Meanwhile, back in the not-so-watery world, the days are getting longer and out in the garden, things are happening! I’m not going to share pictures just yet as we still have the “bogs” (the old goat pen and chicken run) and a rubbish pile or two to deal with when the soil is a bit dryer. But I am out and about, counting the bounty of spring bulbs coming up all over…in the driveway, under the gravel walk, in piles of discarded potting soil, just everywhere you care to look. I’ve been told that we have some beautiful “Scottish” Daffodils; apparently they have very large flowers but my informant can’t remember where they have been planted. The one group that is coming up outside the office window already have long leaves and thick stems with well developed buds and I’m hoping that these are them. I already have patches of snowdrops in the lawn, just visible from my PC, and some sunny splashes of yellow would make a lovely picture.
There are perks to having the remains of an old established garden. Often treasures lurk below the soil and it’s always exciting to see what is going to sprout next; even the shrubs are unknown entities to our uneducated eyes. Outside the sitting room window, on a sheltered wall are two very neglected rambling roses, colour and type unknown. We are very fond of roses and have re-attached them to the wall supports, pruned them as much as you can prune five spindly stalks and fertilised. I am envisioning crystal bowls of fragrant roses on polished wood…perhaps a little ambitious for two puny little shrublets that have had a bad start in life but my husband is a rose wizard and can coax blooms from the most unlikely looking candidates!
In other news, the weather has been dryer and I was able to spend some time outdoors, taking advantage of the natural light to finish the current painting. Taking a picture of it also gives me a chance to share my treasured easel with you. M completely rebuilt it from an old frame and left the “distressing” as it was, because I love that old and slightly battered look. He added the decorative finials and the centre support with a sliding clasp to hold the board or canvas fast, even in a breeze so now I can take full advantage of dry days outside!
There are perks to having the remains of an old established garden. Often treasures lurk below the soil and it’s always exciting to see what is going to sprout next; even the shrubs are unknown entities to our uneducated eyes. Outside the sitting room window, on a sheltered wall are two very neglected rambling roses, colour and type unknown. We are very fond of roses and have re-attached them to the wall supports, pruned them as much as you can prune five spindly stalks and fertilised. I am envisioning crystal bowls of fragrant roses on polished wood…perhaps a little ambitious for two puny little shrublets that have had a bad start in life but my husband is a rose wizard and can coax blooms from the most unlikely looking candidates!
In other news, the weather has been dryer and I was able to spend some time outdoors, taking advantage of the natural light to finish the current painting. Taking a picture of it also gives me a chance to share my treasured easel with you. M completely rebuilt it from an old frame and left the “distressing” as it was, because I love that old and slightly battered look. He added the decorative finials and the centre support with a sliding clasp to hold the board or canvas fast, even in a breeze so now I can take full advantage of dry days outside!
Of course, there is still plenty of wintery weather in the future but don't tell the plants or the birds; they seem to be really enjoying the hiatus from rain, wind and snow. The forecast this morning was for winter to rear it's head again by early next week so there will be more "cabin time" and a chance to catch up on some of the other tasks that taxes interrupted.
For those of you who have noticed the Woodendollars logo on the right, the website is under intense construction. Fortunately, it's not all up to us as we are getting a lot of help from our Webmasters (who are also our Hosting Company), the great guys at Twin Hosting. We are just writing content and providing stock (photos and descriptions) and believe me, that is a mammoth task in itself! So as and when the weather closes in, I'm hoping for a chance to do the final push so that the link can then go "live".
For those of you who have noticed the Woodendollars logo on the right, the website is under intense construction. Fortunately, it's not all up to us as we are getting a lot of help from our Webmasters (who are also our Hosting Company), the great guys at Twin Hosting. We are just writing content and providing stock (photos and descriptions) and believe me, that is a mammoth task in itself! So as and when the weather closes in, I'm hoping for a chance to do the final push so that the link can then go "live".
