Saturday, March 16, 2024

The Growing Season

The new spring grass is growing at a phenomenal rate, I suspect it has something to do with all of the rain that fell throughout the months of February and early March.

 "April showers, Bring May flowers"
Except a little early....
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Unfolding

A few days of warm sunshine, and everything is unfolding from a long winter's sleep.

Fingers crossed Mother Nature is not playing a joke.

 


 


Were I to live a thousand years,
 I still would know that flaming thrill,
That rush of joy when first appears
 —the golden daffodil.

A thousand times my heart would sing
When purple irises unfold;
Or when forsythia's branches bring
Their dazzling showers of gold.

I could not see an almond tree
With branches all a rosy glow
But that a tide of ecstasy
Would through my being flow

Were I to see, a thousand times,
Blue scilla bells amid green grass,
I know I'd hear their fairy chimes
As I would pass.

Were I to live a thousand years
I'd never watch the nesting birds
Except through eyes bedimmed with tears,
My tongue bereft of words.

Were I to weave ten thousand lays,
Knew I a thousand songs to sing,
I still would lack the power to praise
—the miracle of Spring.

Silver Lining ~Wilhelmina Sitch 1888

 


Saturday, March 9, 2024

Spring Forward

 



This coming Sunday at 2 am our annual clock fiddling takes place once again.
An hour forward to Daylight Savings Time, payback for that extra hour of sleep, we enjoyed so much back in November.
Spring is not far behind,  just ten short days,  what a lovely thought...…
 
                                                      🐇🐇

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Hello March

A glorious sunshiny day today.

I've been busy as a bee, changing out the now-tired Winter decorations and replacing them with Springtime favorites.
The birds are feathering their nests, fluffing and cozying for the next generation.
A season of re-birth, promising new beginnings and hopefulness, in an otherwise chaotic world.


 

" It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold, when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Winter Moon

Our cold Winter days are finally becoming warmer, offering  some much needed  clean-up time in the garden.
Spring daffodills are waving their sleepy heads in the noon-day sun, and dusk is not appearing until the clock strikes 5:30.

In two short weeks we return to Daylight Savings Time, with Spring  just around the corner.
Later this evening a bright  Full Moon fills the night sky.

Magical.


 

 
Brightly the moon like a jewel is beaming,
White in the east, o'er a lone landscape gleaming,
Over the meadows and over the snow,
Glimmering, shimmering, silvery glow.

Low in the east, when the gloaming is ending,
Slowly this white winter moon is ascending,
Looming so large and appearing so nigh,
Satellite framed by a star-spangled sky.

High in the sky, with soft radiance teeming,
Nigh to the time when men, women, are dreaming,
Weird is her splendor on valley and hill,
Cold is her gleam upon river and rill.

Brightly the moon like a jewel is shining,
White in the west she is slowly declining,
Beautiful Moon ! Which beams gorgeous and grand
Over the homes of our own Native Land.

~Charles Nevers Holmes. 1926.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Rainfall

Two days of continuous rainfall, water standing ankle-deep, I'm beginning to think a pair of webbed-feet would be fitting.

Temperatures are unseasonably warm, and will remain so throughout the week.

There are shoots popping out of the ground everywhere, which is a little discerning, since we are still in the depths of winter, and snow is still a possibility.
I think Mother Nature has a wicked sense of humor.
Row, row, row your boat......
 


 




 

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

🎵 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}}
x x

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

February Days

 
 
 
Our days have been filled with glorious sunshine.
The daffodils are shooting up from the ground, offering the promise of spring.
I tidied around the porches and fiddled in the potting shed yesterday, it's hard to stay cooped up when the sun is shining.
Wishing you peace, in whatever little corner of the world, you call home.....
 

Friday, February 2, 2024

News From Gobbler's Knob



Rabbits have been making a show in the garden.
Nibbling on the new shoots of grass.
The songbirds are once again appearing , a good sign that life is beginning to awaken.
Punxsutawney Phil  has predicted an early spring, maybe in these southern states, the poor folks in other parts of the country, digging out of the snow, will be harder to convince......
We're having a balmy 67 degrees of sunshine today, how's that for a lovely treat !
 

Friday, January 26, 2024

Comfort Food


Today is a typical dark and dreary winter day,  there's not a ray of sunshine in the sky.
I'm making a Shepherd's Pie for supper to cheer ourselves up.



concoction of ground beef, onions, carrots, and peas cooked in a beef gravy and tomato sauce, with herbs and spices; then topped off with mashed potatoes and browned in the oven until the potatoes are nice and crispy.

I buy the Colman Shepherd's Pie mix, available through Publix grocery stores, on the English import isle.
If it's not on hand, then the gravy part is made with Oxo's or beef bouillon cubes and tomato paste, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and parsley.

 

 
Shepherd's Pie was the first meal I cooked  as a newly wed , it remains one of my husband's  favorites to this day.
It will be accompanied by boiled cabbage, mashed 
 with lots of butter, and fresh pepper, that's how my mum used to serve it.
Serve with a slice of pickled beetroot or a few pickled onions on the side, and a nice crusty loaf of bread.
Yum.