I had a spare hour in Truro today and walked some old haunts finding lovely things. The blooms everywhere were remarkable, I found a Chough at the bus station and rediscovered the Victorian post box.
A Cornish Chough and a Gull
A Red Admiral butterfly at the side of the stream
The flower filled baskets in town are stunning and, I’m told, are watered by a team at 6am every morning. 
This next basket is outside our Greengrocers/ Butchers and Deli – Grow Box, a shop we love. Kisttevi is Cornish / Kernewek for Grow Box.
Our Clematis is climbing right up the yew tree, higher each day!
In Truro this morning I was very taken with the beautiful hanging baskets. On the way home, we admired a couple of the many baskets in Redruth from the car.
In Truro
In Truro
In Redruth
A lovely warm afternoon invited us into the garden with ice creams.
There are so few butterflies in our garden this year but today there was a Meadow Brown.  You’ll have to look carefully to see it in the (rather dry) grass.
Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina)
We hear that there is a heatwave in the South East of the UK but here in the South West we have had grey, mizzly skies for days and the forecast is for more. The resulting raindrops clinging to petals make for beautiful pictures. 
I would not describe myself as a dog lover though I do enjoy watching them playing on the beach and friends have had a dog that I did love. This poem by Mary Oliver, “The Sweetness of Dogs”, reminds me of lovely Kaja and how she loved her people. The whole poem is so full of the beauty of the moon, of gentleness and shared love.
Tonight was the opening of the exhibition, Cornish Myths and Legends, at the Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery.
Arghans by Sue Hill and Pete Hill (with a little input from me!)
The hair and little creatures
Discussing the creation
Sue and L, in a very beautiful coat, talking about the exhibition
On the ride home
When I was eight or nine, my Granny went to Austria and brought me a lovely wooden bracelt with paintings of flowers. It no longer had the elastic threaded through but I do still have the pretty wooden beads. 
In the bag with the beads were a collection of buttons some of which also came from my granny.
The sun shone this morning! The beautiful book I was given last week had 99 words for rain and one for sun.Here it is. 
Sending love to all my Dear Readers on this Valentine’s Day.
We can’t believe the growth and the beauty of our Amaryllis!
Equally, the beauty of these birthday present chocolates has amazed us. They look like little planets. The company’s strap-line is “A Collision of Art & Chocolate.”
And more, a remarkable birthday card which opens to be a drum kit!
Today Daughter no 2 and her daughter, LiveWire no 3 went to see The Nutcracker at The Royal Ballet and Opera House in London and this evening we have been to see the livestream of the same performance. It was wonderful and I love the idea that, despite being hundreds of miles apart, we have just shared the ballet experience together.
Today too, I remember my wonderful Dad who died on this day in 2004 after a very hard nine months and his final, even harder ,17 days in St John’s Hospice in Doncaster. where he, and I, were extremely well looked after with love and understanding.
I was back at singing this afternoon! Joy! A friend at choir brought in some `Christmas cards to sell, made by his partner and they are really beautiful. I thought you might like to see his words on the back too.
This is one of four lovely designs.
20% of each card sold will go to ShelterBox
I went down to the lottie for the first time in a week (chief cook and bottle washer, nurse and physio and a chest infection to boot!) and collected courgettes and new potatoes which we had for tea tonight. I was somewhat dismayed to find that the broad beans had rust and it is a decimated crop. I did get a few but not enough to last the best part of a year as we usually do. The flowers are on another plot and I loved the colours
There was a black cat eyeing me from its place on the wall.
Our lovely neighbour called round to check on us and to bring me a little gift. She had been to Krowji, our local arts complex and a had met a very interesting artist, a photographer Paul Sanders from whom she bought this delightful little flower in a frame. I love it.
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