THE FIRST WISPER OF SPRING....

Last Thursday, was one of those rare days you get at this time of year, crystal clear blue skies, warm sunshine and the gentlest of breeze, a perfect day to be out walking. I took along my camera, for I wanted to check out a certain little grassy bank.... I was not disappointed, even though just one solitary flower had managed to make it so far, it was just breaking bud. This little clump of daffodils is always the first to hail springtime. In milder winters I have seen it in bloom as early as the end of November......

......then, walking a little further down the lane

I was surprised to see a few lambs in a field. I lingered whilst attempting to get them in a group, but they skipped and jumped, that frisky way that lambs do at this time of year, you could feel their joy at being able to stretch their little limbs so, on this glorious day. In the end I settled for a picture of this little chap, as he stood still for a moment under the a line of washing the farmer's wife had put out in the field next to their farm.

If you care to enlarge, simply click on the pictures.

MORNING, NOON & NIGHT.....

I took the following pictures on another walk a couple of weeks ago. I was out with Kenzo before 8 am. There had been a heavy frost during the night and the countryside was frozen hard.... the grass felt crisp and brittle underfoot. The sun had just begun to glint its rays on the distant hills as it made its way up from behind the mountains.

Kenzo takes an interest in the field of sheep whilst I've secured him to the gate post to take a few pictures.

I like to walk this little lane, the hedges are high and on winter days offer great protection from the easterly winds as they whip through the valley. There is hardly any traffic, as only one cottage lies at its end.

The clumps of grass are frozen hard... the landscape is a silvery grey.

What lies behind this gate has a tale to tell.....

Burial space around our ancient village church was getting limited and so this plot of land was consecrated as a future cemetery. One man only was buried here. The following winter after this man had been buried here, the flooding was particularly bad in the valley and the waters came higher than in living memory, covering that poor mans grave. Of course it was very distressing for his family and so it was decided to exhume his body and re-bury him elsewhere. To prevent further distress in the event of extensive flooding in the future the ground was de-consecrated and now it is a field where children play.... but this gate is always a sinister reminder of what happened here.

The grasses are frozen like waves of the sea.

The sun is climbing higher.....

......but it will be an hour or so before the frost goes off the fields.

I turn to walk back home.

At noon the same day, I've met up with a group of friends. We meet for lunch once a month and this was our venue. Lovely hotel overlooking the sand dunes and out to the sparkling blue sea.

You can always rely on good food here. This day I had medallions of venison.... delicious!

We chat as we return to the car park.... The gardens look beautiful in the sunshine, hard to believe it was January.

Its night time now, a glorious full moon begins to rise in the eastern sky.

The end to a perfect day!

Blessings

Marion

I intended to include this picture in a previous post but forgot, so I'll do it now. It was taken just before Christmas when we were suffering with blasts from the arctic. I think it is so pretty how little icicles have formed on this bush.

ST. GEORGE'S DAY - ENGLAND..... Celebrate! Fly the Flag! for today is our National Day.

Today in England flags will be flown from public buildings and many folk will proudly wear some sign or symbol.... such as a rose or a badge to show their loyalty to the land where they were born.

Although I live in Wales now and I can lay claim to inheriting a quarter Welshness from my Welsh Grandmother, I am very proud of my English heritage..... so today we wear our rose and celebrate with pride .

This statue of St. George and the Dragon forms part of the War Memorial to the men of Stanway, it stands at the junction of Stanway village on the main road that goes on to Stow-on-the-Wold. When I lived in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, this was a neighbouring village.
St. George slaying the dragon symbolises the ultimate triumph of good over evil.




HAIL TO SPRING......

April is a busy month, everything is bursting into life and so much needs attention in the garden. Lawns are being mowed, seeds are being sown and the greenhouse is full of the new growth. It is the season of warm sunshine, showers, hope and promise.






Our home and garden sits in a slightly elevated position, a small river runs alongside our land and from our garden there is such a pretty view as we look down the bank to the river below.

A few steps from our gate takes us onto the ‘The Common’, this is a stretch of common ground where years ago villagers would keep their livestock, a few pigs, a flock of sheep perhaps, but today, it is more a playground for village children..... how fortunate they are in this day and age to have the freedom to run and enjoy such beauty, away from busy built up streets of towns and cities.....

A walk on the Common reveals many wild flowers..... here a clump of wild violets nestles amongst the grass

The delicate white flower of the wood anemone nods gently in the breeze. On a warm sunny day the flowers open their little faces to the sun, but when it is cloudy or when evening falls, they droop their little heads shyly and gracefully.

Although the daffodil is found more often in the garden.... there are quite large patches of them growing on the Common.

The fluffy catkins of the Sallow Willow look so beautiful against the blue sky.... as a child we would called them 'pussy willows'.... as the light fine hair resembles the fur of a kitten.

I think that the lovely golden flower of the dandelion is greatly overlooked and under valued..... and more often than not thought of as just a common weed They do have many uses, used in herbal remedies and of course children have great fun by 'telling the time' when the flowers have turned to fluff balls of seeds.

I hope you all had a Blessed Easter. It was a very busy time at our church with a number of moving and emotional services taking place on the days coming up to Good Friday......

On Good Friday we followed the 'Way of the Cross' in rather a unique way. A journey was organised for members from the different churches in the town to travel on the narrow gauge steam railway... and stopping at the stations along the track, we followed the Stations of the Cross in a very special way. At each of the 14 Stations the train stopped, passengers alighted and gathered for a short reading and meditation that marked the last journey of Christ from his trial to his burial. So 'Stations @ Stations' was a very appropriate journey for us to take.
The Steam Railway has a fine museum which houses much memorabilia.... there were many fine old steam engines all with interesting names. The one below is named Dot.....

This is Rough Pup....

....and this one 'George & Henry' I particularly liked...... George being the name of our cat and Henry being the name of the dear cat we had before George.

The railway line runs along the hillside and just below the track runs this pretty mountain stream.

This wonderful narrow gauge railway was to become the world's first preserved railway and it even has connections with the much loved and famous story books 'Thomas the Tank'.

Stopping at one of the 'Stations' a magnificent double rainbow appeared.

On Easter Monday our Church held a coffee morning... there were the usual stalls selling craft work and cakes. I made a few Easter chicks, each little check contained a Cadbury Cream Egg.

Here are a few little decorative hearts I made.

We enjoyed Easter in so many way. I hope that you did too. After the weekend, John and I went away for a few days.... I'll write about that in my next post.

Have a great weekend everyone. At last we are enjoying glorious weather. I hope the sun shines on you too.

THE SEASON HAS CHANGED.....

We are now well and truly into summer and I’m acutely aware that I have been very lax with blogging recently..... I do apologise to those of you who have stopped by only to find that postings have not been updated....... Life has been busy plus coping with gardening both at home and at the veggie plot...... and my days have expired before I’ve achieved all I have hoped to fulfil.

I’ll make an attempt at catching up by continuing from where I left off in the month of April........

APRIL was a glorious month. This is a view from our village with the backdrop of mountains

Warm sunny days encouraged us outdoors to enjoy the countryside and garden. Bluebells have flowered in profusion this spring, their fragrance and colour delighting the senses.

......golden gorse too.....

Do join me and take a look around my garden and see how it looked in April. The delicate Welsh poppies are always a delight.

Apples trees had masses of blossom, so we anticipate a good crop of apples later in the season

Watching the ferns unfold in their mysterious snake like fashion is always interesting........

.....and then voila! what magnificence.

The beautiful golden hop scrambles wherever it will.....

I usually place my hostas on various tables throughout the garden, this way I avoid a lot of slug damage.

I think you know I'm very fond of architectural plants, particularly palms.......

.....this 'was' my very favourite tree fern. The picture was taken last year.... sadly the harsh winter was just too much for it, despite a good winter jacket......

and now it looks like this......

The cordylines survived....

A pretty church in a nearby village always puts on a seasonal floral arrangement around the porch door. Isn't it charming and inviting too!

Onto the delicious month of MAY.... my very favourite month. The wisteria flowers hung heavy on the boughs this year and presented a most beautiful display right in front of my kitchen window.

In the greenhouse seedlings started earlier and were all growing well.....

I wonder, can anyone identify this mystery plant for me. I bought it last year at a car boot sale, it produces a single flower on a long stem (approx 5 inches), topped with a flower that holds many stamens which hold tiny yellow dots of flowers.

We had a share of rainy days in May too..... but even on wets days the garden looks colourful.

Sadly the peonies suffer in the rain, their flower heads hold the water so, the weight of which bends the stems over badly

Another plant with no name, I bought it quite cheap at a local nursery..... the name tag was missing..... it looked a little sorry for itself at the time, but has since brighten up and has flowered well. Can anyone identify it for me please.

We are now in the month of JUNE..... days are long and warm and this month held a great thrill for me.... that of a visit from a dear blogging friend all the way from Australia.......This is Frances (Alice) the owner of Growing Delight Blog she was visiting from down under, having first spent several weeks in Europe with family and friends and meeting her darling little granddaughter Evelynne for the first time.

I was overjoyed when I heard that Frances and husband Richard.... a lovely man with such a great sense of humour were including a week in Wales before returning home....... so, on 4 June, Frances & Richard together with cousin Frances and her husband Graham spent the day with us. They had renting a holiday cottage on the Cambrian coast a little further south. It was so good to meet up after corresponding and blogging together for a few years. Frances was the second person to leave a comment for me when I first started blogging way back in December 2005. Every comment left on my blog is appreciated so very much... but you know how precious those first comments are when you first enter into the world of blogging.

Frances & Richard it was indeed a joy to spend a day with you. Who would have dreamed way back in 2005 that we'd been standing together on our front steps in 2009. What a wonderful day!

This time last year John and I had recently returned from a fantastic trip of a lifetime to Georgia USA visiting my dear blogging friend Betty & husband Edward. We have relived, day by day our time out there not only from the diary I kept and the pictures we’d taken but by turning the pages of an amazing book that Betty had compiled and had printed for us. I would like to share those days with you as I once again turn the pages of this exquisite book.... such a wonderful gift..... recording that precious time we had with them in their beautiful home, meeting their dear family and so many of their friends......

If you click on the pictures they will enlarge and you’ll be able to read about our adventure.

Thank you Betty & Edward we love you.