Blackthorn and Bunting ~ in which a robin sings

Hello Friends!

A recent visit to Melin Tregwynt proved a little disappointing in that the mill and weaving sheds were closed when we got there, but we were happy enough to sit in the café greedily devouring a bowl of home made tomato and basil soup served with fresh, crusty bread hot from the oven and a large chunk of yummy cheese.  I am very easily pleased!  The shop was open, and I could so easily have come home with any one of the tapestry delights on offer, especially the current Throw of the Month, but managed to keep my purse in my bag!

Outside, fluttering gaily in the not unsubstantial breeze, this delightfully creative bunting caught my eye. I have never seen any made of tapestry, and now my mind is ticking over with ideas!

Spring is springing all around, and a few days of warm sunshine certainly encourages early blooming of plants and flowers everywhere.

The blackthorn is spectacular. Who needs cherry blossom when we have our own native gorse and blackthorn to turn our hedgerows into a visual extravaganza?

Around the valley, the blackthorn billows in great swathes of white, and in the coming days will continue to open and flourish. It brings so much pleasure to my eye as I walk familiar paths, looking forward to the turning of the seasons, the anticipation of the ripening fruits and making of Sloe Gin, a favourite tipple for me and for my home made Christmas gift hampers.

A thousand fairies, hidden to all but those who believe in magic, frolic in a flurry of white cloud across the meadow, through the trees, a bower of flowers, suspended in the air as they flit and float by in the gentle warm sunshine of an early Spring afternoon.

Shhh, be quiet as mice, for you do not want to scare them away, let's watch the magic for a while ~~~

I could stay all day, pointing my camera this way and that, capturing the delicate blooms, pure and white, pristine against a clear blue sky ~~~

Why! We're even led to Narnia in the snow ~~~

Pretty primroses, palest pink and creamy yellow, speckling a rustic riverbank, like tiny stars in a distant green galaxy far, far away ~~~

and serenaded by the sweetest voice of a darling wee robin, singing his tiny heart out, clear and clarion across the valley floor ~~~

Until next time ~~~
Deborah

Dear Little Robin ~~~

Hello Friends!

When I was a child, I remember my dear mother singing a lullaby to me, and later I would sing it myself. I wish I knew the name of the tune, and maybe you know it yourself, here is the opening line ~~~

Dear Little Robin waiting so patiently, outside my cottage door ~~~ 

So, imagine my utter joy and delight upon opening my own cottage door to discover a Dear Little Robin waiting for me!

He's quite the obliging poser, don't you think?  He is a juvenile, one of this year's fledglings, and such a happy chappy. You can just see the beginnings of his red breast feathers coming in ~~~

but then, I think he'd had enough! "what do you want" said the cute little fellow, before he flew away ~~~

I look forward to many happy hours with him alongside, routing around in the freshly turned soil as I dig and pull out earth~bound juicy worms and bugs for him to feed on ~~~ they are such friendly, trusting souls ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Chilly Autumn Days

Hello Friends!

October flew so quickly by and how can it be November already?

(c) Susan Branch 2016 Wall Calendar

The clocks have fallen back an hour on both sides of The Pond, and the days are noticeably shorter; that blissful autumn nip has turned into the chilly days that herald winter, and ere long the gentle breezes will whip the fallen leaves about our feet as we quicken our pace on afternoon walks; wrapped up well in cosy layers we scurry home to warm up by the fireside, sipping mugs of steaming hot chocolate as we thaw from traipsing along the country lanes in the cold. It is time for crumpets toasted and dripping with butter, slathered with strawberry jam for tea ~~~

Tonight, there was an amazing sunset, a true renaissance sky, I rushed outside

~~~every cloud has a silver lining~~~

moments either way and I would have missed it all together ~~~ so inspirational and calming ~~~ 

Countless are the times I've taken this walk and visited this rocky outcrop near the cottage, and countless are the times I've seen this view, but I never tire of it, nor do I tire from sitting or standing gazing out across the fields to the ocean that lies beyond, and one of the many offshore islands that sit along the coast ~~~ there is always something new to see, with the slow turning of the days as each season takes it's turn to shine ~~~

Look! Poldark's horse in a nearby field ~~~ well, of course, it isn't really Poldark's horse, but we can dream he is somewhere nearby, right? This lovely mare is {apparently} called Henrietta, or Holly for short. She's a little beauty, don't you think?

Here she is, standing in the landscape ~~~

Let's take this path today, shall we?

Looking out from a higher point across the fields and moors, the hedgerows now bare of leaf but still some yellow gorse is scattered here and there ~~~

Goodness, the berries are red this year, a sign of a hard winter to follow ~~~

Follow me this way next ~~~

to find a lovely view across the bay ~~~

and out across the Shire ~~~ {I hope you will scroll right, it seemed a shame to shrink this panoramic scene to fit the screen}

there are always sheep grazing in a field somewhere nearby ~~~

Can you see the cathedral tower, peeking up from the valley where it lies hidden from marauding Vikings of days gone by?

This was the sunrise yesterday morning, Red Sky in the Morning, Shepherd's Warning ~~~ and it was, for the day turned windy and wet shortly after I took this ~~~

Finally, a happy little Robin Redbreast sitting atop my garden canes ~~~

Do you like the shorter days or do you prefer daylight until bedtime?
While I love the lighter evenings to work late in the garden, I also find something extremely comforting in closing the curtains across the windows and snuggling by the fireside as the nights draw in ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xoxo

Winter Solstice Blessings!

Gentle Reader ~~~ I bring you

Greetings for a 

Blessed Winter Solstice

Today, December 21st, marks the Winter Solstice ~~~ the official start of Winter, and in the northern hemisphere it brings the longest night, but I offer grateful thanks that tomorrow the light begins its slow and most welcomed return as, minute by precious minute, the days will start to lengthen ~~~ it is a most important day in my year, one of two Solstice days that govern the light and dark ~~~

In a few days it will be Christmas Day and the moon will be full in the sky to brighten the night. It is a rare occurrence for a Full Moon on Christmas Day and this year is a time of especial magic as the full lunar phase is at precisely 11:11 a.m. GMT on December 25. This full moon is known as the Full Cold Moon because it occurs at the very start of the Winter season ~~~ the coldest season of the year {or it is supposed to be!} ~~~

The Christmas Tree brightly lights the Village Square ~~~

The Cathedral waits the Christmas Processionals and services that will follow in the coming days ~~~

So, Gentle Reader, I wish you a Happy, Blessed, and Joyful Winter Solstice

Until next time
Warm Winter Wishes
Deborah xoxo

Folklore ~ Photographs ~ A Summer Storm a Comin' In ~

Gentle Reader ~ do you have folk lore sayings that you have known for years?  Do you know what they mean?  Very often, the things we say today by way of tradition have very deep rooted meanings and interpretations in many things, like nature and plain common sense.  I would love it if you share some of your favourites in the comments box ~~~ and here are just a few of my own ~~~ 

A lot of my friends say "Rabbit Rabbit" on the first day of each month, but until recently I had never heard of it.  I always grew up with, what I consider a less pleasant saying that goes 

"A pinch and a punch for the first of the month"

 ~ not very pretty, is it?  Often, it was responded to with 

"A punch and a kick for being so quick"

 ~ again, not very pretty.  However, the first part dates back to the Middle Ages {maybe earlier} in Britain when witchcraft gave reason for fear among the general population and this little saying was to ward off witches ~ the "pinch" was a pinch of salt, long held in belief that it weakened the power of a witch if thrown at him/her and the "punch" was the shove to push the witch out of the way after the pinch of salt had weakened the powers.  So, throw the 'pinch' of salt, weaken the witch, then 'punch' it out of the way ~~~

Another interpretation is that the pinch may be a pinch of snuff and the punch a cup of punch as traditional offerings to callers and well wishers who stopped by the houses of local gentry over the Christmas season and New Year's morn ~~~ I prefer this interpretation to the witchy one for it is more convivial ~~~

Folklore is a strange and intriguing thing indeed ~~~

"Red sky at night ~ shepherd's {or sailor's} delight
Red sky in morning ~ shepherd's {or sailor's} warning"

This little adage, apparently, has to do with the sun as it reflects off clouds, and if the clouds are red at night then the following day will be fine, but if they are red in the morning, the coming day will not be fine.  Simple! 

Here is a gardening snippet for you ~

"One year's seeds are seven years weeds"

 ~ very true ~ for seeds, once sown, can remain dormant in the soil for many years, so the seeds sown by all your weeds this year, some will germinate next year, and the rest will take their time, watching and waiting, then bursting forth just when you think your garden is free from all the plants you don't want there ~~~

Here, my gentle friends, are some seeds that have sown and are not weeds at all ~~~

I love Japanese Wind Anemones, for they provide colour and interest in the garden as Summer starts to turn into Autumn and all the hot colours of Summer are quickly fading out ~~~ the blazing lilies, the fragrant roses, crocosmia, and more are making those seeds for seven years of sowing!

These are my white Japanese Wind Anemones, their late blooming, single white flowers on whispy, willowy, whippy, long and elegant stems grow from a bushy mound of mat, dark green leaves, but with a lot of blooms growing and preparing to burst open in succession to give a good show over many weeks ~~~ they will provide colour and interest as the garden starts the winding down from Summer into Autumn, with elegant, dancing, movement in the breezes ~~~

Look at all the blooms ready to follow very soon for a grand display ~~~ oh! and if you find the perfect spot for this hardy perennial, it will spread and thrive, filling the space it inhabits ~~~

I have several new specimens coming along in pots ready to plant for next year to give a wider variety of these lovely flowers ~~~ pinks, blues, and colour~tipped whites ~~~

While I was doing some tedious, yet therapeutic and much needed dead~heading, I was serenaded by a beautiful robin ~~~ it took me some time to find him, but I followed his song and there he was, perched in the tree, just above my head, singing his heart out with his pretty song ~~~

The roses, all of them, are now almost over and the next stage of colour is growing ~~~ do you remember the beautiful, big clusters of single blooms earlier in the Summer with all that delicious scented fragrance ~~~

Well, now the flowers are spent and the hips are green and growing and soon will be orangey~red giving colour and interest for the Winter and attracting birds that may feed upon the Vitamin C rich fruits ~~~

Already, the rosehips of the rosa rugosa are swelling and reddening, ripening fruits of the Autumn hedgerow

and preparing a bold, bright splash of colour against the leaves until the fall ~~~

A butterfly sits and waits ~~~ for what?

I love the way this courgette peeks through the hairy stems, and the flower twists in a curl at the top ~~~

The carrot tops are now clear the rim of the bin in which they grow ~~~ if the roots are half as good as the tops they will do well ~~~

of course, I cannot resist another photograph of a foxglove flower ~~~

see how dry and parched the lawn is, yellow from lack of water, but the shrubbery is looking green ~~~ I have plans to take cuttings from the pink wall germander growing in the foreground, and the hips on the roses will soon provide a change of colour ~~~ do you see my two, original and old mill stones?

Rain always provides a willing subject on a stem or leaf or web ~~~

Butterfly eggs appeared on a nasturtium leaf ~ exposed and vulnerable on the upper surface too!  I do not know what sort they are, but I left them in peace ~~~

Tiny, single, bright yellow eggs of another sort of butterfly laid in the protection afforded by the underside of the same leaf ~~~

A hoverfly feeds on the fragrant flowers of my apple mint ~~~

One of my favourite photographs of a bowl full of fresh picked produce from the garden ~ mixed leaves, tomatoes, courgettes ~ sitting in front of my home made jams and jars of herbs ~~~

Gentle Reader ~~~ the weather for the weekend is dire, for the tail end of Hurricane Bertha will drop in for a quick visit ~~~ hopefully she will pass through quickly and to the south of us, and the winds and rain will not be as bad as we have been told to expect ~~~ we are advised to continue watching the situation as the Met Office continues to assess and track the storm ~ however, just in case, I am preparing recipes for using up my courgettes and green tomatoes if the bushes do not survive the onslaught ~~~ we will see ~~~ and that, gentle friends, is the reason why ~~~ 

~~~ A Gardener's Work Is Never Done ~~~