Tuesday, 24 July 2012

Essence of a summer.

Afternoon with friends. One fine Monday!
End of June

One extremely wet Saturday 


Pub lunch, to cheer the gloom of the
incessant rain. 
En route to pub!
13C!!

Brindley place. Birmingham.
Friday 21st July 


English fields. July 22nd





A few days of fine weather finally arrive.
Sunday 22nd July  

Flowers from a friend



Tuesday 24th July. 24C

Too hot for Tiger

Dinner outside. Evening July 24th

Enjoying this spell of warm weather while it lasts. But looking back at the photos, I have to say, the rain certainly made the garden beautiful. Should rename this blog "My garden through the year"!

From dawn till dusk, a gift of a day.

Dawn breaking 4.15am

Isn't it amazing that we have the infinite capacity to forget all about the incessant weeks of rain, when all of a sudden the skies clear to glorious blue and the sun comes out to cheer us once again.

I looked out at a beautiful dawn, and knew it would be a lovely day.

So, of course I went outside and took the first of the day's pictures.
Snapshots in time, which do not really do it justice.
   You cannot smell the freshness of the early morning air nor catch the scent of the dew on the grass.  
7.59 a.m.
7.59a.m
8.03 am
 As the day unfolded I was able to have my breakfast outside sitting at the patio
table, after hubby departed for work. The bumble bees, who are nesting in a hole in the rockery, were already buzzing merrily, lifting their bodies into the air and seeking out the opened flowers. But one of these fine days, albeit few and far between, I swear Tiger will not escape being stung on his nose. He sits, fascinated by the comings and goings of the bees to their hole in the ground, to such an extent he is far too near! Ears pricked forwards, intent in his gaze. I have tried to make it more difficult by inserting two small sticks either side of the bees' entrance. We will see what transpires.  At least for now, he cannot get his nose too near!        

8.04.a.m.
 I then went off to my informal French conversation group, which we have in a nearby cafĂ©. We had an enjoyable hour and a half chatting about various subjects, and it really makes me feel like I am back in France, especially as the weather was fine, sunny and warm. Back home for lunch, and then, making the most of the afternoon, back outside in the garden. My box hedge was giving out a kind of pungent, but pleasant aroma in the heat. I reckon it was about 24C.            
17.59 pm Poppies, shrub roses and nasturtiums, all tumbling over each other 


20.59pm  

So, with the wind rustling the leaves of the trees which surround the garden, I sat in the shade of the patio table umbrella and ate my lunch, before beginning the challenge set out for us, to read a French novel or other such book written in French, to recommend it at our next meeting in September, as the holiday season is upon us. The school's have finished and hurrah, hurrah, our road is not now choked with cars as a result!!          
21.58pm
23.02pm
 So, from dawn to dusk, a gift of a day.
Here at least.
I only have to read about or listen to the news, to know that for many parts of this planet things are not so good..............my heart breaks for Syria. The problem being, that we see what is happening right in front of us, via our television sets,  but it renders us powerless to do anything. We can only hope and pray that the people trying to bring some kind of resolution to this horrific conflict will one day succeed.    And their dawn to dusk days will once again be at peace.        

Sunday, 15 July 2012

Saturday 14th July 2012. 39th Wedding Anniversary.

Saturday 14th July 1973 
Snapshots of 39 years.
So we celebrated by having a trip to London to see The Lion King. Remembering how 39 years ago to the day, a Saturday, we were in St Mary's Parish Church, Rawtenstall, for our wedding ceremony.
Having moved first to Portsmouth, where Matt was born, and then to the Midlands, where Alan was born, and where we live, we looked back at all those years, and it seemed like yesterday. Only there is always one of us missing. Matt. married for a short 6 years before he died.      
September 29th 2011

Matthew, born 23rd April 1976

Alan, born 29th September 1984 

Christmas Day 2011

Matthew. May 2005. Died in an accident in September 2006,
 alongside a family friend. Forever missed

http://agriefremembered.blogspot.co.uk/ 

Matthew Milford Sellers 1977

Matthew with his grandparents.
Ethel Smith and Leslie Milford Smith
1980

Me and munchie grandson, Alan and Jen's first child.
b October 2011   

Grandad and his grandson. June 2012 


Friday, 6 July 2012

July 6th Forecast today: Localised floods and heavy persistent rain!

Today, I woke at 4.30am and it was fine and there was already a mist in the air hanging round the taller trees. But it was fine, after a lovely day yesterday, when I mowed the grass and enjoyed the  novelty of being able to actually do some gardening and then sit outside to read another book, having finished one the previous day.     
              Tiger is not amused! 8.00am. 

    By 8.00am the rain was falling steadily and I grabbed my umbrella to take some pictures in case the garden is so sodden later in the day, the plants will be a sorry sight. As I write now, at 9.30am, it is heavier already with a forecast of localised flooding. Also extremely humid, with little wind stirring the leaves which are dripping constant water drops.
    The garden snails are loving it! Some of them having chomped on my hosta plants.  
                   
    The weather has caused this fungi to grow at the base of one of our trees.
  • A soggy poppy.





    Raindrops on the yucca

    Nasturtiums growing among the shrub roses 




    Hydrangea head flowering



    Rain falling onto the pebbles in a dish


 English summer!! 2012
Tiger retreated soon after I took this photo and went into his favourite place, stretching out underneath the velux window in the bedroom in the loft. It's warm, and, most importantly, dry!  

Thursday, 5 July 2012

July has arrived.

I sat watching curtains of rain once more through the patio window and thought that there was a delicious irony in the fact that the garden is thriving whilst we moan about the weather. I simply love the riotous greens, and scrambling plants, all sated on an abundance of water. I had some visitors on Sunday, who happened to arrive when we had a "window in the weather" and the sun was shining. They went for a stroll outside and enjoyed the colourful display on offer. 
My poppies are flowering, and although they do not last too long, they are such beautiful plants, when crowded together. My "Sir Cliff Richard" rose is full of blooms. And one of my dad's favourite roses,  "Ingrid Bergman", stands up straight and tall despite the recent battering storms, and daily episodes of heavy rain.  So, in spite of the lack of seasonal summer weather, there is some solace to be enjoyed, at least for me.   
    

Sir Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard.   




Ingrid Bergman