History Will Be Kind To Me, For I Intend To Write It.

Sir Winston Churchill, the great leader and politician, loved butterflies.
So much so, he bred them at his family home in Kent, England.

Churchill's love of butterflies began when he attended prep school in the 1880's.
In 1924 Churchill bought Chartwell near Westerham and he lived there until the end of his life.

Chartwell was re known for it's magnificent views over the Weald of Kent.

In 1939 just as the storm clouds were gathering over the world, Churchill telephoned leading butterfly breeding expert L Hugh. Newman for advice on setting up a butterfly house.
Sadly, the second world war prevented him realising his dream, but after the war he converted his summerhouse into a butterfly house.

He also sought advice on which plants to grow to attract butterflies and planted buddeia borders.
Visitors to Chartwell can follow in Churchill's footsteps along his butterfly walk where the borders may be the oldest surviving examples of such planting in the country.

The gardens attract species including the Common Blue, the Meadow Brown, and the Gatekeeper. All butterflies that are bred, are found naturally in the area.

Photos courtesy of BBC

Morning Surprise

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

Just when The First Sergeant and I had decided 'that's our lot' for 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 )

Summer's Waning

" When summer gathers up her robes of glory, and like a dream of beauty glides away. "
~Sarah Helen Power Whitman

The flowers are fading fast. What remains are mostly wildflowers and perennials. Autumn gardening chores are patiently waiting.


Divide the Water Lilies and Iris

Inside the potting shed

A nightly visit from moma deer and baby, eating from the apple trees.

Rose of Sharon

"How sociable the garden was.

We ate and talked in given light.

The children put their toys to grass

All the warm wakeful August night."

~ Thomas Gunn, Last Days at Teddington

Autumn Longing

Ooh, it's been a glorious day......

One of those days, where the temperature has cooled, and the humidity has returned to the point of  tolerable.

A breezy porch-sitting day.

You can feel that Fall is in the air, just around the corner, and I'm excited,  because it is my favorite season.

I've always thought that because I was born in early November it's like a coming home of sorts, a kinship to my genetic roots.

"Whilst August yet wears her golden crown,

Ripening fields lush- bright with promise;

Summer waxes long, then wanes, quietly passing

Her fading green glory on to riotous Autumn."

~  Michelle L. Thieme : August's Crown

Rambling On

Oftentimes a person has no other choice than to pick themselves up and dust themselves off.
That has been my goal today.
My work day finished early, enabling me to take a ramble in the countryside, roll down the windows, and let the wind blow the cobwebs out of my clouded view on life, these past few days.

I actually rode to the cemetery, and sat by Linda's graveside for a little closure. 
The serenity and peacefulness held great healing powers;  I  didn't say goodbye,  instead  a " see you later " slipped from my lips.

This old antique store always makes me smile, with it's endless collections of memorabilia.

There are plenty of old barns dotted around the county, this one still in use.

Bygone signs

Grand old farmhouse

Cedar rail fencing

Timeless beauty

Tobacco barn

Things that made me smile along the way

Man's Testament.

Question not, but live and Labour
Till yon goal be won,
Helping every feeble neighbour,
Seeking help from none;
Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.

~ Adam Lindsay Gordon
Courtesy of Kipling

Bloggy Break

Thank you so much for all of your kind thoughts, prayers and support during this sad time.
I am truly touched.

I'm taking a few days off from blogging, when I can gather the wind back in my sails, I'll be back........

Hugs,
Jo
x

Going Home

It is with a heavy heart, and a saddened mind that I write this post.

Friday evening I spent the night at the home of my dearest next-door neighbor who for the past two years, has been fighting a brave battle against Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Linda has never smoked cigarettes, her disease was hereditary, and had already claimed the life of her mother and brother.

Her condition in these past few months had deteriorated immensely, family members faced with taking care of her every need, exhausted.

I volunteered to stay with Linda, and give what relief I could offer.

She underwent a difficult night, her breathing shallow and labored. I fed her a small bowl of ice-cream, wiped her fevered brow, massaged her blue-tinged feet, and told her how much I valued our friendship, and loved her as a sister.

The following morning, the Hospice nurse arrived.

I offered to stay, although family members were present, and I felt it best give them their privacy and so returned home.

Exhausted, and filled with despair I laid down to sleep.

Within an hour I received a text-message that simply read "Heaven"

I knew my dear friend had passed and was now on her journey 'home'........

Fifty eight years young, a true friend and neighbor.

A hard-working lady, never married.

A proud country girl, who loved her family and church-family.

A true-animal lover in every sense of the word.

A dedicated sister and daughter, who cared for her ailing family.

A lady who loved life, and shared that love with those around her.

Godspeed you on your journey 'home' Linda.

There's a triumphant welcome awaiting you.

I already miss you my dear friend.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I did not die.

~ Mary Elizabeth Frye

The Difference A Day Makes

The total rainfall for our county was officially twelve inches in the last twenty four hours.

You read that correct, twelve inches !!

Passing the local community park this morning, it looked more like a lake, than a park, not a patch of grass or walking trail in sight.

Isn't it peculiar, that just a few hours earlier the creeks resembled raging rivers, and now as daylight turns to dusk, they've once again regained composure and receded within their banks.

We're All Downstream

We've had rain....
The kind of non-stop gully-washing rain, that drenched the parched grass and flowers, and gave a respite to the Summer heat.

Non-stop rain.
In some nearby areas, up to ten inches has fallen since midnight last night.

So much rain.
They've canceled the County Fair events this evening....can you imagine ?

I puddle up the neighborhood
I make the postman mad
I wake the worm and spank the frog
Sleeping on his lily pad
And when the tulips in their beds
Nod happily, it's true,
I shake the petals of their hands
And say, How do you dew?

Here's My Handle, Here's My Spout

I'm not alone, when I say "I love teapots".
I've never met a teapot, I didn't like.
All shapes and sizes, earthenware, and fine bone china.

Some of my favorite teapots are considered collectors' teapots, "themed" from English landmarks, and famous characters. They are James Sadler teapots, and can be quite whimsical in nature.

James Sadler was founded in 1882, and is one of the leading manufacturers of teapots in the UK. It began with James Sadler, who built a factory in Burslem at the heart of the ceramic industry in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He went on to make a name for himself by making fine earthenware teapots.

I'm always on the look-out for a new teapot to add to the collection.