Tantalizing Reflections

Windows are like mirrors to the beauty of the great outdoors...
Depending on the time of day, the season or the angle of light, reflections dance across an outside windowpane...



Be it vintage textiles airing on the line amidst a cloudy day...


Or a country field captured by the village church window...


The ability of the wavy glass to refract the vision before it is amazing...


August is upon us... enjoy the dog days of Summer!

Solitude and Serenity

In this sometimes obligatory world in which we dwell it is an indulgence to seek solitude and serenity...

As I come upon the stillness of a country cemetery, blessed with tranquil surroundings and soul stirring statues I find the moments I treasure...


Sometimes slumbering on the caressing folds of a much loved eiderdown quilt, good book or glossy magazine in hand... the time passes at an easy and gentle pace...


Even strolling amongst the pathways of the garden where bright candyfloss pink hydrangea beckon a passing butterfly ...


the fragile petals of the mop-cap variety appear like tiny elfin parasols and the first petite florets
begin to unfold on the gooseneck flowers I drink in the beauty that abounds...


Hope you're enjoying your Summertime splendor too!

Tidbits

Almost two months ago when our area endured relentless high winds for a day much damage followed...

Trees fell and the outcome was devastating. In one tree a nest of baby squirrels barely three weeks old, cold, eyes unopened and orphaned were discovered by my neighbour walking her dog. Knowing I had a soft spot for critters and having rescued several in the past she came to me and I set out to save them.

With feedings of puppy formula round the clock, they soon flourished.


Almost eight weeks later the two boys and one girl are now in the process of returning to Nature...


The peonies are at their peak in the garden right now. Sarah Barnhart's are my favourite. Their huge flowers and delicate scent fill my little cottage with unsurpassed beauty...
The aroma of yesterday's batch of rhubarb fig jam deliciously lingers in the kitchen...


I'd also like to send this special bouquet to June at 'Laughing With Angels' with the wish of a speedy recovery...

Have a wonderful weekend!

Illusions

Though most of my gardening is devoted to growing organic fruits, vegetables and herbs the small plots of soil set aside for flowers seems somehow a reflection of my favourite colours...


Early June finds a passion for pinks and mauves from the azalea to clematis.


Even the first bloom of the David Austen old rose hidden well beneath the foliage seeking shelter from the hot afternoon sun is the palest of pink...

A soft new Japanese Noro King yarn is on the needles too...


gentle earth tones with a touch of delicate pink, it is the beginnings of an early Autumn cowl for a friend's upcoming birthday...

Have a great week.

A Magical Place

When all is wrong in the world it is hard to imagine such, within the tranquility of the woods...


As you meander down the well-trodden paths venturing deeper into this magical place with the high pitched shrill of the meadowlark above it is easy to get lost in time and place...


Perhaps the forest fairies rest beneath a generous toadstool...


Or listening for the echoes of our ancestors seeking to find the huge oak burls that were once hand-carved into batter bowls...


Or a little pixie dancing amongst the decadent wildflowers...


Although Nature has her darker side with the beauty that lies before us all is quickly forgiven...

Recipes With Memories

There are ever present links to our past that follow us through the days of our lives...


As the rhubarb ripens and the tattered, spattered pages from my great-grandmother's recipes are readied, I find the recollections of her most vivid as I prepare to make her rhubarb marmalade.
Amidst the washing, the chopping and stirring, the aroma that fills the kitchen takes me back in time...




The violets are ready for harvest too. Each blossom picked, infused and yielding the most delicious shade of purple-pink jelly... connecting me to the women in my family, long passed but whose memories I share with their recipes.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Blossom Fever

Living in a vast fruit belt affords one the chance to prosper twice in a season...



Once from the beauty of the blooms that paint the orchards endless shades of pinks and whites and again later in the Summer when the luscious cherries and peaches droop from the branches...


I am not the only one smitten by all this blossoming, French, Austrian and Prussian china makers


once hand-painted their delicate porcelain wares in similar adoring motifs...


Alas Spring in all her glory...