Were are the bright days?

I am a parcel of vain strivings tied

By a chance bond together,

Dangling this way and that,their links

Were made so loose and wide,

Methinks,

For milder weather.

Henry David Thoueau 1817-1862

Shabby Piggy

I have always loved that chipped paint, shabby style....time worn.....much used.......lichen covered......rusty metal......rag and bone stuff!!!

It seems to have been around for ages now and there always seems to be something of that style in the magazines........

I have my one bit of original rustic chic in my garden.....

.....a pig stye.....yes, every home should have one!!

and as times get tougher maybe I should invest in a piglet or two.....mmmmm..

or maybe not....

do I like pigs?....the ones I've met are brutes...so NO!

do I have enough scraps to feed it on?....no,

do I need another thing to look after?.......no

do I like pork THAT much.....no

OK I'll just admire the lovely chippy paint and Victorian latch and use it to store logs in!!!

Now if it was a stable.....mmmm..a lovely new form of transport per chance!!

Listening to the Wind

Sometimes I think I must be completely afflicted with some gypsy curse that makes me want to change direction like the wind!!!

If you have ever read Joanne Harris's 'Chocolat' then you may know what I'm talking about.......

You are merrily settling into your new environment...making friends and quite content and the someone passes a throw away comment and it sets you mind off thinking.....what if I did that...how would it work.... what are the consequences???......can I afford it?.....shall i give it a go???.......

whoa!!!!

The last few days I've been happily daydreaming about another change when at last this morning arrived and the wind had changed and I'm back on track........

A cold frosty morning dawned and I walked in my garden to unfreeze the bird bath...the sun was just appearing over the horizon and my two faithful hounds where snuffling in the remaining fallen leaves........

....a bright spark of colour caught my eye and I saw a small patch of emerging flowers ( yellow aconites..I think) and then I noticed all along my hedge masses of patches of snowdrops...

and hellebore's.....

.......the more I looked the more signs of my spring garden emerging from its winter slumber and I thought......I want to see this...I want to know what is hiding under the earth...and I saw a whole four seasons of surprises waiting for me...here....if I can only be patient.......

...the Christmas mistletoe is hanging in the hope that some of the berries I have put into the old apple trees bark will germinate....

I don't want to move .....please can we stay????..

The 'phone number offering me another change is in the bin.....The Lodger says HURRAY!!!!!!

Time to stare

Five minutes out of a very busy working weekend to stand and stare at the beauty the frost has made...........

..the rain is coming and these amazingly cold and glistening days are coming to an end.....

..so cold ....so beautiful....nature is an inspiration...

Heaven Scent

..there is a saying that goes..'I'd rather have roses on my table that diamonds on my fingers!!'..well I expect I could put up with both...

I Love flowers..

they are an absolute passion of mine and I have tried to make a living out of it but unfortunately couldn't but I can rarely go past a florists with going in and buying something!!

this time of year is the best...there are so many beautiful blooms around..fabulous parrot tulips, gloriously scented narcissus and hyacinths, structural amaryllis if I could I would fill every nook and cranny with flowers..even the much maligned carnation can have a happy home with me, I adore their perfume and their huge variety of colours......

my new house has got a big garden and when I look out at the frozen ground and debris of last summer, I am now relishing the planning of what I will grow.....sweet peas so divine...peonies....love in the mist....my ideal would be an old fashioned cutting garden with so many flowers I could put bunches at the garden gate for people to take!!!



May your home be filled with whatever is your passion!!

this icy blast

Sullen grey skies above me, the air cold and still....
mist lies in the valley unmoved since morning...

the ground is iron fast...the winter wheat frozen..

but even in this captured air there is the stirrings of spring around the corner...

bringing me hope that soon the days will lighten and the world will awake..

from this icy blast.