Morning Surprise

The Morning Glories were planted in the early Summer, and yet despite a show of prolific folliage, sadly NO blooms.

Just when we had decided that the six weeks of drought had taken a toll on them this year, look what we were greeted with this morning...

The vines are bursting with tiny flower heads, and so hopefully in the next few weeks, we'll be once again surrounded in the garden, by a splendid display of Summertime 'blues'....

                      

                          

THE MORNING-GLORY

Was it worth while to paint so fair

Thy every leaf - to vein with faultless art

Each petal, taking the boon light and air

Of summer so to heart?

To bring thy beauty unto perfect flower,

Then, like a passing fragrance or a smile,

Vanish away, beyond recovery's power -

Was it, frail bloom, worth while?

Thy silence answers: "Life was mine!

And I, who pass without regret or grief,

Have cared the more to make my moment fine,

Because it was so brief.

"In its first radiance I have seen

The sun! - why tarry then till comes the night?

I go my way, content that I have been

Part of the morning light!"

~ Florence Earl Coates ( 1850-1927 )

RIP " Our Onslow "

Sadly, Britain has lost yet another of it's well-loved actors Friday evening.

Geoffrey Hughes, 68 years old passed away at his home after losing a two year battle with Prostate Cancer.

He was well known and much loved for his portrayal of slobbish Onslow in Keeping Up Appearances, and Twiggy in the Royle Family.
He also played Eddie Yeats in Coronation Street.

RIP "Our Onslow", you will be greatly missed by all of your fans.

Obituary: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/9436024/Geoffrey-Hughes.html

Image credit: UK Telegraph

Keeping Vigil

Floating Along

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."

~ Sir John Lubbock 1834-1913

Wellies Mandatory

Another day, and more rain.....

Lots of rain, where is it all coming from ?

Three weeks of drought, and now non-stop rain.

Heavy rain, the kind of rain, where an umbrella is nothing more than a nuisance.

The rain gauge spilled out of it's measure, not once but twice, eight inches of rain overnight

Oliver takes advantage of the sunshine in between thunderstorms.

Singing In The Rain

We begged for rain, and rain we have.......

Three days of non-stop rain, and more to come.

Be careful what you wish for !

And The Rains Came

After enduring week upon week of record breaking heat, we have finally turned a corner, and now our days are filled with rain.

The grass is growing again, the flowers are thankful for the cooling rain, the wildlife has no further need for the birdbaths.

The rhythm of life returns to normal.

A break in the heat

away from the front

no thunder, no lightning,

just rain, warm rain

falling near dusk

falling on eager ground

steaming blacktop

hungry plants

thirsty

turning toward the clouds

cooling, soothing rain

splashing in sudden puddles

catching in open screens

that certain smell

of summer rain.

~ Summer Rain : Raymond A Foss

Porch-Sitting

                      

Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit.

A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all's right with the world.

~Ada Louise Huxtable

Summer Rain

We had rain last night, an unexpected thunder storm that popped up out of nowhere.
It didn't last long, a mere thirty minutes, but ooh was it a welcomed sight.
If you listened carefully you could hear the trees and flowers, heaving a big sigh of relief, their roots and foliage drinking in every last drop of moisture.
The temperatures fell, and for the first time in several weeks we enjoyed a tolerable 81degrees.

How lovely is that !

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,

In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

How it clatters along the roofs,

Like the tramp of hoofs

How it gushes and struggles out

From the throat of the overflowing spout!

Across the window-pane

It pours and pours;

And swift and wide,

With a muddy tide,

Like a river down the gutter roars

The rain, the welcome rain!

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

She's In Good Hands

I  have always felt that old pieces of furniture have souls.
They have been a part of a family's household, have witnessed births, celebrations, milestones, and even deaths.
When I bring an old piece into my own home, it's as if I am the new caretaker, mine to love and enjoy for only a few short years.
A temporary position, until it passes along to the next homestead.

Last week I brought a century old Kentucky Pie Safe into our midst, a much-loved piece of furniture, that has served it's utilitarian purpose well.
I can imagine all of the homemade pies that have sat upon it's shelves....... still warm from the oven.
Maybe stacks of linens, or dinnerware, or served as a pantry, in some distant rural farmhouse.

Each time I pass it by, I can't help but smile.



Michael Wood's Story Of England

For the Britophiles amongst us, or for those interested in English history, we are in for a treat.
The Public Broadcasting Service will air the groundbreaking series Story of England  in which  historian and broadcaster Michael Wood tells the story of the lost history of England, from the Dark Ages until the 20th century, through the eyes of one place: Kibworth, Leicestershire.

The new four-part series Michael Wood's Story of England reveals how this village, located in the heart of England, lived through the Black Death, the English Civil War, the Industrial Revolution and World War II. Intertwining the local and national narratives, Wood presents a moving and informative picture of one local community through time.

The first of the series will be shown on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. ( check your local listings )

( Before playing the video clip, be sure to turn off the MIXPOD player, by scrolling to the bottom of the page, and clicking the LARGE ROUND button )

Make yourself a nice pot of tea, and enjoy !

Deja Vu

It has been yet another incredibly hot day.
Four days in a row, we have broken temperature records.
The lack of rain adds to the miserable conditions, the land is parched and cracked, grass is brown and brittle, a tinderbox of trouble.

The birds are hiding out beneath the canopy of trees, every once in awhile they appear at the birdbaths to quench their thirst, all have their beaks gaped wide open in an effort to cool down.
Birds do not have sweat glands, so they can only lose heat through breathing.

The hawk, continues to visit.

The bluebird carries the sky on his back

   ~ Henry David Thoreau