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.