Spring has sprung while we have been away! The trees’ leaves are that beautiful fresh green, the Bluebells are truly blue and in every hedgerow as well as our garden and, almost best of all, we have lambs in the back field. What a treat!
Young lambs
New green leaves from the moving car
English Bluebells in our front garden
Self sown Bluebell in the drive
Purple and white Clematis on the trellis
Clematis
We can feel the Spring arriving! There was a beautiful golden dawn this morning and tonight, at 5pm, I drove to choir in day light for the first time for many weeks.
Dawn from the back bedroom
We have Snowdrops in our garden.
Snowdrops
Our walk today was along Cliff Road, by Gylly Beach and through the park. It was 10C and the wind had dropped.
From Gylly Beach across to St Anthony Head Lighthouse
My walk into town today was punctuated by the beauty of Spring flowers.
Our walk into town is beautiful in Spring. I love this primrose hedge.
Primroses on a Cornish hedge
The sun was glinting off a curved window this morning.
Building in Redruth
Walking back up the lane we spotted a lone Bluebell flowering really early.
Bluebell
P.S. This evening, being the third Tuesday of the month, was a Humanist Meeting and it was a treat! We had Hilary Coleman and Sally Burley to tell us about their research into Cornish pub songs. The talk was illustrated by the singing of the Red River Singers and it was, to quote another member, ‘One of the best and most enjoyable meetings we have ever had!’ They have published a book of their research and the songs and it is fascinating.
Shout Kernow
1 In the week we have been away, lots of our daffodils have bloomed so as I opened the curtains on this St David’s Day morning, there they were to greet me and to celebrate my Welsh heritage. Happy St David’s Day to my family, my Welsh friends and all my Welsh readers.
2 St Piran’s Day is on 5th March but is being celebrated in our town, and many other towns and villages in Cornwall, today. You can find the legend of St Piran, the Patron Saint of Tinners and of Cornwall, here.There has been a parade, Cornish music and food, the shops are decorated with the black and white flag and with daffodils to mark St David’s Day too and the celebrations will be going on all day and evening. As Cornish tinners went all over the world to work and to share their expertise, so this day is celebrated all over the world. Do let me know if there is an event near you. Click on any photo for the bigger version.
Happy St Piran’s Day to all my Cornish friends and family here and all over the world.
The Lamb is part of the Lamb and Flag emblem is used by Redruth Town Council as the emblem for the town. It was originally a mark used by Cornish tin smelting works to stamp the ingots of tin.
Very special cake in the bakery window
3 Walking back from the parade, Spring was all around – warm sunshine, bird song and blossom.
Blossom and crocuses
Global Love Letters come to Redruth
1 Today I discovered Global Love Letters, a beautiful movement to share love. I visited a small gallery in Redruth with an exhibition all about writing and sharing the words, writing your own message and sharing it, writing love letters anonymously to strangers and sharing the good feelings generated – and spreading this around the world. It is well worth looking at the website, http://globalloveletters.com/ and watching the videos. I sat at the desk and wrote my letter and left it behind to be found by a stranger. If you are local, the exhibition is worth a visit.
2 It has been very windy and leaves are already lying thick on the ground. Our Autumn colours are quite subdued but for the Virginia Creeper which I found in all its glory climbing up a wall in the side road near the gallery.
Fallen leaves
Glorious Virginia Creeper in its Autumn colours
3 We’ve had a very productive afternoon clearing the vegetable boxes and planting shallots and garlic, trimming the Pittosporum hedge and mowing the lawn but my favourite job was planting another 40 bulbs in the walled garden outside the kitchen for colour next Spring.
40 bulbs planted
Today and everyday, my posts are my love letters to you all, my lovely readers.
1 The lanes around Cornwall are just bursting with that very special bright green of new leaves. Every corner turned brings new delights.
Lane through Kennal Vale
2 I always take a walk around Mylor graveyard while the lovely Mr S strolls around the boatyard. The Robin was keeping a close eye on me.
Robin on a gravestone
3 It has been a very grey, cold and windy afternoon but the wind meant that the rigging on the yachts was singing that special song that reminds one of being by the sea. The Myosotis blue was glowing despite the lack of sunshine.
The singing rigging
Forget-me-nots by the water
Walking home this morning, through the industrial estate after dropping the car in for a service, I entertained myself searching out signs of Spring on this day, 25th March, when the temperature is not at all Spring-like at 0*. There is snow over much of the UK today (but not in Cornwall) and we are all promised the Beast from the East (a bitter Easterly wind) for another week so I just want to offer hope to everyone who is still waiting for Spring to arrive. Spring will come!
1 The rabbits in the field behind our house are getting very frisky despite the minus temperatures.
Rabbits in the field behind our house
2 Hiding under the Pittisporum hedge was this beautiful, delicately pinked daisy, just waiting for some sunshine to encourage it to open up. A Macro Monday photo, you can see the hairiness of the calyx in this close up – lovely.
Pink tipped daisy
3 Having gone into town to post T’s card for her 2nd birthday, I couldn’t resist checking out the charity shops for some bright red shoes for our next gig on Friday. I didn’t find any shoes but did find these delightful little egg-cups which will be perfect for the Grandbabies’ boiled eggs at Easter.
Charming egg-cups
1 What a lovely way to encourage the customers to do the right thing!
Notice in the cafe
2 After the rain this morning, petrol puddles were left behind on the road – lovely memories of finding these as a child and being so delighted.
Petrol puddle
3 The front garden has two parts – one is my purple, white and green Suffragette garden as I have mentioned before. The other is daffodils and other Spring flowers and the lovely Mr S is preparing the ground for a Birch tree which is to be delivered next week.
Crocuses with raindrops
Daffodil back with raindrops
The next two photos are not beautiful but I need your help, all you readers who may also be gardeners. I went out to get a photo of the Suffragette garden this afternoon as it was looking so pretty. To my dismay, 30 or more crocuses had been pulled up and scattered, some near their place of planting but some over a meter away. Many were broken off at the corm and many of the corms had been nibbled/ pecked? Does anyone out there have any idea what happened and how to prevent it happening again? We’ve replanted all those we could but we have lost so many.
Garden attack
Uprooted crocuses
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