I know should you be seeing log fires in high Summer??!!!...read on...
Been awhile I know, I did mention to whoever drops in to read my blogs, they will not be regular, have been acclimatizing, as you can see from the log fire above, for me its been cold, and trying to settle back in to the way of life here at the Cottage has not been easy with what is supposed to be Summer over here.
It is strange coming from a hot sunny climate with bustle and activity never too far away, to the extreme stillness of here. There is always the choice to communicate with people, I suppose that's the beauty, having the choice. Days can go by were it is just me and nature and never a word is uttered to another human being, only the cats, birds and wildlife that visit the garden, that is good, but maybe not a good idea to let it drift on for days, Buddha is always saying peace and stillness is good for the soul ~ how can I argue with such wisdom.
Things are the way they are for a reason, maybe not always the way I want them to be, but I have to remind myself there is the bigger picture which I cannot see, and through life's experiences, I know for sure we are being looked after, worrying and stressing does no good, in the end I have found, things flow and do work out. More often than not I see why a worrying situation has resolved itself in a manner that was not clear to me at the start. Am through with battling against raging torrents, unless on an extreme sport rafting holiday!!! Trust and go with the flow. Even though its hard being far away from my brother and friends, accepting that it will all work out somehow eases that ache, and helps me to focus and 'be' in the now. Looking around I have so much to be thankful for, with all the beauty and quietness that surround me every single day....
like the butterflies, bees and wildflowers in the garden...and every so often that special Angel feather....
What's been happening since I've been back I hear you all say, or maybe not, maybe I am blogging to myself. I know Gail might drop in as she is my Blog mentor so hopefully I will have an audience of one :) This is Gail when she took me to Gatorland, what a amazing day saw so many beautiful birds and their chicks. Must do a blog on that sometime!! Anyway she is a wonderful photographer, click on Gail Peck and you can see some of her pics.
I suppose like Gail said in an attempt to encourage me to keep going with my blogs, 'its a good way of looking back at what you did and what happened in the year gone past', or in Gail's case years, she has been blogging for a l o n g time. I have kept a diary for over 25 years and it is a great way of looking back and seeing what I was doing 10 or 15 years ago on the 25th August, and how I was feeling, special thing with blogs though is you have the option of putting in pictures as well, you could do this with a diary but I never did.
So since I've been back ~ we have had a beautiful Blue Moon July 31st, the Perseid Meteor Shower on August 14th, was over cast here and raining so no chance of seeing this beautiful yearly event, oh the joys of the great British Summer :( Harvest has come and gone, Canadian Geese flying over, supper at friends, cycling trips to find the best flat white and cheese scone, clothes clearing, tree cutting and garden maintenance, meeting up with animal friends, lighting fires, putting on clothes again, sweaters, socks, trousers and jackets. Fruit harvesting, so many plums in garden!!! As you can see quite a bit has been going on ~ oh and keeping my eye on a few quirky tectonic plates.....
This was a lovely surprise
The day after I got back my lovely friend Allie arrived in the afternoon with an armful of flowers, what a beautiful welcome back!!!
As mentioned there was the beautiful Blue Moon on July 31 and truly was a wondrous sight, this photo does not to it any justice at all...
The Harvest seemed to be early this year. These fields are just to the side of the cottage
The Canada Geese started to fly over at the end of July, which was early, they come from Newtown Creek which is about a 15min bike ride away, some of them remain here and some across on the mainland, I am not sure whether these Geese actually migrate, normally they would be wintering here from October till March. I think these Geese have actually made their home here.. I see them flying over in skeins of 50 or 100 at a time with that wonderful honking call and powerful flight almost so close above the cottage you can hear the throb of their wings as they beat against the wind, its magnificent as they pass by on their way to the spent grains in the fields close by after the harvest. Have dropped in a little video clip thought you might like to hear their calls as they fly over the cottage, just click on the Canada Geese link at the beginning of this paragraph.
different stages of flight
The Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) this is unusual I think to see this little beauty down here...normally they have the white spots up North..further South normally the spots are more orange...so am thinking this is rare..??
Beautiful friend of Earth, does so much for us, think he was fast asleep on this log having a little rest in the sunshine, so wanted to give him a gentle touch, but left him alone in peace.
stunning little wildflower, growing on the roadside.
In the fields to the back of my garden these thistle are growing, they always bring a smile ~ Scotland on my doorstep. Apart from being able to stay closer to my brother, family and friends, I aim to have a wee place in Scotland close to where I was born, with so much beauty and the Highlands just a breath away...
Since I've been back I have seen the little cats from next door in the garden, they are very small and I guess feral, I know they came from a farm, two siblings, afraid but curious, hopefully I will gain their trust, one more curious than the other as you can see!
Think he is the male of the two..as he is bigger, the other little one is darker and much more wary, although I have had them playing with a feather. I would say they are both probably about 9 months old.
Unfortunately both are hunters. There is a large and varied bird population in the gardens. I have fed the birds with fat balls, nuts and wild bird see every day, and when not here have neighbours to continue, the result, a wonderful array of beautiful birds, with some raising their families here and returning year after year. Then there are the ones that never leave and become part of the family like this beautiful Robin
he must be around 8 years old, normally Robins are not supposed to live that long, but I know its him from his markings, he often comes and feeds from my hand cocking his head at me and nibbling on the dried meal worms. Robins are special, well for me anyway, and it appears from my posts on FB that other people have had similar experiences, appearing and bringing hope in times just when you need some sunshine in your life.
Often now I am hearing the warning chirps of the birds when the cats are around, making me feel a tad anxious!!! As you may or may not know I ADORE our feline friends, and as a norm cats who have become friends with me know that if we want to remain friends our feathered friends are strictly off the menu. This appears to have worked over the years, don't ask me how, but it has, maybe its the finger wagging, or MMT (mind meld therapy) for those of you who do not know this technique and want to try it. Place your forehead on the puddy cats forehead, normally you are on all fours as well, head to head with your friend passing the information either telepathically or verbally: 'birds are your friends...you do not hunt, kill or play with them...just purr and look when you see one...' All the while doing the reverse spine massage, tail to tip of head. Two or three sessions of this, and it normally works. I have yet to apply this therapy/technique to these two. A couple of things make this difficult, firstly they have had a bad start, their owners!!! and the fact that they are semi feral. This is a work in progress.
Been a month now since I've been back, amongst all the other things more than I have listed, especially the septic tank saga (don't get me started on that one!!! :/) time has been spent clearing the garden and re-acquainting myself with the flowers when the weather permits, a much more pleasant
way to spend a couple of hours than wrestle with Septic Tank problems, they were scheduled to come out today to put in 4 new T Pieces ~ a costly affair. It has rained incessantly for two days causing the back fields to be saturated, therefore impossible for the tanker to enter in order to gain access to the tank systems, the heavy tanker would get stuck!!! It is now scheduled for September 17th....watch this space, and yes 'another work in progress'. Moving on swiftly before I blow a gasket. I snapped this stunning Crocosmia with a little cricket fast asleep amongst its petals. I love the contrast of vivid colours it would make a beautiful watercolour.
Wanted to get close up and personal with this Damask Rose, catching the dew on her petals, and the richness of her texture and colour.
and trying to clear my cupboards that are stacked full of clothes, most of which I now never wear, many bags filled which will be heading off to Cancer and Heart Foundation charity shops, another work in progress..
It has rained a lot which prohibits working in the garden, gives me even more chance to continue the 'clearing' of the cottage. Still the rain brings beauty and life to the garden.
View from my window overlooking the fields from the back garden, the rain was falling as the sun was setting with raindrops glistening on the apple leaves.
This rain and heat of the sun during April/May has brought an abundance of fruit ~ I have so much fruit in the garden, plums especially, small sweet delicious Greengages.
and two different types of Damsons big and juicy..
Three plum varieties all together, waiting to go into that pie, jam, or wine....
Have given away so many plums to friends and neighbours and making pies and jams, on the list next is plum wine, yes you guessed it, another work in progress...
Apart from all this homey stuff, I have visited and had dinner with friends...
Claire has such a beautiful place..!!!
Cycled about and had coffee at lovely places...
Costa flat white is hard to beat.
This is Off The Rails at Yarmouth, they have turned an old railway station into a restaurant and café, situated in an AONB area of outstanding natural beauty beside the Yar Estuary, Swans, Ducks, Kingfishers, Oyster Catchers so many different sea birds, wildlife and beautiful secluded walkways into the heart of this stunning countryside.
Whilst the cheese scone looked good, it could have done with loads more cheese in it, with a touch of mustard and cayenne, I like cheese scones to be cheesy, still the peace of the place and the warmth of the sun made up for the lack of cheese......
little style leading to a magical kingdom...
then your out looking at the Yar River. The house you see on the right of the path at the end is called the Old Mill and belonged to the historian AJP Taylor the family still own it and leases it out for holiday rentals in between coming to stay for great family parties and much musical merrymaking...:)
Another cycling venue is the Alpaca Farm at Wellow
just up a country road and short cycle away.. lovely to sit and watch mothers and new born babies learning to graze with some not quite ready. Unfortunately the Flat White leaves a lot to be desired. They have a very expensive espresso machine, and are knowledgeable on their coffee's, but no technique on how a flat white should taste or look, but again the surroundings made up for the coffee's short fallings.
and meeting up with old friends, Touchy, strong, magnificent a gentle Stallion
Freddie just a huge force of LOVE
I feel the blog is becoming too long, I think I read somewhere that you should keep your blogs short, as people turn off if it goes on too long. Well I have no worries there, as Gail said I should be writing it for myself, and am guessing its only me and maybe Gail who will read it!!! So there we have it, it sure is a different way of life for me over here, and you can see quite a few works in progress, lets hope some of them will be resolved by the time my next Blog is penned!!
How could I finish, without a sunset ~ as Angels fly over the cottage at dusk.
Bye for now ~ hope you drop in again..
NAMASTE
Catherine
Links:
Gail Peck wonderful photographer and friend.
AJP Taylor Historian and lived at the Old Mill at Yarmouth.
Off The Rails Café Restaurant a lovely cycle ride through the marshes near Yarmouth.
West Wight Alpacas Café Just along the road from the cottage.
Newtown Creek ~ place where I go cycling.
Blue Moon 31 July 2015 beautiful to see here as there is no light pollution.
Canada Geese Flying over the Cottage from end of July till end of August.
