It Snowed ~ Or Did It?

Hello friends!

It snowed last night.

We hardly ever get snow where I live. The last time we had any discernible snow was about 14 years ago when it snowed and it snowed. And it snowed. And it stuck with us for three long weeks. Long enough for the novelty to wear off.

Before that, I think the biggest snowfall we had was 1963. I had not long started primary school. and the school was shut for three days because the toilets froze over. We still talk about it all these decades on that's how often we get snow.

So last night close to midnight I got a surprise to see my garden lightly dusted as snow started to gently fall. ' Late though the hour was, I got my phone and took this photograph, just in case I thought I had imagined it when morning came.  I went online and posted it on Facebook. And lo and behold, my feed was full of photos of snow falling across the city. I was not the only one bringing proof that we did actually have snow.  We all knew it would be gone in an hour.  That's just the way it is here.

If we had a centimeter that's all we had. However, by this morning it had started to melt but then the temperature plummeted, and it has frozen. So my patio is now like a skating rink. I will not be venturing out on it today.

It's all geographic as I live on a peninsula, which sticks out just enough into what is the North Atlantic Drift, on the northerly reaches of the Gulf Stream. This elevates our temperature by an almost indiscernible amount. Yet it is enough to keep us relatively snow free unless it gets really bad in the rest of the country. Even three miles down the road, they can have a few inches of snow, and we get nothing.

Here are some photographs of the last time we had snow.  Some of the clouds were spectacular.

Roll on Spring now, the novelty of keeping warm has gone.  Unfortunately it seems this coming weekend sees us back in the land of gales and storms.

I also need to tell you that my air fryer makes perfect toast, in fact the crispiest and driest toast, the most delicious toast I've ever eaten.  I put it in the drawer on a rack on the Max Crisp setting and five minutes later I'm tucking in to the Best Toast EVER!  It doesn't even sweat on the plate.

Until next time.

Stay safe. Stay well. Stay warm.

Debbie.

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

Winter has a Heart ~ Memory Making

***a note to my readers ~ my computer is on it's last legs and I have struggled to put this together because periodically my typing does not enter on the screen. Consequently, for those of you who do leave a sweet comment, I should be able to publish, but may not be able to reply immediately, so please be patient. A new computer is on the horizon, and, frankly, is something I dread doing!***


Hello Friends!

Brrrrrrr! Unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, I think Winter has arrived with all of us. It isn't too bad here, yet, but I'm sure we are going to pay this Winter for several exceptionally mild years recently.

As many of you know, I am a full time care giver, and now, for two afternoons a week, I have help coming in so that I can get out to do things that I could otherwise struggle with, such as getting to the bank, or off for my 'flu injection!  One of the things we can do, weather permitting of course, is to go out for rides in the countryside and make some new, happy memories to cherish as we visit garden centres ~ ones with tea rooms, naturally; go out for lunch or afternoon tea; just go for a ride to see pretty scenery; in fact, pretty much anything. This is why, of late, I've been able to share with you some of the photographs I've taken on some of these precious days out. 

Here's what we did yesterday. We visited a lovely little tea room in nearby Mathry called "Siop Fach Tearooms"  Sadly, they do not have a website but have a very good rating on Trip Advisor.  Here are the photographs I took of some stunning scenery, and delicious food we ate.

I have to say that the tea shop was immaculately clean, light, fresh and airy. A welcoming aroma of cooking food filled the entrance, and a display of deliciously tempting home made cakes was on display by the main counter.  More photos of those next time, but today I'll focus on what we had to eat.

A simple Scampi, Chips and Peas ~~~

I had one of several delicious sounding vegetarian options, Glamorgan Cheese Sausages. These are a traditional Welsh dish of cheese, onion and leeks. Served with yummy Sweet Potato Fries ~~~

Desserts! Puddings! Yay!  Lemon and Lime Cheesecake ~~~

Apple Pie with Custard Sauce ~~~

and I had Warm Chocolate Brownies with Ice Cream ~~~

I confess, the portions of pud were rather generous, but who's complaining? We cleared our plates!

Of course, it has to be Heinz ~ I fell for this cute condiment tray! I would have bought one had they sold one in the little shop next door ~~~

Who can resist an ice cold Fiery Ginger Beer, made in Radnorshire, on a cold Winter's day?

Isn't that a cute name for a company? "Heartsease Farm" It just makes you want to drop in and visit them. On the subject of hearts, I casually tossed my gilet to one side and look what happened? The folds just arranged themselves into a lovely heart shape? How cool is that?

I took a couple of photos from the window, the first has to be the creepiest creeper covered cottage I think I have ever seen ~~~

and this is the Farmer's Arms pub, just across the road. Recently, I was asked if this is 'arms' as in with hands on the end, or 'arms' as in "up in arms and going off to fight" ~ as far as I can tell, it is the 'with hands' version, although I've tried to look into this for you and there is nothing easily found to clarify. Let's go with 'with hands' as it is far more friendly, I'm sure you'll agree. It is a very common pub name in Wales ~~~

On our way home again home again jiggetty jig we pulled over so I could take a few quick photos of the wild and woolly wonderful big sky across the lush, softly rolling hills and gentle valleys of the Shire. In the far distance of this one you can just see the Preseli Hills, where the world famous bluestone which forms part of Stonehenge originated. Bluestone can be found across the world. Preseli bluestone is a fine grained dolerite, a magical stone with particular healing properties used in Shamanic rituals.

The weather was decidedly wintry, with gusty blasts of icy winds coming from the North, and I got caught out in a sharp, prolonged hailstorm! I love looking at the big skies over the Shire, in all their glorious majesty, in wonderment and awe.

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah xo

A Blustery Day

Hello Friends!

One thing you can guarantee is that our weather out in the west is windy!  We had two major storms and one hurricane back in October, but, other than a few days where the winds picked up a little over twenty five miles an hour, most of November has been relatively calm, with breezes not much above twenty miles an hour most of the time, and some days well below twenty! Until today! I guess we had to have some more winds at some time, living where we do, jutting out into the wonderful and wild Atlantic Ocean, and sure enough, overnight we had winds well in excess of fifty mph, gusting up to seventy, so a blustery day, as Piglet and Pooh would say.

This afternoon, I was able to spend a few short moments in a car park overlooking Newgale beach, with the small hamlet of Newgale nestled precariously either side of the road that winds up a hill leading up from the beach and valley below. I don't know about you, I would love to live in one of those houses, for the view must be spectacular during a storm! Of course, I wouldn't want the job of cleaning the windows afterwards, lashed with all those salt laden winds and spray!

The yellow building, to the left hand side, is the Duke of Edinburgh Public House. It is on the road, and immediately across the road is a bank of pebbles, the only protection from the ocean and all the elements can throw at it.

The pebble breakwater running alongside the main road. 

Several times a year, mostly during the Winter, the combinations of high tides and high winds crash through, causing the pebbles to breech and the Atlantic Ocean to pour through.  When this happens, the road can be closed for several days and all traffic is rerouted along the unclassified back roads to my village. These back roads, although surfaced, are single vehicle wide and not designed to take the regular daily traffic of many cars, busses, and delivery trucks. It can add some time to the journey.

You will also see a pond of water in the field alongside the Duke of Edinburgh; that, my friends, is a camp site! No camping there today!

Here are some more views of Newgale looking out to sea ~~~

This is the most stunning view any time of year. I love to sit in the bus, as we tootle along the high~hedged road home, and watch the faces of visitors to the area as they see it for the first time. It is priceless to see their amazement at the wild beauty of it all ~~~

In the distance Ramsey Island and Ynys Beri

A great place for walking the dogs!

Just as I was turning away, I heard a distinctive noise. I stopped, turned, stayed still and observed, searching with my eyes and ears until I found it ~~~ a sweet little wren ~~~ hopping about in the thorny bramble vines left behind long after the Autumn fruits are gone ~~~

All too soon my time at the beach was over and I had to return, so ~~~

Until next time ~~~
~~~Deborah

When Summer Rain and A Treasure Arrive at the Cottage

Hello Friends!

Thank you, and a heartfelt welcome, to several new followers who have found their way here in the last few days. I hope you enjoy my ramblings and photography, and I love it when you join in and leave a comment to say “hello!”

Before I share what’s happening in the garden, you may recall I mentioned that my favourite author, illustrator, and Happy Person, Susan Branch, has so brilliantly and thoughtfully arranged for her beautiful bone china mugs to be made available here in the UK for all her UK followers.  Well, it has since happened, and you can buy them from Nursery Thyme in Devizes {in person or online} and guess what? My Autumn mug arrived in today’s post! I could not be happier with it, it is so perfectly Autumn, and just a darling mug, both in pattern, shape, and to hold ~ as well as to treasure!  Do you see the attention to detail by continuing the pattern down the handle? Can you hear my squeals of utter delight? Although my birthday is not for a few more months, this is my very special birthday gift to me ~~~

Perfect companions! 

Always counting our blessings

attention to detail!

I’ll take a moment to gather myself before moving on!

~~~~~

Summer rain, sweet, soft, gentle summer rain has fallen for days across the garden, and sometimes it has been not so soft, sliding sideways like needles in horizontal torrents with a rare summer gale blustering in from the Atlantic Ocean.  There’s not much to be done when the weather misbehaves other than hunker down inside and wait for the gales to blow over and make yourself comfy and cosy indoors with a big pile of books and plenty of hot tea and cakes ~~~

Once the winds and rains have passed, it is time to nip out quickly between the showers with my camera to see what is happening. Some of you know me well enough by now to know that rain on plants is one of my favourite subjects, so this morning was another such excursion ~~~

There was a little damage, my poor Verbena Bonariensis were lying down and having a rest across the path as their whippy stems failed to keep up with the lashing winds, but they are now snugly tied back up using the hydrangeas as support. The Alchemilla Mollis is also flat, but once the sun comes out and dries it, it will perk up and be resplendent as ever. It is one of my favourite plants: it fills gaps in borders well; is very tolerant of both lack of care and too much fussing; its acid yellow makes everything around it come alive with colour; and it makes a pretty addition to any small arrangement of flowers. A most appreciated plant indeed.

Everything looks pristine, freshly showered and still sprinkled with raindrops, and yes, some raindrops on roses, but no kittens, not today, I think the rain has driven them away!

The Musk Mallow is looking very pretty indeed as it wraps around my ‘corgi’ which was a gift from a corgi loving friend.   The Monkshood {which is not doing so well this year} is one of my favourite colour schemes as it has a Bindweed {Morning Glory} twined up its spike, and I just love the striking contrast of purple, green and white in combination.

"IGRAINE"

The succulents, despite the rain and cloud cover seem to be preparing a few more blooms in the cluster ~ I am looking forward to this!

And in a rare moment of sunshine, a beautiful butterfly settles on a raspberry leaf to warm its wings while opportunity strikes ~~~

Until next time ~~~

~~~Deborah xoxo