Simplicity

Something stunning, that stopped me in my tracks, in the

midst of a busy day. Something that momentarily had me

transfixed, by its beauty. ~Rain drops on roses~

:: Morning Goodness::

Imagine waking up to these. Dashing out first thing....
to see if any more have opened, barefoot through the
wet grass. Hurrying to take some pictures, before their
colours change in the sun.

And all this....from just a tiny packet of mail order seeds,

tentatively scattered in early spring...wondering if they

would come to anything....hoping, watering and watching.

I am you may have guessed fond of poppies. I love the whole

process the seedlings, the flowers and now I wait in anticipation

for the beautiful seed pods, full of more seeds to scatter.

Surely little delights are the best.

::Hawthorn Flowers::

"The fair maid who, the First of May,

Goes to the fields at the break of day,

And washes in dew from the hawthorn tree,

Will ever after handsome be....."

Although its not quite the first of May, all the Hawthorn trees are

in bloom at the moment. Maybe its worth a try.......

::Bluebells::

Sometimes there are just not words......

Although you may be relieved to hear, after all

my longing last year, a move to the UK is no longer

strictly necessary. A carpet of Bluebells proved to be closer

than I might have thought. (Thank-you Hirani!)

(But perhaps if I were to unexpectedly inherit, from a long lost

relative say, an English Country Estate~I might reconsider.

Georgian perhaps... with bluebell woods, walled gardens

and the odd lake or two..!!)

::Early Spring::

I love the misty delicacy of early spring. This year it seemed
to last such a long time~and yet be gone in a moment. All the
blue skies and sunshine have made me almost forget, how a
few short weeks ago I was trying to hasten spring. How I
felt there would be no end to the grey and rain.

The plants that I bought at the nursery, because they felt
like another step closer to spring.




And the cold rainy day that I set up the spring nature display,
feeling like it was really too soon, but giving in to my desire
for something spring-ish.



And how very grateful I was for this song,
which I sung to my little Kindy children:

"I have seen a mother bird~
Singing in the rain.
Telling all her little ones~
Spring has come again....."

(Author unknown)




But then slowly it crept along and I found
myself lying in bed at dawn listening to the
birds singing~and just being so very open
to their songs.....and now spring has come
at last!!

:Buds:

On my front verandah is a little pot of Daphne. Of all the
very early spring flowers, I think it would have to be my
favourite. For its dreamy perfume......

So I have found myself having little moments of
anticipation, each time I pass it. As the buds get fatter,
wondering quite when it will flower. I even knelt down to
see if I could get a tiny whiff, before the buds had opened.
But no....I will just have to wait.

Its an interesting reflection of my life at the moment.
Where I am feeling so very full of anticipation for my
life to move on, for new things to manifest. And it reminds
me of a quote, I first heard years ago, that inspires me still.



Don't try to force anything, let life be a deep let go.
See God opening millions of flowers everyday
without forcing the buds.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

::Colours of Happiness::

I've been busy enjoying a few little pleasures
of late. Just the usual small things......



A flower from my little boy.



Seeds and a new diary.



A box of colour from the nursery.



Which made it into a pot.



And the beginnings of a new shawl. I feel so very blessed, with
all these treasures......and in my favourite colours too!

::Leaves::

"Trees are like cities for leaves -
if you listen carefully you can hear
them talking to each other...."

Don't you just wish you were four
again??

Plans....

I know a little garden-close, set thick with lily and red rose,
where I would wander if I might from dewy dawn to dewy night.
William Morris (1834-96)



I am so very aware that if I don't seize the moment and do
something in my garden I will miss that lovely autumn boat.
So I am in a flurry of scheming and trying to visualize. Before I
plant various treasures, which will hopefully grow
and flourish over the winter. For now I have my nose in various
gardening books, engaged in that pleasurable act of planning.

Recipe for a happy summers day....

Doing that little bit of extra washing, you know non-essential
things I had been meaning to get to. Playcloths, clean, folded
and smelling of fresh air and sunshine.

A wonderful op-shop find, a little gift from the universe,

which found me at just the right time. A book of

botanical watercolours from the 1950's. Wildflowers, sorted

by colour. Few words. I love the pages of purple .... so very fine!

Picking the first zucchinis (or are they courgettes??) from

our veggie patch. The biggest and best we have had in years.



Add to this a bit of laying about on the grass with my little

boys, under a shady tree. Watching the clouds and a family

of honey-eaters flit about. It feels like a summers day

well spent.

::7 Days of Happiness::

Funky small garden happiness.
How very inspired we all were to visit "Tickletank",
a unique home fashioned from an old water tank.
What a fabulous tiny garden it had, created from humble
things with a truly artistic eye.
You could really feel how much the owner
passionately loves this garden......

It was just the right thing to see just now,

to know that beautiful things can be created

in small spaces.

:: 7 Days of Happiness ::

Happiness in a jam jar. A beautiful little
flowery surprise from a dear friend.

::Perfection in white::

How very fine it would be, for a

faerie's wedding in our plum tree just now.

::Olives::

I have often wondered what is ripe for the picking
in winter. Somehow our calender of fruit picking seemed
incomplete. But today came as such a wonderful answer to this....

Olives!

After a kind invitation from some friends, we spent a very
fortunate day discovering all the excitement of olive picking.
And what a merry communal effort it was, adults busy working,
children scrambling around playing together in the olive groves.
Much raking of olives (to think raking!) onto big cloths. Lots of
careful tipping into crates and a bit of hand picking along the way.
Such a wonderful family occupation. As it should be really!

How velvety smooth our hands were, by

the end of the day, from all the beautiful

oily, squishy olives!

What incredible satisfaction seeing all

those full crates lined up, ready to be crushed.

Tempting to dig your hands right in!

Such a feeling of plenty.

How wonderful to know that in the middle

of summer, we will be able to dress our salads

with some beautiful, extra virgin olive oil

-the fruit of our winter olive picking adventure.

Even now when I shut my eyes I see olives......

:: A thought of spring::

How nice it is to know, that in the midst
winter, tucked away in a cupboard, there
is a little bit of spring.....



(Should you wish to indulge in a little
spring treasure of you own, it's not too
late! Full instructions can be found here.
I am told it is not strictly necessary to "chill"
the bulb for several weeks prior to planting.)

March...

How I love March Lillies, that something so
beautiful can appear as if by magic out of the
dryness..... surely a cause for a little celebration.



There was such a lovely stillness in the air
today, almost like a pause in nature, a
moment between seasons. It is the first
day of Autumn after all.

A happy March to you!

Autumn anticipation.......

Along one side of our garden, there is a rather overgrown,
entanglement of roses, errant grape vines and blackberries,
which I secretly love. It feels like a bit of hedgerow to me....
I like to watch tiny birds dart in and out......





And gaze at the blackberries as they magically unfold.....







I love Blackberries, they have the comforting feel of
Autumn about them, in all their ripe glossiness.



I feel hope that the outstretch of summer is almost at a close
and that it is time to gather in.

And so we made some Bramble Jelly to celebrate......

How lucky that we picked just enough for the recipe...

And that I had two small helpers at hand, to fervently

scrape out the last morsels in the pan.

What a joy that our first attempt at jam making resulted in

two delicious jars of beautifully set jam!

Could this mean that Autumn is just around the corner.........