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Category Archives: environment

Day Lily, Clematis and A Very Good Read

Our first Day Lily has bloomed today and there are lots of buds to come.

I bought the clematis, Lady Betty Balfour ,many years ago and it has struggled. Suddenly it’s reaching to the top of the yew tree. I don’t think it had the right label on it as it doesn’t look like the Lady we once had in our previous garden.

I have just finished a most enjoyable read. The salesperson at Waterstones last Friday suggested I might like this one set in Cornwall. I had already bought our books but had enough points for this one to be free so I didn’t resist and, boy, am I pleased that I did get it. It’s funny, clever, rattles along with delightful characters that are so alive and is a really good mystery. I read it in two days and didn’t do much else! I really can recommend it, even if you don’t get it free. (Book buddies J and H, it’ll be available for the borrowing!)

There is a second novel coming in October, a series to watch I’m thinking. Any of you already read this one?

3 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 28, 2026 in books, Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Postaday 2026

Tags: Ross Montgomery, The Murder at World's End

Sunset, Clematis and Hydrangea

27 Jun

Last night’s sunset was glorious, a fiery orange cloud hovering over the tennis courts nearby.

Many Clematis are blooming and this purple one is lovely.

We bought a new beautiful blue Hydrangea today to go with the others I showed you a day or two ago. Click here if you missed them..

Our heatwave seems to have passed on by but the rest of the country and Europe are still sweltering. Here it’s just summertime warmth. How is it with you?

6 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 27, 2026 in Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Postaday 2026

Poppies and A Poem

26 Jun

All the poppies in our garden have sown themselves and are very much appreciated.

I’ve shared other of the carefully chosen words of Thich Nhat Hanh before and came across this poem today that I found very moving both in its recognition of the beauty of nature and of the awfulness of humans finishing with much needed compassion.

“Please Call Me by My True Names”

by Thich Nhat Hanh

Don’t say that I will depart tomorrow,
even today I am still arriving.

Look deeply: every second I am arriving

to be a bud on a Spring branch,

to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings,

learning to sing in my new nest,

to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,

to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,

to fear and to hope.

The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death

of all that is alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing

on the surface of the river.

And I am the bird

that swoops down to swallow the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily

in the clear water of a pond.

And I am the grass-snake

that silently feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,

my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.

And I am the arms merchant,

selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl,

refugee on a small boat,

who throws herself into the ocean

after being raped by a sea pirate.

And I am the pirate,

my heart not yet capable

of seeing and loving.

I am a member of the politburo,

with plenty of power in my hands.

And I am the man who has to pay

his “debt of blood” to my people

dying slowly in a forced-labor camp.

My joy is like Spring, so warm

it makes flowers bloom all over the Earth.

My pain is like a river of tears,

so vast it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,

so I can hear all my cries and my laughter at once,

so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,

so I can wake up,

and so the door of my heart

can be left open,

the door of compassion.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 26, 2026 in environment, garden, nature, poetry, Postaday 2026, Uncategorized

Tags: Thich Nhat Hanh

High Pressure, A Puzzle and A Poem

25 Jun

Another hot day with high pressure and our ship’s barometer is overflowing which usually means a storm is on its way – and just as I started to write, lightning flashed outside.

The following turned up when I uploaded today’s photos and I have no idea what I was trying to capture but I love the colours in it. It’s a piece of art!!

Here’s a poem for you tonight, another by a favourite poet, Imtiaz Dharker. The opening verse is how it has felt here for the last few days, needing ‘space, light, empty air.”as the heat feels so oppressive and all the curtains are drawn to keep the house cool. But this is indeed the time to ‘be alive” and to feel all the “excitement.”

Poppy, Courgette and Border

24 Jun

Self seeded poppy

First courgette

Busy border

It’s been so hot today, 29C/84F that I have barely been outside, just long enough this early evening to take these three photos.

5 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 24, 2026 in environment, garden, nature, Postaday 2026, Uncategorized

Hydrangeas

23 Jun

This post is for our dear friend who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona and who loves hydrangeas. They were very small when P&J last visited but are thriving in our front garden and are looking very lovely this year.

Hydrangea Petiolaris

Sorry I have lost the names of the others.

3 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 23, 2026 in Cornwall, environment, garden, nature, Postaday 2026

Sky, Labels and Cake

22 Jun

I love seeing the blue sky through bright green leaves.

I bought some lovely copper labels for the trough near the kitchen where I grow edibles, flowers as well as herbs.

There’s a birthday tomorrow at Community Roots so I have made a Sticky Ginger Cake which I know is the birthday person’s favourite.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 22, 2026 in baking, environment, nature, Postaday 2026, Uncategorized

Father’s Day – Breakfast, Lunch and A Walk

21 Jun

Happy Summer Solstice to all my Dear Readers.

I made a favourite breakfast of Blueberry Pancakes with creme fraiche and maple syrup for my lovely Mr S.

Our eldest daughter came for the day and we had a delicious lunch in the Redruth Buttermarket in bright sunshine and with colourful hanging baskets and bunting blowing in the breeze. The excellent kitchens allow for each of us to choose – burger, foccacia, pad thai.

Later we had a rather warm walk down to the beach at Trelissick. All in all, a delightful happy day.

Walking down to the beach

Looking out over Channal Creek

Rock Samphire

Walking back up with the house in view.

And of course, my own lovely Dad is also in my mind today, especially as we enjoy Trelissick which Mum and Dad both loved too.

4 Comments

Posted by mybeautfulthings on June 21, 2026 in Cornwall, environment, family, Food, Happiness, nature, Postaday 2026

Tags: Redruth Buttermarket, Trelissick

Raindrops and A Poem

19 Jun

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.