Tales of a British expat, transplanted into the lush Tennessee countryside. Lover of old, time-worn, and antique. Tea-drinker, flower-grower, animal-nurturer.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
For The Birds
Throughout the cold winter months the Mr. has diligently taken care of the wild birds needs.
Faithfully nurturing their tiny bodies with his special mixture of suet concoctions, fruits, and seeds everyday.
In return we are rewarded with endless hours of entertainment, and their colorful and ever-present choruses of song.
The nesting season is now upon us, our feathered friends busily fluffing their nests in anticipation of a new generation of songsters.
Bird houses have been repaired, and newly crafted, and bird baths freshly painted.
The circle continues.
“Sometimes goldfinches one by one will drop
From low hung branches; little space they stop;
But sip, and twitter, and their feathers sleek;
Then off at once, as in a wanton freak:
Or perhaps, to show their black, and golden wings,
Pausing upon their yellow flutterings.
Were I in such a place, I sure should pray
That nought less sweet, might call my thoughts away.”
John Keats
Monday, April 18, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Cottage Love
The cottage homes of England
By thousands on her plains,
They are smiling o'er the silvery brooks,
And round the hamlet-fanes.
Thro' glowing orchards forth they peep,
Each from its nook of leaves,
And fearless there the lowly sleep,
As the bird beneath the eaves
~ Felicia Hermans 1793 -1835
By thousands on her plains,
They are smiling o'er the silvery brooks,
And round the hamlet-fanes.
Thro' glowing orchards forth they peep,
Each from its nook of leaves,
And fearless there the lowly sleep,
As the bird beneath the eaves
~ Felicia Hermans 1793 -1835
Friday, April 8, 2016
Tea And Scones
Just when the Dogwood's and Flowering Cherry trees are in full bloom, Mother Nature plays a joke by sending the temperatures plummeting this weekend, frost warnings are already in force.
April can be such a fickle month, she lures us with the promise of new growth and rebirth, the flowers emerge out of the hardened soil, the Robins return, gardeners get busy, and then the weather turns cold.
A gentle rain is falling as I type, a dark and cozy Spring day, to be savored.
***********
" The best kind of rain, of course, is a cozy rain.
This is the kind the anonymous medieval poet makes me remember, the rain that falls on a day when you'd just as soon stay in bed a little longer, write letters or read a good book by the fire, take early tea with hot scones and jam and look out the streaked window with complacency. "
~Susan Allen Toth, England For All Seasons
Monday, April 4, 2016
Optimism
As part of my Occupational Therapy everyday, I clean house, and cook. Do you know how limiting it is to carry out chores whilst seated in a wheelchair ?
I've become frustrated more than once I can tell you.
Thanks to my Swiffer duster on a long handle, I can dust 'til the cows come home......everything in sight, including the cats.
My dearest has been mowing and putting the place to rights after a long winter's nap. Everywhere I look, there are shoots popping up out of the ground.
The closest I come to feeling the grass between my toes, is looking through the porch door, and inhaling the scent of freshly cut lawn.
*sigh*.
Real optimism is aware of problems but recognizes solutions;
Knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome;
Sees the negatives, but accentuates the positives;
Is exposed to the worst but expects the best;
Has reason to complain, but chooses to smile.
Knows about difficulties but believes they can be overcome;
Sees the negatives, but accentuates the positives;
Is exposed to the worst but expects the best;
Has reason to complain, but chooses to smile.
~William Arthur Ward
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