Plotting

I've been gathering my Winter reading material.

There's nothing like turning the pages of  a gardening book, in the midst of Winter.

When the hopes and dreams of most gardeners lie dormant just beneath the surface.

We've been blessed with more sunshine today, the Iris shoots are popping out of the warm soil.

I trust they know that winter days are not yet over.

 

 

This vintage cup and saucer makes me smile.

Bought many years ago at a local village fete, my very own little thatched cottage.

 

 

Contentment

A dark and dreary Winter day.
I'm grateful to stay home, warm and snug inside.

 

 

  

                                       

                                             "Home, the spot of earth supremely blest,

                                               A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest."

                                                              ~ Robert Montgomery

The Cat's Whiskers

" I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed.
These things, to me, are expressions of love."

~ James Herriot

 

Mist-Laden

 

The earth is soaked from three days of rain,  leaving us with an eerie landscape this morning.
Long winter days are now warming, blue skies and sunshine, what could be more soul-stirring.
Today reached a high of 73 degrees, balmy for a January winter's day.
Perfect for doing a few outdoor chores.
 

 

Winter Sky

 

The weather has warmed.
The rain has washed away any signs of lingering snow and ice.
The Robins are feeding on earthworms, the ground once again soft and wet.
A dark and cozy Winter 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

 

All Caught Up

We ate, drank, and made merry.

Spent our time tea-drinking and catching up, and giggled like two school girls.

There is nothing quite like an old friendship.

Of being in the company of someone who knows you inside and out, and you them, in the way that just seems to happen, when months turn into years, and years turn into a lifetime.

 It’s like a massage for the soul. You have no idea how much tension you’re carrying around until you’re in an environment so comfortable that it all drains away.

 

 

And Sharing these.... 

 

Flowers In Winter

 

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

 

 

Sky Watching

Our first snowfall of the season is on it's way.

The weather gurus have predicted an entire inch for our Middle Tennessee Valley.

Nothing compared to other states, but ooh,  how we go into panic mode, and collectively head to the grocery store to stock up on milk, bread, and eggs.

I'm settling in for the day, with a pot of chili simmering on the stove.

Awaiting the magic.

 

 

 

 

Nesting

I am well and truly in the 'nesting' phase of winter.

Is it even decent to allow the days to just roll on by, without a sense of accomplishment, or the tick of a list.

The Christmas decorations are taken down at least, although I tend to leave the table decorated for a few more weeks of color.

 

 

There are whispers of the "S" word  in the grapevine, so I'll leave the winter dishes in place.

 

 

 

The house looks so bare without all the Christmas excess, it's funny how you get used to all the baubles and lights.
It's a candle-lighting, book-reading, tea-drinking kind of night.
Enjoy yours !

Can You Keep A Secret ?

Oliver is partied out.
It has rained for the past three days, so he has returned to his nesting mode.
It is time for his annual checkup at the vets, I don't have the heart to tell him......