March Lambs

I found myself running an unexpected errand today to the big city of Nashville.
It's a bustling, noisy city, full of all that cities have to offer, and the ever present feel of Country Music.

The home of President Andrew Jackson lies within view along my route, the fields are green with new growth, and the surrounding farms are home to flocks of new Spring lambs.
Is there anything sweeter, than a field of Spring lambs prancing about their mothers.

Young Lambs
The spring is coming by a many signs;
The trays are up, the hedges broken down
That fenced the haystack, and the remnant shines
Like some old antique fragment weathered brown.
And where suns peep, in every sheltered place,
The little early buttercups unfold
A glittering star or two - till many trace
The edges of the blackthorn clumps in gold.
And then a little lamb bolts up behind
The hill, and wags his tail to meet the yoe;
And then another, sheltered from the wind,
Lies all his length as dead - and lets me go
Close by, and never stirs, but basking lies,
With legs stretched out as though he could not rise.

~John Clare

Oliver Love

" Sometimes he curls up on my pillow during the night and I don't know he's there until I yawn and my mouth closes on a whisker. "

~Astrid Alauda

Color Comes To Town

I know Spring is on its way when the Redbud trees start giving out beautiful pink buds.
It is hard to express adequately the miracle of a tree that had branches so bare all through winter suddenly go from stark brown to magenta.

But there she is again, emerging from her own winter of storms, freeze, winds, drought and still standing, still surviving, still blooming, still giving.

"For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwoodand cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins."

~ Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon

Lovely Lavender

If I could choose but one plant in my garden it would be lavender.

One whiff of it's subtle fragrance, and I'm whisked back to my childhood and memories of my grandma's favorite Yardley's English Lavender toiletries.
Legend tells us that lavender was brought to England by the Romans. It was a highly valued plant due to it's healing, soothing and insect repelling properties.
Lavender oil was also used for massage.

I treated myself to the most wonderful pot of French Lavender yesterday, full of new buds and the promise of fragrant delight, for many seasons to come.

A member of the mint family, and cousin to rosemary, lavender can be used like rosemary in many dishes.

The flowers, can be dried and tied in bunches, laying them in linen closets, or tucking them in dried flower arrangements and scattering sprigs wherever you choose.

A gentle shake or a fond pet of the plant releases the fragrance from early spring to frost.

" here's your sweet lavender
sixteen sprigs a penny
that you'll find my ladies
will smell as sweet as any "

~ The Lavender Seller's Cry, London, England 1900

Awakening Days

We've had the balmiest of weather this winter.
For example today reached a high of seventy seven degrees......in February !

The warmer weather, has forced the Iris shoots to poke through the soil.
I trust they know that Winter is not yet over.

The bird feeders have been a flurry of activity, and I've witnessed Spring cleaning of the birdhouses.
A busy little Carolina Wren, with her beak full of feathers, moss and sticks, flinging it all so recklessly with little regard for it's former tenant.

The deer have been visiting nightly

There are definite signs of spring.
Even the Lamb's Ear is looking perky.

Morning Mists

Morning Mist

In the morning, skies so gray,
Before the sun lights up the day,
I chanced upon a morning mist
That left the leaves and grasstips kissed
With the aqua of the dew,
It left a feeling with me, too
Something old and something new;
Something that comes with the mist again,
Never what, but always when.

Snow Day

Just as predicted, the snow came...
Huge wet snowflakes, that magically transformed the earth, now blanketed and white.
Yesterday I noticed how many birds had reappeared from their Winter nests, chirping and busying themselves about the landscape, the milder weather had stirred their souls.

Today, they are silenced once again.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Our Internet and telephone service decided it was time to take leave of absence this past week, and poof.... just like that we were void of connecting to the world of cyberspace and all of it's wonders.
It's almost scary how dependent and intertwined our daily lives have become with modern technology at our fingertips.

For the first few days, I felt lost, no checking e-mails, or reading favorite blogs, it's a strange feeling of the world moving on without you.

Thankfully, a knight in shining armour, disguised as a telephone repairman arrived today, and with a few pokes and pings; I've gotten my wings back.
Forgive me if I've not visited in the last week, I've been down the rabbit hole ..........

With Love From Me To You

My wish for you.

Comfort on difficult days,
Smiles when sadness intrudes,
Rainbows to follow the clouds,
Laughter to kiss your lips,
Sunsets to warm your heart,
Hugs when spirits sag,
Beauty for your eyes to see,
Friendships to brighten your being,
Faith so that you can believe,
Confidence for when you doubt,
Courage to know yourself,
Patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.

May your Valentine's Day be special !

{{hugs}}

Jo x

Pull Up A Chair

Goodness the weather has turned bitterly cold.
The sun has shone all day long, but the wind has been horrendous, and temperatures have barely made it over the freezing mark.
We had a similar weather pattern last year, all the spring bulbs had popped up their shoots, and then along came snow.....

It's been a good day to stay close by the hearth side, indulge in a bowl of homemade soup, and enjoy the company of a portly cat by your side.

Hope you are all having a warm and snugly weekend.

Winter Flowers

How strange to greet, this frosty morn,
In graceful counterfeit of flower,
These children of the meadows, born
Of sunshine and of showers!

How well the conscious wood retains
The pictures of its flower-sown home,
The lights and shades, the purple stains,
And golden hues of bloom!

It was a happy thought to bring
To the dark season's frost and rime
This painted memory of spring,
This dream of summertime.

Flowers In Winter ~ John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 - 1892)

A Host Of Golden Daffodils

Oh, the very delight of daffodils in bloom, the seasons rewaken.


I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud ~William Wordsworth ( 1804 )