In Portugal, I am riding Lusitano horses and lazing by the pool between lessons. One is a stallion with a thick, ripple of cream mane and a coat like a shiny new penny. There is a buddleia covered in monarch butterflies and swifts that dip and make ripples on the water. The moon and Venus.
Juvenile tawny owls calling for food in the oak trees outside our rented cottage near Laugharne, wild foxgloves climbing the banks from a steam train ride and dozens upon dozens of oyster catchers feeding in the mud of the Taf estuary at low tide in the drizzle whilst swallows and housemartins skimmed the grass and reeds.
Two tiny goldfinch fledglings with yellow lightening bolts on their wings. Shady green tunnels. Shiny new springs on the gate at the start of my favourite walk. Roundabouts full of wildflowers. A large hare cleaning it's coat. Five moorhen chick's, their feet bigger than their bodies. Heavy rain, but warm rain.
Swifts circling by day, bats flutter by night. Making the most of the warmth before the big heat comes. It hardly gets dark. The scent of linden blossom in the air, the perfume of midsummer. Big blowsy roses leaning over the pavement, inviting me to stick my nose in. A red admiral butterfly kisses me with wings before flying off…
Opening the blinds yesterday morning, I was greeted with a squirrel nonchalantly feasting on the strawberries, with discarded half eaten ones scattered around. None left for me!
Fields of daisies, forest wildflowers, brambles, ivy, moss, lichen and water everywhere here in the Pacific Northwest, cascading down cliffs, filling lakes and gorges. Still too cold for a real swim, though. Soon
Walking the Spiral at a symposium celebrating the sense of ritual as we move towards our Summer Solstice .Joining à Sigil Workshop meeting the Sigil Sisters ! Sipping wine by the Railway Arches in Worcester in the summer sunshine debating the world . Then drifting back into the garden to collect calendula heads for seed & sweet cicely such evenings to date in lush green gardens and seeing the swifts 🌿🌱🍃
This week I joined a group Forest Bathing in the South Downs National Park. What an adventure I loved every minute. The cool air and stillness as we got further into the woodland, the temperature of the tree as we touched them cooling is further. And learning how to breathe is synergy with my adopted tree. Magical and will be doing this again.
Hurtling towards the solstice, greeting a perfect sliver of new moon with one star.
Poppies everywhere here too. Butterflies in the sunshine between showers. Painted lady, marbled white and small tortoiseshell.
In Portugal, I am riding Lusitano horses and lazing by the pool between lessons. One is a stallion with a thick, ripple of cream mane and a coat like a shiny new penny. There is a buddleia covered in monarch butterflies and swifts that dip and make ripples on the water. The moon and Venus.
Juvenile tawny owls calling for food in the oak trees outside our rented cottage near Laugharne, wild foxgloves climbing the banks from a steam train ride and dozens upon dozens of oyster catchers feeding in the mud of the Taf estuary at low tide in the drizzle whilst swallows and housemartins skimmed the grass and reeds.
Two tiny goldfinch fledglings with yellow lightening bolts on their wings. Shady green tunnels. Shiny new springs on the gate at the start of my favourite walk. Roundabouts full of wildflowers. A large hare cleaning it's coat. Five moorhen chick's, their feet bigger than their bodies. Heavy rain, but warm rain.
Swifts circling by day, bats flutter by night. Making the most of the warmth before the big heat comes. It hardly gets dark. The scent of linden blossom in the air, the perfume of midsummer. Big blowsy roses leaning over the pavement, inviting me to stick my nose in. A red admiral butterfly kisses me with wings before flying off…
This created since a lovely image! 🌸
The perfume of summer jasmine, honeysuckle and roses on a warm afternoon as I sit on my swinging bench reading.
Last night I noticed hollyhocks everywhere. They're magnificent.
Opening the blinds yesterday morning, I was greeted with a squirrel nonchalantly feasting on the strawberries, with discarded half eaten ones scattered around. None left for me!
Fields of daisies, forest wildflowers, brambles, ivy, moss, lichen and water everywhere here in the Pacific Northwest, cascading down cliffs, filling lakes and gorges. Still too cold for a real swim, though. Soon
Feeling a little melancholy as the solstice approaches as the nights start drawing in again, then I remind myself summer is about to start.
The exasperated buzz of a bee caught snugly within a rose...never experienced this until recently, lifted up a petal and away he flew!
Milkweed coming into blossom, and seeing the first Monarch caterpillar of the season.
Walking the Spiral at a symposium celebrating the sense of ritual as we move towards our Summer Solstice .Joining à Sigil Workshop meeting the Sigil Sisters ! Sipping wine by the Railway Arches in Worcester in the summer sunshine debating the world . Then drifting back into the garden to collect calendula heads for seed & sweet cicely such evenings to date in lush green gardens and seeing the swifts 🌿🌱🍃
This week I joined a group Forest Bathing in the South Downs National Park. What an adventure I loved every minute. The cool air and stillness as we got further into the woodland, the temperature of the tree as we touched them cooling is further. And learning how to breathe is synergy with my adopted tree. Magical and will be doing this again.
The cherry tree in my garden is groaning with fruit, some of the branches are bent right over and I’ve had to prop them up with canes.