Something...February photos

Belated photo hunt from February snaps...difficult to choose this month - partly because life is so busy and partly because of the photos I have taken, some were shabby and, of the others, it seems I have taken so many that represent the hope and promise of early Spring. I love this time of year and it seems the descriptors of something happy... or something you love... or any number of others could be applied to many things. Which I guess makes this a positive month!

Something...

Unexpected	Feb	Free
Thought provoking		Important
Exotic		Yellow	Jan
Interesting		Valuable
Exciting		Old
Happy	Feb	Fresh
Rough	Jan	Smaller than a mouse
Golden		Purple	Feb
You love	Feb	Glittery
Tasty		Orange
Shiny		Dirty
Colourful	Jan	Fluffy
Light		Green
Tall	Jan	Alive
Black		With wheels
Smooth		Short
White		With hair
Special		Heavy
Soft		Pink
Wet		Noisy
That moves		Blue
Tiny		Hard
Sharp		Clean
Red		To eat

Something unexpected...

I am always amazed and delighted by the resilience of nature. A lesson for us all I think. These aconite bulbs arrived from a mail order company last year looking for all the world like a rotten slimy mess. I figured I had nothing to lose from slinging them into a pot, fully expecting them to just rot away into the soil. Nothing last year, then to my surprise, early Spring these pushed their way through. Not the promised 20 but just a few determined little plants, so they have earned their place in the garden and will find a more permanent home soon, where I hope they will spread their early cheer.

Something you love...

Tea in a pot - what my mum would have called 'proper' tea, made with tea leaves, topped with a cosy. Add a perfect little jug that holds just the right amount of milk for the two mugs my little pot holds and this is morning bliss. Or afternoon, come to that! The teapot has an integral strainer for the leaves, which ticks my boxes on so many counts - no faffing about with a tea strainer or blocking the sink when you clean the pot, tea leaves for my compost bin, cheaper tea and no environmentally dodgy tea bags. What's not to love?

Something happy...

Well, strictly speaking, something that makes me happy. That first blossom against a blue sky. Sitting in the garden under the plum tree, enjoying just a hint of warmth in the early Spring sunshine. Somehow this speaks to me of hope and future and the beginning of everything bursting into life.

Something purple...

Pulmonaria. Or lungwort. At first glance this might appear to be a relatively inconspicuous little plant but it is so reliable, covers the ground in shady areas of the garden and early in the year provides a carpet of colour, often with different shades on the same plant. Up close, the tiny flowers are almost translucent and the buds, stems and leaf edges covered in fine hairs that make it look as though it is shimmering in the low light. I love it.

Roll on longer days, happy hunting.

S

Seismic shifts...

A  momentous few weeks...the arrival of my first Grandchild.Which makes me feel ancient and privileged in equal measure. And immensely proud of my son and daughter-in-law, who have had to go through challenges I wish I could have saved them from. If only my Mum could have seen him, she would have loved her Great Grandson.

This gorgeous girl was responsible for my bedraggled look in the pic above but, in fairness, rather saved my sanity over the last few weeks and has made me think maybe, just maybe, when I finally get a home again, maybe I should think about a furry companion...

She got me out, in all weathers, and allowed me to appreciate early morning dew, golden buttercups and ethereal dandelion clocks...

And when we have had blue skies...a chance to just breathe...

Life changes. Sometimes imperceptibly, at other times it feels like the earth has shifted beneath your feet. There have been a few of those in the last couple of years. Ready for some stability now. 

S x

 

Spring walk...

After weeks of lockdown, huge challenges at the hospital and then snow...a change of weather has brought a splash of colour to Mum's garden and a hint of warmth to the air. Better things ahead...

 

A walk through woodland, last week the track was deep in mud but this week quickly dried by the sunshine...

Bright silver birches, striking against the sky...

And way above, two buzzards circling slowly, for all the world looking as though they were just enjoying the chance to stretch their wings in the warmth...

Long shadows through the trees...

Small splashes of bright colour, as though nature has opened her paintbox and picked the most vivid hues to wake us up...

This county of Norfolk, that has felt so constraining for so many months, looking beautiful - who knew..?

So here's to things that lift the soul and happier days that must be coming...

Sx

February...blinked and missed it!

I don't know whether to be glad we are rapidly heading out of winter or slightly freaked that the months race past so fast. Seems to me the older you get the more rapid the passing of time! But on the whole, I'd go with the former emotion - whilst I love crisp, bright winter days I do struggle with the sense of hibernation that pervades with days and nights that, when you work full time and long hours, seem barely discernible. So, I'm not sorry February is out of the way and the evenings are brightening. I feel as though it passed without anything much to enjoy or appreciate but looking back through the few photos I took I realise that's not entirely true.

I was lucky enough to be given National Trust membership by kind friends last year and unknown to me, they renewed it for me again this year. So at the end of January, on a beautiful cold Sunday I went to Felbrigg Hall, one of my favourite NT houses as a child - I always felt it had the feel of a family home, albeit a very grand one! The house doesn't open to visitors until March but the gardens and park are open so I put by boots on and walked...

It was lovely to see some blue sky...

and the beautiful thing about winter sunshine is the long shadows it throws...

Ok, so this is not your average family home...

but, to me it felt much more 'friendly' than the other grand halls in the area. It was bitterly cold, even in the bright sunshine, with frost on the estate churchyard...

A couple of weeks later, on a bit of a whim, I decided to drive to Bristol to see my youngest son where he is at University of West England. Not such a bright weekend but the city of Bristol, which I hadn't been to before, was a lovely place to spend a couple of days. Sadly, I was not in this rather lovely hotel...!

We walked up to Cabot Tower... 

for the views across the city. I imagine on a brighter day, you must be able to see for miles from here...

Lovely to see patches of snowdrops...

Seems to me Bristol has quite distinct 'neighbourhoods' within the city - on the way to Brunel's famous suspension bridge we took time out in pretty Clifton with its streets of independent shops. Loved this flower shop display on the path...

And the sun kindly came out for us to sit and eat huge scotch eggs and salads from a deli/bakery - so good!

The bridge is an impressive structure spanning the Avon Gorge...

with beautiful skies...

 Bristol seems to have lots to offer and we barely began to explore in a short weekend. The Docks are worth a visit, with the fascinating museum of the recovered Steamship, SS Great Britain. So well done, to be able to walk under the glass water level...

and inside the ship a real sense of the history and the conditions in the reconstructed cabins. Lovely to spend a bit of time with my boy and let him share his 'new' city...

Last look back at the prettily coloured houses overlooking the water...

Even on a fairly dull couple of days, Bristol had a nice feel to it and it was good to see him settled and happy.

And that was it for days out in February! And already almost a week into March! This weekend I have largely hidden at home with a touch of the viral lurgy that seems to be prevailing but last week it was lovely to feel a bit of warmth in the air in Regent's Park, London...

and to realise that at 5.30pm the sun was only just beginning to set over the River Wensum in Norwich...

And yes, my prevailing feeling is roll on Spring and warmer, longer days...

S x

getting out and about...

I know the weather has been pretty grim, especially for those in the South West, and I can't say it has felt particularly nice here - cold winds and bursts of rain but when I looked at my camera for the last few days actually there was quite a bit of blue sky. Got me wondering about whether we capture what we'd like to remember as much as a true record of life? Or is it just that when its really grim I have a tendency to hibernate indoors?!

Anyway, at the weekend I got up early and walked into the city beside the river. I love that I can be at the market in just over 5 minutes and love even more that I can take a variety of routes in and out. I appreciate the novelty may wear off but for now I'm enjoying my wandering.

Whichever way I go I pass churches. On Saturday the blue sky was stunning...

The riverside area has been redeveloped over recent years - it used to be old industrial sites but now is the site of modern housing developments.  Norwich had a thriving brewing industry for many years and I love that distinctive remnants of those old buildings remain...

This rather ornate gateway leads through to the riverside path. I presume the letters relate to the industrial past but no idea what.

The walkway looks very modern now and I'm not sure if I really love it but I do like that this area has been given a new lease of life; it seems entirely appropriate that cities evolve and are reinvented to meet the needs of the current population, provided that the character of the area isn't lost. 

On Sunday I took a very different trip out. I was awake at silly o'clock (for some reason I seem completely unable to sleep properly at the moment!) so I got up and drove to the coast with no particular destination in mind, just a desire to see the sea. I ended up at Happisburgh (pronounced haze-bruh in case you wondered!) which was a regular haunt when our kids were small. It has a striking lighthouse on the 'high' point...

Anyone remember Challenge Anneka?!!! This was one of the subjects of her programme when it got a makeover in 1990 (having just looked that up, I am slightly reeling at how long ago it was!!) - unfortunately, it seems the wrong paint was used and the 200+ year old lighthouse had to have a complete repaint a few years later. It is real landmark; you can see it a way off on a clear day as you approach the village.

The village has been in the news repeatedly over the last 20 odd years as the sea has eroded the coastline by huge chunks, swallowing up coastal properties as it goes. The beach is unrecognisable from that I remember taking the boys to. The original road to the beach has vanished and there is now a mud ramp down to the beach...

There used to be a long line of original wooden constructed sea defences which provided great shelter for small boys to dig in the sand. Now there are a few piles of rocks, dropped in an attempt to stave off the power of the sea a bit. 

It is a beautiful bit of coastline and at 9am it was just me and a few hardy dog walkers, bliss.

The erosion is starkly obvious though. It looks a little like a mini Grand Canyon, with the top end of the beach covered in sticky mud that has slid down from the overhanging fields. Apparently well over 120 metres have disappeared since the early 1990s, which is a huge amount when you think about it.

I wonder how safe the lighthouse is as the sea creeps further inland?

I think this is probably all that remains of the old sea defences...

Something quite poignant about the debris of houses that have gone 'over the edge'...

...and the warning signs on the attempts at sea defences...

The blue sky is deceptive - after an hour walking I was absolutely frozen! Nothing for it but to head home for a cuppa and a bit of Sunday baking!

Peanut butter and chocolate cookies with lunchboxes in mind...

This little rose on my windowsill has replaced the daffs that were a bit past it. It makes me chuckle every time I look at it - it arrived beautifully packaged from a florist. Goodness! Who could possibly be sending me flowers?! (this just about never happens in my world!) 'Have you got a secret admirer?' Tom wonders... And the answer is...? No! Turns out these were from the estate agents that sold the house to me!! How bizarre! I can only assume they took a handsome fee and thought they could spare a bit! Anyway, its a pretty rose, so I will enjoy!

And for a bit more randomness...a bit of crochet...

I had a fancy for making something useful. This cardigan was dead easy, if a bit boring, and I think I quite like it. Only I have to confess to not being quite sure about crochet clothes. They always seem a bit sort of 'boxy' somehow. And even though I added extra to both the sleeves and the body, both are just a teeny bit short. Hoping it may 'relax' a bit when I wash it...

This afternoon was beautiful again with more blue skies. This church is on my alternative route home...

I have a bit of a thing about skies and clouds and almost walked into someone looking up as I walked...

And finally, my clock is going again! The nice man that repairs old clocks came and worked magic with a bit of oil and tweaking and this is ticking away so contentedly in its new spot. I so love the sound, the question is, will we hear the strike all night?!!

Off to bed to see now...

S xx