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Monthly Archives: January 2019

Super Blood Wolf Moon, Paul Robeson and A Fox

I set the alarm for 4am so that I could get up to see the Super Blood Wolf Moon, hoping that the skies would be clear. They were, the stars were very sparkly and the Moon amazing! I watched as the shadow crept over the moon and it began to go red leaving a white glow on one side. I stayed up for an hour until it was total and red. Sadly, my photos don’t do the colour justice. It was much redder to the naked eye. In the midst of the starry silence and the moon magic, I heard an Owl hooting.

First sight

Almost total

We are sorting out our cds with a view to giving away those we no longer listen to. One definitely to keep is the Paul Robeson. When I was just five years old, my Daddy was away having moved to Cornwall ahead of the family. What was supposed to be a short time turned out to be a full year. I used to ask all the time for Just a Wearyin’ for You by Paul Robeson to be played and I would weep along to the song, missing my Daddy so much. Heaven only knows how Mum coped. Playing it this morning, I cried again, remembering how it was all those years ago and missing him all over again.

On my way home from singing tonight, not far from home, a beautiful ginger fox strolled across the lane and went under a gate into a field. What a treat!

Heartwood, Daffodil and Kalettes

20 Jan

I found this beautiful piece of work and thought I would share it with you. It made me think of the cutting down of so many of Sheffield’s trees last year. The art work is as stunning as the poem, so full of detail and charm.

Heartwood by Robert Macfarlane, art by Nick Hayes

We don’t have swathes of daffodils, just one at a time for now and those are getting knocked down by the wind and rain. I brought the first one in.

Rain battered Daffodil in our indoor garden

Our Kalettes keep on giving! I cooked these in garlic butter and a splash of water. They grow like sprouts but are much more delicious!

Kalettes in garlic butter

3 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 20, 2019 in art, environment, Food, nature, poetry, Postaday 2019, woodcuts

Tags: art by Nick Hayes, Heartwood by Robert Macfarlane

Six on Saturday – After the Rain

19 Jan

Today is a day of sunshine and showers and I popped out between showers to find my Six for this Saturday. I love catching raindrops in my photos and it is so lovely to see signs of Spring, albeit only a few flowers just yet – but – Spring is coming. The grass hasn’t stopped growing all winter. It was mowed only last week and is up again but it is far too wet to be cut right now.

Crocus

Atlantica Glauca Pendula

Snowdrops

Daffodil

Primrose

Like a field!

You, too, could join in Six on Saturday! Just have a look at the post and the comments here.

16 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 19, 2019 in Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019

Tags: Atlantica Glauca Pendula, crocus, daffodil, macro, Primrose, raindrops, snowdrops

Honouring the Life of Mary Oliver

18 Jan

I’ve posted a couple of Mary Oliver’s poems before. I was sorry to hear of her death yesterday.

Mary Oliver

This next poem, Mindful, delights me in that it sums up what I try to do every day.

Everyday
I see or hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in the haystack
of light.
It was what I was born for —
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world —
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy,
and acclamation.
Nor am I talking
about the exceptional,

the fearful, the dreadful,
the very extravagant —
but of the ordinary,
the common, the very drab,

the daily presentations.
Oh, good scholar,
I say to myself,
how can you help

but grow wise
with such teachings
as these —
the untrimmable light

of the world,
the ocean’s shine,
the prayers that are made
out of grass?

“Mindful” by Mary Oliver from Why I Wake Early. © Beacon Press, 2005

This is a very good question for us each to ask ourselves.

Your one and precious life

You might like to look up this website to read more of her poems.

14 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 18, 2019 in poetry, Postaday 2019

Tags: Mindful by Mary Oliver, Sleeping in the Forest by Mary Oliver

Kalettes, A Tea-Cup and A Song for You

17 Jan

We are enjoying our fresh greens and purples – our Kalettes. I cook them briefly in garlic butter and the water they were washed in – and they are delicious. Thanks to our allotment friends for giving us the baby plants.

Kalette

One of our Christmas presents was a freestanding tea cup pouring liquid into a splash. It’s a 3D printed piece based on a Bobby Duke original and we love it.

Tea cup

This song came my way today and pleased me greatly. I want to learn it! Given the crazy politics in our country, we do indeed ‘need each other now.’

8 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 17, 2019 in art, garden, music, Photography, Postaday 2019, sculpture

Tags: Bobby Duke, growing vegetables, John Kettle, Merry Hell

Malt Loaf, Feather and Evening Sky

16 Jan

I made a simple and healthy Malt Loaf today. We are enjoying it!

Malt Loaf

Sliced and buttered Malt Loaf

I spotted a feather hanging from the Clematis leaves and went out into the back garden to get a photograph.

Delicate feather

My walk took me down the lane to visit my lovely neighbour at her allotment this afternoon. She drew my attention to the beautiful evening sky behind me.

Early evening sky

For those of you who liked the sound of yesterday’s vegan supper, I have put the recipe on my Recipes – Savoury page. Here is the link https://mybeautfulthings.com/recipes-savoury/spinach-chickpea-and-lemon-pilaf/

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 16, 2019 in baking, Food, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019

Tags: All bran malt loaf, simple supper, Spinach chickpea and lemon pilaf

Last Night’s New Song, A Poem and A Vegan Supper

15 Jan

The Ingleheart Singers are learning a beautiful new piece, ‘Crossing the Bar’ an arrangement of Tennyson’s poem with the music by Rani Arbo and arranged by Peter Amidon. We managed just the first verse last night and here it is. It’s a four part harmony and each verse is going to be different. We love a challenge!

Crossing the Bar by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,  
  And one clear call for me!  
And may there be no moaning of the bar,  
  When I put out to sea,  
  
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,  
  Too full for sound and foam,  
When that which drew from out the boundless deep  
  Turns again home.  
  
Twilight and evening bell,  
  And after that the dark!     
And may there be no sadness of farewell,  
  When I embark;  
  
For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place  
  The flood may bear me far,  
I hope to see my Pilot face to face  
  When I have cross’d the bar.

I found a delicious sounding vegan recipe this week, Spinach, Chickpea and Lemon Pilaff and it tasted as good as it sounded!

Spinach, chickpea and lemon pilaff

15 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 15, 2019 in community, Food, music, Photography, poetry, Postaday 2019, singing, Uncategorized

Tags: Alfred Lord Tennyson, Crossing the bar, Peter Amidon, Rani Arbo, Spinach chickpea and lemon pilaff

Berries, Hydrangea and A Painting

14 Jan

On my walk along the lane today, these berries made a bright flash in the gloom. I’m sure someone can tell me why they are still all here when the Cotoneaster plants in our garden have been stripped. Are they poisonous to birds?

Bright berries

I love how Hydrangea flowers hang on and on getting more delicate by the day.

Hydrangea

My Sister is an artist who lives in Hawaii . This is one of her beautiful pieces.

Beautiful painting and beautiful sentiment

1 Comment

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 14, 2019 in art, environment, nature, Photography, Postaday 2019, Uncategorized

Thank you Letter, Glass and My Dad

13 Jan

Our kids invariably complained when asked to write Thank you letters but I know they meant something special to my Mum and Dad as I discovered a box full of them when we sorted Dad’s things many years ago. I know even more now how special they were as on Saturday we received a beautiful Thank you letter from one of our LiveWires. It will go into my ‘things to keep’ box.

On the back it says, “Thank you Granny and Grandgrand xx

For Christmas I received all the equipment I need to make pretty glass things without going to more classes. I have just finished my first piece done at home. It will look better hanging with the light through it but I have yet to source the rings for that purpose.

New glass piece with upcycled earrings

On this day in 1916 my Dad was born. He died in December 2004. It doesn’t matter how long ago you lost someone, there are moments when their loss feels like yesterday. We are so lucky to have all his books on our shelves so he is always with us.

Pueblo story-teller and novels by David Wiseman

6 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on January 13, 2019 in art, books, family, glass, Grandchildren, Photography, Postaday 2019

Tags: David Wiseman, gratitude, Jane Julian

Six on Saturday – Winter Structures

12 Jan

I had thought to show you the signs of Spring in our garden – a lone Daffodil, Primroses and Snowdrops but Propogator himself did that so I’ll show you Spring later as it develops.
I love the effects of winter on the plants which show their structure more clearly when the foliage has gone or is dying.

Fern skeletons

Aquilegea seed pods

Zebra grass, Miscanthus Sinensis

Beautiful Birch stems

Weeping Beech

Cotoneaster

So, those are my Six this Saturday. For more Sixes on Saturday, from gardeners all over the world, take a look at the site mentioned abovet https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.