Hares are like buses. You see one ....
and then a whole load more attract your attention!
I had the pleasure of seeing a hare ( after many years) on Christmas Eve,
during a trip to the cemetery, to put flowers on my mum and dad’s grave.
(See here )
Since then, I have seen hares featured ....everywhere!
But the best, I think, is the beautiful and charming painting, above.
Delightful!
It always amazes me that there is far more to an old wall then you realise.
Take, for instance, the wall in the churchyard near to where I live...
‘a stone’s throw’ as they say!
Passing it daily, I always notice something different...
Whether it is moss, lichen, Ivy leaved Toadflax, a wild Strawberry plant,
Sedum, Ivy...or even Yew!
In the summer months, the Toadflax will flower, bringing a lovely
purple tinge to the wall, adding contrast to the mustard coloured lichen.
Nature just has this way of knowing exactly what will work!
I wonder...what grows in or on a wall near you?
What a lovely walk!
It’s the same walk each day...but it isn’t! Does that make sense?
What an absolutely wonderful book this is!
Of course the companion books are equally wonderful
and when you open one, you find yourself immersed in
whichever season you’ve chosen.
Escapism at its very best!
However, we are in the season of winter right now
and so let us embrace this cold and chilly season;
a season that can be unfriendly, unwelcoming,
austere, cruel, bitterly, bitterly cold....
And yet, the strange thing is, that I always feel
so much better in the winter. And if you wrap up warm
on a cold, crisp day, the season then seems to be far
more affable: you find yourself warming to winter!
So, who do we have to thank for portraying winter in such
a wonderful way? Well...the name is Charles Tunnicliffe.
Therefore, it is these books, the ‘What to look for in...’ series,
that always take top spot in my list of favourites.
Charles Tunnicliffe’s illustrations celebrate our wonderful
English landscape...and boy is it wonderful!
I treasure these books ; I think that one of the best things
about them is that each is a gateway to the next season.
Thus the pleasure just goes on and on and on....
it’s never ending!
If you so desire, you can read more about Charles Tunnicliffe
Or you could take my advice and buy yourself a set of these
lovely books ... dip into them every now and again;
you’ll be surprised what you learn!
Wrap yourself in nostalgia and savour the delights
of what is on offer! You won’t be disappointed!
I would liken the word ‘lockdown’ to Marmite;
you either love or loathe it!
I’ve always adored Marmite from the very moment
that my mum cut a crust from a loaf of bread and ‘crust and Marmite’
became very much a feature in our diet! Toast, too...dripping with butter
and Marmite ...yum!
Just like Marmite, lockdown has suited me ...yet I know so many
people who have hated, loathed and detested the last year simply
because of the constraints placed upon them. It’s not been easy for many.
I’m so lucky. And I know it.
I’ve always been content at home. Being brought up in a place
where we had the woods, fields, nature on our doorstep, helped. I
soon understood that the simple things in life are free...and generally
are the best; well I think so! As a child, I made my own amusement
and would often escape into the woods or on to the heathland with an
ISpy book tucked into my pocket...happy days! Even on a wet day
( and we get plenty of those in Devon), life wasn’t boring. I had books...
and plenty of them; I collected stamps; it’s how I learned about the world
as well as how to be patient with stamp hinges and tweezers!
I had my old Singer Sewing Machine, I even knitted clothes for
my sister’s Sindy and Patch dolls!
I’ve always enjoyed a simple home life...gardening, cooking, sewing, reading.
I suppose because much of my working life was in teaching, to get home
on a Friday night and relax, was a joy!
And so I have coped better with lockdown than most and I’ve embraced
the pleasures that have come alongside.
Now that isn’t to say that I don’t sympathise with people who are stuck in
an inner city flat, maybe alone. It isn’t to say that I don’t think about the
thousands who have passed away from this awful virus. It isn’t to say that
I don’t grieve. I do. It’s been the most wretched time for so many...
lost friends, lost relatives, lost jobs. It’s simply awful.There isn’t a day goes by
when I don’t think about all of that.
And oh...how I miss seeing family! That’s the worst part. BUT..as my
other half reminds me, when I’m feeling teary,
“Be glad that they are all safe and well, Sal.”
And I am...of course I am..my family being most precious!
And now, I must away! Time for a cuppa...and some toast..
(not forgetting the Marmite!) 😁
