News from Australia
My niece Kathy in Australia sent me this adorable photo of her twin girls, Katelyn and Heidi. They were flower girls at a wedding. How beautiful they look.
I bet they felt just like princesses for the day. I last saw them a year ago and they have certainly grown. I do hope they'll be able to come to Ireland and see us before too long.News From Wakefield, UK
Jim sent me this lovely photo of his trip 'up North' to see his sister Val, who is over from New Zealand and two of her Grandsons, twins Thomas and George. How odd its that. Two sets of twins in one day!
I am hopeless at knowing which twin is which! So it's Thomas and George on the outside and Jim and Val in the middle (Jim's the one with the beard)..... The 2 boys are 6'4" tall. They're huge and, like their older brothers Sam and Luke, they play rugby league and are already training with the 'big' teams. Sam and Luke (Burgess) are both on the television regularly and we often watch them play. I can see it won't be too long before we're watching these two. Aren't they lovely? All four are delightful boys. Sadly their father died last year but Mum Julie (Jim's niece) watches them play all over the country and used to play herself!Meadow
I had a wander around the meadow yesterday and as well as taking 2 panoramas I took some photos of the bluebells. It's still early days and they are not fully out yet. We have hares all over the place and they eat the bulbs and make huge holes everywhere but some do survive thankfully.
You have to enlarge it to see them properly among the long grass
They are such a gorgeous colour
A hole left by a hare, and below
More hare holes! They also dig for pignut bulbs.
Bluebell Walk
This is the entrance to the bluebell walk. It's all a bit wild at the moment.
When I first decided to make this little walk through the dense blackthorn, I said, jokingly, 'lets call it bluebell walk', having no idea that any bluebells really grew there! It was so funny when the following spring, up popped all the bluebells. I must have known.
There are lots of ferns in there too
and hundreds of sycamore trees
Inside bluebell walk, looking back to the far end. On a hot summer's day (ha ha) it's lovely and cool in here
It's dark in there, so I had to use flash
This is where you pop out, back onto the meadow.
Turn right and it's a short walk through willow trees to:
The RooteryWhat was a style, now a bit broken, but you can just step over it. This takes you straight ahead to the mini wood area, or rootery, or left to the arboretum (see below). You can see the extension through the trees.
This is where you pop out
This delicate little fern is growing under the trees there
We saw a 'rootery' at Prince Charles's garden and thought how wonderful it was. Now, whenever we have some interesting bits of chopped trees or ivy, we put them there. Below are some of the pieces we have.
This is actually ivy!
Looks like an alien creature
An old hollow log props up a rather spindly hazel tree
The edge of the rootery (left) onto the arboretum. I like the way Jim mows along the edge and leaves the other part long
I just turned round and BlackJack was sitting on Kitty's newly washed quilt!! AAAH!
Dragonfly
I promised Mildred Nalley (from Nalley Valley), who loves butterflies and dragonflies, that I would post a photo of the dragonfly on our kitchen wall, so here it is. It's not the best photo, sadly:
Panorama
The row of taller trees and shrubs is our boundary, the meadow is actually 3+ acres.I had another go at this one but had to shrink it rather a lot. Please click on it to enlarge. This is taken standing at the 'crossroads' of Jim's mown paths in the meadow. I had my back to the house. I hope you can make it out as it was rather dull.
I'm off into Jim's cubby hole now to try and clean it up a bit. I told him a while ago it looked like a teenager's room and he rather sheepishly brought down a pile of mugs! See you all later maybe.
5pm. Oh well, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that.... It's absolutely pouring down, blowing sideways so my plans to go and tidy the bluebell walk have been scuppered. I did, however, clean Jim's den. Cat hair free floor now. Better do Kitty's quilt instead...
22 comments:
You know I look at your pictures, especially this post and I wish I was a child again, playing in your yard. What wonderful playtime I would have on the Bluebell walk and the wonderful opening to the meadow. It all looks so magical. And, Fairy Hill? sigh....I would leave little gifts for the fairies... My inner child wants to come and play.
:)Bea
You have one of the most delightful blogs! I am always mesmerized by your photographs. I feel like I am in one of the fairy tale books I read as a child. It's all so very pretty and unique. Your panorama is stunning and oh, the bluebells heavenly. Those little twin girls are precious and what handsome brother twins. Thank you for sharing your beautiful dragonfly with me. It is so nice. We saw two dragonflies in the garden here yesterday and I thought of you! I hope you have a great day! Thanks for sharing with me.
Oh Bea, come and play, do! You would love it, except, maybe, for the weather. Jim and I have both remarked how we would have loved to have lived here as children. What great dens and camps we would have made. I still want to do it now! When Jack comes next time.
Hello Mildred, glad you like the dragonfly. It used to be on our wall in the UK. Jim and Sally bought it so it's a reminder of her for him (she sadly died of cancer). I like it too of course.
It's strange how you and Bea have said similar things about our 'magical' place. I'm glad my blog inspires that kind of feeling. It makes me feel good.
It does come accross as a place of adventure. Great panoramic shot.
We will come over when you are sorted and we will all play. x
Hello J, that sounds brilliant! Probably be about December. That ok?
Lovely family photos and another super panorama. Don't tidy the bluebell walk too much - it is lovely as it is. I love the twisted ivy roots/trunks. Just as well your weather prevents you working outside again, it will give your shoulder time to rest.
Oh it is beautiful there. I am reminded of The booke and movie The Secret Garden I loved so as a child and still do now.
We too are having rain and wind. We were a bit low in the rain fall and it seems to be making it up in a very short time. :)
Lovely/
Hello again Heather. Really, the part I want to tidy is the way we used to approach the bluebell walk. Before it, there was an area full of bramble and what seemed like bits of dead tree, one of which (an ash) had fallen across the exit and blocked it. I cleared it all and called it, 'dead tree walk' not surprisingly. It was a bit complicated without a photo, to explain! I will just remove the odd intrusive bramble in the bluebell walk itself, that's all. But the dead tree walk is impassable at present. Lots of work there, but you're right, I should let my shoulder rest.
Cris, I know what you mean about the Secret Garden. I saw it serialised on tv and it was wonderful. I like a garden where you keep finding different bits and ours is definitely like that.
Thanks Rachel
Hi BT,
Your photos of the flowers and land you are on are beautiful!
I forgot to say that my older daughter has been in Coleraine and Derry since Feb and has loved every minute of it. She visited with my husbands cousin in Dublin as well. I hope to visit someday.
I wont hold me breath! I was hoping for summer! :-)
lol I was hoping for summer too!
Meanwhile, I always loved The Secret Garden book, have a well thumbed copy still :-)
Beautiful twin pics!
Hello Sharon, so glad you like the photos. I'm glad your daughter's enjoying it here. It's wonderful apart from the weather and the speed (or lack of it) of the builders! You're welcome to come and stay if you do make it here.
I am too, Jason and K, maybe after the windows are put in, things will move a bit quicker. I hope so.
The twins are lovely, aren't they? I gave them the link of FB. Thomas has looked and sent me a message immediately thanking me. What a star.
Oh, those darling little flower girls of yours! I love their white with red accents. Gorgeous!
My my my, BT. I just love the names you choose. Bluebell Walk is so romantic, and I love bluebells. I tried to plant a bunch of Spanish bluebells once, but hardly any took.
Glad to hear your shoulder's feeling better!
Wow loads of great photos. Our oldest two play rugby and look much like the twins...must be a rugby thing, makes them big and tall. The twin girls look sweet and make me want to write a story. Love all your nature pics of course and that panoramic one reminds me of Rachel's ones. You have been busy! xo
Hello Bella, I bet your could use the twins to paint 2 little flower girls in your amazing style! Glad you like the names! We had to think of names for different sections or we didn't know which bit we were talking about to each other! It just made it easier. Also for when we open to the public. Ha ha!
DJK, lovely to see you. I'm sure rugby does that to boys!! It's a great game, my youngest son played for years too. Glad you like the photos. I stole the idea of the panoramas from Rachel although hers are more complicated than mine!
Your meadow looks like a dream to me, somewhere where I could take a long walk, stay for a very long while. Just beautiful. Peaceful. I look forward to coming back and reading up on your blog.
Hello Mary and Annie, so good of you to drop in. Glad you like the meadow, it is lovely. A bit soggy though! Jim made all the paths so it's easier to walk round. It's much better now.
xx
I love the panoramas.
Thanks for letting me use your tulip -- did you recognize it?
Your dream:
To dream of being with someone who is gay and that person is rejecting your advances means that you are rejecting a masculine quality of your own. You may be rejecting a characteristic you think unworthy of yourself.
To see an explosion signifies repressed anger. Your unconscious is trying to get your attention.
Put the two together and it would signify a need of acceptance of you as a whole person. Both feminine and masculine qualities are to be embraced. Example if you are a good business person that is considered masculine, a good farmer, again masculine.
Self acceptance is something that you need to deal with because it repeats it self in cycles. As in every few months, years, etc. you get angry at yourself for things you feel, but also feel you should be above.
There is a need to accept your whole self.
That will be 5 pennies.
Love me, your friend the amateur dream therapist.
xoxoxo
BT thanks for telling us which song. And by the way, that was so cool that was your Dad's job. How fun and fabulous that must have been.
Lucky you.
Love Renee xoxo
Renee, you are so sweet! Wow, it does sound as though I'm in a bit of a mess, doesn't it? It was 5 cents last time, is 5 pennies cheaper or more?! LOL. I do find it all very interesting though.
Glad you were helped with my song ident! I look back on those years and realise how lucky I was with my father's occupation. Later in life, when he had died, we couldn't afford to go to Covent Garden! It doesn't seem right, somehow, does it?
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