8th June 2018 Mailer

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Strange Squirrelly Dining Habits? by Clare Walker

Thought you might enjoy seeing this little chap, stretched out at his full length down a tree trunk in Holland Park last Saturday. Yes, that`s a hazelnut in his paws. And yes, the hazelnut came from us. What was strange though, was that with every single nut we fed him (and there were many) this squirrel assumed exactly the same position on the tree trunk, whereas all the other sat up eating theirs in a kind of classic, Squirrel Nutkin, pose. Maybe this one was feeling extra gymnastic. Or more likely he was hot, and stretching out let him cool off, whilst keeping an eye out for predators. Either way, am sharing this picture because, strange dining habits or not, this is and was one very, very cute squirrel.

Yes, I know it`s June. But if you like to get ahead start on Christmas cards, these Christmas Poinsettias could be just the thing (matching inserts also available).

cup885472_79993 by Clare Walker

cup885475_79993 by Clare Walker

Flower Auction by Judith Henry

Last week a few of my friends went to the local area flower auction. There were rows and rows of plants for sale. They sold them by the rack but the bidding price was by the plant. The place was packed with people. Luckily is was a cool day. We did not bid on anything but found someone who over bought and was willing to let us have a few of theirs. We planted them at our church in planters.

cup714650_2228 by Judith Henry

cup696302_2228 by Judith Henry

My Feathered Friends by Tina Fitch

No its not aircraft this week! Its baby birds and there are loads of them around at the moment. I have to fill the bird table up twice daily at the minuet due to the babies needing feeding every hour or so. As you can see in the photo the mum is feeding her little one.. They didnt hesitate to carry on whilst I was snapping away at them.My garden is full of little ones but I have to be careful due to the small dog trying to get to the bird food hahhahahNot sure how long they will be around as they grow so quickly.. but I will try and get some more close up as the weeks go on..All files in all formats here https://www.craftsuprint.com/tina-fitch/

All files in all formats here https://www.craftsuprint.com/tina-fitch/

cup697566_596 by Tina Fitch

cup847383_596 by Tina Fitch

Pretty Philadelphus by Sue Way

I have finally been able to get out in the garden, cutting back unruly shrubs & getting rid of the weeds. We have had a new bit of patio laid & generally made the garden look tidier all round. A few years ago for my birthday my brother and sister-in-law bought me a little Philadelphus that I had to squeeze into the only available space in the garden, so it was a bit hidden. Last year we cut back & cut down a lot of old shrubs that were taking over, so this year the Philadelphus has got space to show off it beautiful delicate white flowers. There are so many flowers that they were weighing it down, so I have had to tie up. I think you will agree it looks stunning! This week I have added a new set of Spa Day Ladies to my store. http://www.craftsuprint.com/sue-way/?r=968387

cup885615_38 by Sue Way

cup885455_38 by Sue Way

The Little Archer by Carol Clarke

It was the half term school holiday here in England last week and so we got to take out two youngest grandchildren out to Clumber Park ... again! lol There were lots and lots of activities to have a go at and we all tried most of them. From den building up in the woods to sports on the fields with the sack race, egg and spoon race, football, volleyball, tennis and archery etc. It took Olivia a while to get the hang of the bow and arrow but she did eventually hit the target! lol

cup882924_359 by Carol Clarke

cup882923_359 by Carol Clarke

Fooding in Papamoa by Joan King

We have gone straight from summer missing Autumn and into winter. June has started with a hiss and a roar and we have had days of heavy rain (approximately 200mm so far). Many parts of the country have suffered terribly with flooding and slips etc. Here where I live we have a lot of waterways throughout the town which have been built to help the non-flooding of houses and it does because they go up and come down again very quickly and after the rain eased my husband and I went for a walk down into one of these regions at the bottom of our road. I have taken some photos of the area where the waterways have completely broken their banks and quadrupled in size. One road as you can see is completely under water and the car is submerged. The water had gone done at this stage by about 12 inches. Still pretty deep though. For the first time ever we saw our own road disappear into a river and it also covered the berm (grass at the edge of the road) and up along the pavements. It was quite scary at times. Rain has continued on and off but the South Island have now gone to the other extreme and are having incredibly heavy snow and ice to contend with. I think we are in for a cold day tomorrow.

cup885473_1716 by Joan King

cup885471_1716 by Joan King

Where Does the Time Go? by Janice McFarlane

My grandson Harry turned one last week, the year has flown by so quickly I can hardly believe it. It doesnt seem five minutes since my daughter gave birth, and poor Harry at the time suffered some trauma being born, and had to be delivered by forceps. He was black and blue and swollen and looked terrible. Twelve months later, we have this very confident cheeky chappy who constantly smiles, laughs and says his only word which is Hiya. It is quite comical and despite mum and dads efforts to get him to say Mama or Dada Harry is having none of it. The pictures are of a very underwhelmed Harry being presented with his first birthday cake, who was wondering what all the fuss was about, then a stroll to the park with his new driving equipment on the stroller, and it looks like he is very competent at driving and changing gear. Ah well here is to the next twelve months!!

cup885414_905 by Janice McFarlane

cup885706_905 by Janice McFarlane

First Day of Winter by Vicki Avcin

Well weve seen our first day of Winter and temperatures have dropped to around 8 degrees C but the days have remained mild around the mid to low 20 degrees C ………… and I hate winter. First day of winter is also my Birthday and Im not sure which I look forward to the least, another year older or the first day of winter! I didnt do anything special but life goes on and we had to go do the food shopping so I got treated to a very scrumptious Pavlova. Hubby very sneakily managed to raid my craft stash and thoughtfully made me a card, which I will treasure being that he did it all by himself. I was surprised as to how he managed to do it without me knowing. Well……. He waited for me to have my nanny nap the day before, printed it out then went on the hunt for stickers. He said every time there was a noise he hid things and came out to make sure I was still asleep lol. Love him to bits for what wouldve been a huge effort for him. I also received a beautiful bunch of flowers my daughter and her partner, phone calls from all the kids and generally enjoyed the day. Id like to say a big thank you to a lot of the crafters from CUP for the birthday wishes on Facebook too. The fact that people take a minute out of their day to send greetings is appreciated.

cup318073_543 by Vicki Avcin

cup156870_543 by Vicki Avcin

Special Strawberries! by Anne Lever

I often have trouble growing strawberries because every time a fruit becomes ready to pick, it is eaten by something, and the lovely fruit you have been watching turn red for the last few days is good for nothing. Very frustrating! This year I decided to buy a ready planted strawberry hanging basket, and that has done the trick! All the fruit is surviving till picking, and the three plants are producing a lot of fruit! Some are perfectly strawberry shaped, some are a little....different....but hopefully will taste just as sweet!

cup885756_1763 by Anne Lever

cup885494_1763 by Anne Lever