden bear my mum and dad sent us as a Xmas gift a couple of years ago, he stands guard over the koi pond! I love it when you can go somewhere and it is nice and quiet.
    We visited a very popular thunder gate near Tokyo skytree yesterday and it is normally packed with visitors, it was quiet. I really felt for the traders. I bought some items as I knew they needed my support.
    You look fab In red. I am dying to buy a tea trolley the junk man has, but Paul won’t let me. That damn mask blocks my sad face!! I hope you get away!!

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    1. Thank you Allie. There are lots of wood carvings in that reserve. There's a duck one which is really exquisite. I'm loving the thought of a tea trolley, hopefully you'll be able to convince Paul. I keep smiling at people behind my mask. Not sure if people notice I'm smiling but yesterday I pulled a very effective angry face behind my mask :-) xxx

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  7. You look gorgeous in red! That jumpsuit had to be snapped up, it looks wonderful and really shows off your lovely back. The red polka dot dress is a delight and such a great fit.
    I can't imagine anything worse than being shut away in the house on a glorious day, I'm glad you did your own thing and had a wonderful time amongst nature. Well done for finding a bench and not getting lost!
    I'm amazed at how straightforward new blogger is (now you & Sheila have explained the caption thingy), your post looks perfect to me. I even figured out strike through this morning.#
    I'm keeping everything crossed for your trip. xxx

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    1. Thank you Vix! I have to admit the new blogger is just fine. I do hate any tech related changes, which make me break out in hives. Often there's no reason at all and everything works fine :-) xxx

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  8. very hot jumpsuit in red!! :-D
    but the dotted halterneck is fab too..... most flowers, as long as they have some water, love the hot sunshine. even my perennials in the frontgarden provide me with color and beauty despite not much watering - because i need the water for the veggie & herb beds and the pots......
    yesterday evening we did a swim in the river - heavenly. why i did not come up earlier with the idea? hm.
    hugsies! xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate. There's a couple that didn't seem to love the hot weather, but overall all's fine. How wonderful to have a river to swim in. We'll have to make do with our foot bath ;-) xxx

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  9. Well everything went well then I suppose! What a beautiful nature reserve you have over there. I love a nature reserve with water, as I love waterfowl. The jumpsuit is gorgeous and so is that necklace. We also have vacation in two weeks time. We could have run in with each other on the boat though! Bitter sweet.

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    1. It did, and knowing me, it's nothing short of a miracle :-) I guess we'll be away at the same time, though sadly not in the UK :-( xxx

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  10. Lovely photos.
    That jumpsuit is marvelous. As well as the red and white polka dot dress.
    Look at those precious strawberries..

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    1. Thank you Hena! The strawberry plant has been supplying with regular berries for months now! xxx

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  11. Hello Ann. The heat is so stifling, isn't it! The older I'm getting, the less I'm able to tolerate it, especially at night when upstairs is like an oven. Great you guys could get outdoors in that lovely park for some fresh air.

    Your garden is looking fabulous. Those strawberries are making my mouth water. I have some salvia too. They thrive in the heat. I chop them down every year and they shoot up again with their beautiful purple spikes.

    You are the most beautiful lady in red. I have serious envy for that jumpsuit, it sits on you so well. The red dotty dress is fabulous too. You really should show off your upper front and back torso more often - such a beautiful feature.

    Have a great week.

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    1. It really is stifling and I'm the same, being less able to tolerate the heat the older I get. In spite of the lightest of sheets, our bed still feels like an overheated swimming pool! Those Salvias really are indestructible, aren't they, and very good performers! xxx

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  12. The nature reserve looks like an oasis of peace, just looking at your photos is restful!
    You are rocking the 70's/early 80's in red. The jumpsuit and polkadot halter neck are both stunners. Red suits you.
    Have a good week Ann xxx

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    1. Thank you so much, Sally. I've been told before that red suits me. Still, strangely enough, it's not the most plentiful colour in my wardrobe. xxx

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  13. I'm loving your walking outfit, the trousers, shirt and sneakers are delightfully matchy!, such fab colors and prints!. And the photos you took are also a joy for my eyes, so stunning landscapes and so appealing tables and benches!, really my kind of walk!
    You look particularly fabulous in your red jumpsuit, and colorful beads, woww, sassiness!. And so fab that it's comfy in the heat!
    And the best for last!, the polka dots dress is so cool and elegant and summery!, and fits you like a dream!.
    Glad to see that some plants are surviving the high temperatures!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica! That nature reserve is one we keep returning to again and again. It is gorgeous and every season and I love picnic area they've created. It's never really busy, either. Both the jumpsuit and halterneck dress were a joy to wear and surely it's a good thing if one can look sassy in all that heat ;-) xxx

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  14. Well done on the new blogger format, you’ve mastered it. I’ve read lots of people are having problems.
    It’s good that you can get to a woodland walk in the hot weather Ann. It looks and sounds so much like Healey Dell Nature Reserve that we overlook from our house on the hill. It’s a great place for us when it is to windy to walk on the moors.
    Your jumpsuit looks lovely and the spotty dress. Red is a good colour on you. Mind you any colour is good on you my friend.
    The weather has broke here now and we’ve got rain and wind today, so I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere.
    I’m catching up on my blog reading just now. See you at your next post xxx

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    1. Thank you Lynn. It's exactly because I read about all the problems that I kept putting off changing over to the new blogger. Techy things and me do not exactly go well together :-) xxx

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  15. That red jumpsuit really suits you - and the back has a very 1930s feel. It must have been wonderfully cool.

    New Blogger's not too bad, though I wish it had a setting for banning comments from 'Unknown' - I'm having to filter out a lot of porny spam.

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    1. Thank you Mim. I agree the jumpsuit has a certain 1930s feel. Fingers crossed I haven't had too much porny spam! I'm sure it's got a setting for that, the trouble is finding it :-) xxx

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  16. How lovely to have the boardwalk and benches to yourselves, it looks like a lovely spot.
    What a fab jumpsuit, I love the colour. The halterneck dress is a stunner too. I have things that only come out when the sun is blazing, it's a treat to counteract the heat!
    Keeping everything crossed for your break in two weeks (or it'll be sooner now as I'm rather behind)
    xx

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    1. Thank you Hazel! I too have things that only come out during a heatwave. They got a lot of wear, both last Summer and this one. xxx

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