The Wheels on the Bus ~~~

Hello Friends ~~~

from "A Light Exists in Spring" by Emily Dickinson

A light exists in spring

Not present on the year

At any other period.

When March is scarcely here

Of late I have made many bus journeys, and since mid February I have watched the countryside slowly change as winter makes way for spring ~ although some of us questioned the tenacity of winter to hold on much longer than was necessary, and the once again late arrival of spring.

from "Spring Quiet" Christina Rossetti

Gone were but the Winter,

Come were but the Spring,

I would go to a covert

Where the birds sing;

A few days ago, on one of my rides, I took my camera along and took some photos from the moving bus. It was quite a challenge, freezing things in focus while trundling along at speed on a bone shaker ride.  Here are some of what I managed ~~~

and we're off on a pink bus!

starting to see some shoots of green on bare trees now ~

looking up on a lovely area for wildlife ~

Burton with low tide on the Cleddau estuary ~

on the opposite side of the bridge, looking across to Pembroke Dock ~

 The pretty painted cottages of Neyland ~

The distant oil refineries, for which the estuary is famous ~

Irish Ferries dock at Pembroke Dock ~

Neyland marina ~

The rich, red clay soil of the south of the county ~

 Taken at speed so blurry, but the Ladies' Smock seems to be doing very well this year ~

Looking down on the new bike path which is still under construction and causing long delays ~

A silver green meadow, full of blown dandelion clocks ~

The lime kilns at Solva harbour ~

It must be nearly summer as the small boats are on the water ~

Come back soon, for there is history coming up next, a castle and birthplace of a king who founded one of Britain's most famous royal houses!

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo

Head Above The Parapet

Hello Friends ~~~

It's been a while. It's been a long winter, in more ways than one, not least the unbelievable weather we've all been having across the globe.  Anyway, I'm still here, and I extend a warm welcome to several of you who have followed me, and for your lovely comments, even though I've not been around. It means a lot.

So far, 2018 has not been kind to me, I'd really love to hit "stop!" "rewind" and start over. I don't want to go into details, and I'm going to ask those of you who know the reason kindly not to mention it in the comments.  Thank you for those of you who have sent messages of support during this time.

On top of everything, I've not been well since I went down with a flu like virus before Christmas, which keeps on rearing its ugly head every few weeks. It's done the rounds, hasn't it? I don't think I've known a winter where so many have been so poorly for so long and unable to shake it off.

Yesterday, as I was bobbing along on a boneshaker of a bus, travelling from there to here, trundling along the highways and byways, winding our way along the primrose speckled hedgerows of the country lanes, I saw the first signs of both cowslips and bluebells ~ poking their tiny, sweet heads above the parapet of that all too new and familiar season of Sprinter ~ as winter has not yet left, and spring is still not here.

I was not able to take photos, we were rattling along and my new smart phone, well, let's just say I'm still getting used to it {I had to go onto YouTube to learn how to answer it, so photos could take a while, I'll stick to my camera} so these few are from my library of photos, and are in no way an indication of how advanced this are, for they are not!  It will be weeks yet before we see carpets of either blooms, but the hope is there!

A few weeks ago, I had a surprise win of a lovely parcel of goodies from Olive Branch who make the most delicious olive goodies, including olive oil dressings, tapenades, relishes and more. I won because I signed up for their Recipe Club emails!  Here's what I won, bringing a burst of Mediterranean sunshine into the gloomy days of a British winter!

Isn't it a lovely win?  I'll be using some of them again, tonight, when I make my vegetarian version of  Pasta Puttenesca for supper, with some Caws Cenarth cheese ~~~

Well, my friends, this is just a quick catch up to let you know I'm still here. I don't know how often I will be able to blog over the coming weeks, even months, and I know the garden is probably going to suffer this year.  Thank you for sticking with me!

~~~Waving~~~
Deb xoxo

p.s. which is your favourite of the two, cowslip or bluebell? Mine's the cowslip.

Nurtured by Nature

Hello Friends!

You all know that I love where I live, and I feel deeply blessed to be where I am. There is a deep and ancient spirituality to the land, which you cannot fail to feel; open your heart and your spirit, throw open wide your welcoming arms, and it will softly ooze into every corner of your being, connecting you on levels you have never known before. Everything surrounding you is alive with special energy as it sparkles and glimmers with ancient magic, from the pre~dawn of time.  Significant Ley Lines run nearby, and evidence of ancient settlements are at every turn, if you know what to look for. 

This is a land shaped by the forces nature long before man came along and turned it to his design by his own hand.  This is a land where coastal inlets and caves are carved out by the relentless pounding of the Atlantic Ocean.  This is a land where small streams carve out small but beautiful valleys as they run to greet the ocean  This is a land where the mighty westerly winds that whip without end dictate and shape what grows in the fertile soil of the land.

After a walk on a rare and wonderfully warm and windless mid December day, I rested, quietly, on a special, handcrafted, slate seat set into an old Pembrokeshire stone hedge.  I let my spirit drink deeply from the draught offered to my parched and hungry soul. As I sipped from the never ending well of universal energy, I was nourished and restored by all that surrounded me as I sat in peaceful contentment and awe.

The sun was as strong as it could possibly be for the time of year, as it slips slowly closer to the horizon each passing day, with the Winter Solstice just days away, soon it will be starting its long uphill climb, rising slowly higher each day as the light returns and the circle of the year unfolds once more to bring the Summer Solstice; and so the world turns ~~~

I sat, at first, in silence and with closed eyes, but then the magic unfurled to disclose the unseen. The sun, although pale, shone through my closed eyes and lit up the dark behind my eyelids; a distant gull raucously cawed from a high vantage point; closer by more and more birds joined in the chorus; soon I was hearing birdsong all around. The waves, just a few yards away, out of sight, below the high cliff, lapped languorously, for with no wind there was no urgency, but my ears, now sharpening to the sounds of nature, picked up the quiet lap, lap, lap as barely an effort was made.  The bay is seldom seen so calm ~~~

~~~but the fields are almost always so lushly verdant green, for we have a lot of rain! Indeed we do!

I opened my eyes as I sat and observed: small tussocks of dying grass, mounds like graves in honour of the dying year, were all around my feet ~~~

and as I watched those mouldering mounds, with newly opened eyes, I saw life springing all around!  The clear, clean air was full of tiny gnats, swarming and swimming around in the warm afternoon; the finest of gossamer threads, silver, spider parachutes spread, flying out, glimmering and shimmering, catching the pale light of sun, as spiderlings fly to seek out new homes; and all the while the birds still sing and the water gently laps the shore.

One thing I love at this time of year is seeing the bare, leafless trees, the structure on which all the other seasons are built. We have some special shaped trees all along the coast, sculpted by the {usually} relentless westerly winds. If you are ever uncertain which way is west, look at the trees! Their west facing sides are clipped by nature, giving a very lopsided look! Of course, you have to know that the prevailing winds are the westerlies that romp and rage in from the wide Atlantic Ocean, or this doesn't work!

Here are a few such trees, some much more pronounced than others depending on how sheltered they are ~~~

This one does not like the salt water at all, for you can see the greenery burned by the salt laden winds ~~~

This stand of trees always captures my imagination, it has done since I was a child, for it looks like a giant wave of trees sweeping over the land, shaped and flowing in from the wild western seas ~~~

Slowly, yet all too quickly, the sun slipped lower, and lower; the soft, pastel shaded clouds coloured the coming sky of evening told me it was time to turn and wend my way home once more, while the sun gave one last shimmer across the cold, grey bay ~~~

On my way home, some friendly horses say "Hello!" I think they might be hoping for a carrot or a juicy apple! Sadly, I had nothing to offer them.

Until next time ~~~
Deborah xo

If You Build It ~ They Will Come

Hello Friends!

The wind blows; the wind slows
The rain slices sideways in sudden, sharp downpours
Hailstones pummel and sleet slushes

We had so much rain in the last forty eight hours that when I stepped out on my lawn yesterday evening it was like walking across a wet sponge that slyrruped and slurped, squelching away under my feet ~~~

Much of the rest of Britain has had snow. We won't talk about that, other than to emphasise we didn't!

Last year, you may remember, I had to have a bad apple tree removed. Sadly, it was the apple tree where I used to hang my bird feeders. It was a grand spot, for I could sit in my comfy arm chair, warm and toasty by the fireside, with my hot drink of tea and slice of cake, watching the birds flutter in to feed on seeds and peanuts and fatty, nourishing foods to help them through the lean winter months ahead. 

I have missed watching the birds feed, so my only option was to get a feeding station to place on the lawn.  Of course, I could hang them in the remaining apple tree, but I cannot see it from the window. So, I bought one ~ "easy self assembly" and "no tools required" on the box, it said. An hour and a half later "You're having a laugh!" I said, for it might just as well have come from Ikea!  No instructions, no labelling of parts, two very fiddly stuck screws that needed a pliers to dislodge them, and all the while I'm handling cold metal with bare hands on a chilly sub 40 degrees Winter day in the garden!

Eventually, I got there. Wherever 'there' is.

However, it was only after expending all my unused energy in pushing, shoving, and hammering the spikes into the ground and coming back indoors I discovered, shock and utter horror, it is about three feet to the left of where I wanted it. Piffle.  There it will remain. I will have to either move my chair or sit forward to view the birds feeding, for I am through wrestling with it!

I filled the feeders {which are not the best quality, so good quality metal feeders are next on the shopping list} and that's when I found out that my diminutive stature of not quite five feet, three and three quarters inches about one inch shorter than the height I need to be in order to hang the feeders on the hooks without the use of a stool! Piffle.

Can this get any more desperate?

Well, yes. Of course it can. I wouldn't have asked otherwise, would I?

I have two big bags of Black Niger seed and Sunflower hearts, both of which pour straight out of the bottom of the feeders which are not at all suitable for them. Piffle again.

Defeat loomed on the grey horizon ~~~

I fished out an old stool, carefully climbed up and hung the feeders, filled the water bowl, and tipped suet into the seed dish.  This I managed without incident. The way this saga is unfolding, spilling the cold water all over me would have been the icing on the cake!

My reward was not far away, though ~~~

If you build it, they will come!

It didn't take long for the birds to come!  So, I've wittered away the afternoon watching in between chores as the birds come to discover a new feeding station in their neighbourhood!

There's a long way to go before I get all that I want set up out there, but the main thing is the birds are coming in, and I managed to get a few photographs of the happy diners, and some of the rook who wasn't happy to discover he can't get at the seeds. He became incredibly vocal ~~~

Oh, and if I am to take my photos from the comfort of my living room, I will need to wash my windows in between the window cleaner's visits! Digital photography picks up, and enhances, even the slightest speck of dust!

My favourites are the Starlings. They have such lovely markings, and while the colours are not as bright as some of the other, smaller birds, there is a sheen and delicacy to their feathers the other birds don't seem to share.

At this time, I am making a heartfelt plea to all who have read this in regard of Starlings. They are often misjudged as greedy, condemned for seeing off the other birds at the table, and for being nothing more than voracious eaters that devour everything in sight to the detriment of other birds. This is not so. For those of you who do not know, the truth is that Starlings have a very high metabolic rate and are a lot more fragile than many of the smaller birds. Starlings need about four times the amount of food, in ratio to body weight, as the small birds do, so while they appear to be greedy, they are simply eating to survive the winter months.  Please consider this next time you see Starlings eating at your feeders and don't shoosh them away, or they may die a cruel death from starvation.

Until next time ~~~
Deborah xo