Friday, December 26, 2014

Farewell to this year..




Well that is another Christmas come and gone. There seems to be so much going on in the lead up to Christmas. Lots of planning and shopping and choosing and wrapping gifts. Menu planning and decorating then before you know it the big day has come and gone. 
Just another week left and 2014 will be over.
It feels as though this year has gone as quickly as the rest. It has been a year of ups and downs. Of happy days and sad. Of family joys and sorrows.
I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my precious little grandson Samuel. I've been blessed to spend some very happy days with him. We are so excited to know that another little grandchild is due in 2015! Being a grandma brings me more joy that I can express.
our first apples






 We have had the sad news of the loss of a dear cousin to cancer not long ago. My cousin Ellen was a gentle, kind soul and though I did not get the opportunity to see her often because she lived in Northumberland in England, I will cherish the memories I have of her. Coincidentally I had just planted a new rose in my garden called Ellen. I will remember her whenever I see it bloom.


My garden has been a source of constant joy for me. Planting and pruning and waiting for things to grow and blossom. There are always some failures but really just lessons to be learned.
I love watching the seasons through my garden. Summer has been slightly different than last year. More rain but at different times than before. Some plants have flowered later and some have flowered that didn't flower last year. I have changed a few garden beds around and some needed to be moved entirely due to the start of our building of a garage. All of this has been slow in progression but on looking back at photographs you can see the change and growth. 

I have learned some important life's lessons.
 Patience. Patience and more patience!!
I am looking forward to a new year in my garden. A new year to plant and harvest and enjoy. To live peacefully in the beauty and earthiness of it. To dig in the dirt and prune branches. To mulch and weed. To wander and just enjoy all it offers my soul. To just sit and soak in its wonder and beauty. Thank you God for this year and for a new year to come. For this life you've given. For all the joy and for the heartache too. 
This is a gift.
 ALL Of IT..




 “However many years she lived, Mary always felt that 'she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow'.” 
― Frances Hodgson BurnettThe Secret Garden




Wednesday, December 17, 2014

December



It is once again the lead up to Christmas. I love this time of year and  I have been fairly organised and I've managed to remain calm and stress free. I have just been able to enjoy it all. Perhaps it's because I am not working outside the home this year.

I still have a few presents to wrap and I will sit down soon and write out our Christmas lunch menu. We have 9 family and friends to sit round our Christmas Table.
I've been able to spend time in the garden which always gives me a feeling of peace.


There have been some terrible things going on in the world lately. Children murdered in their classrooms in Pakistan and a hostage situation here in a Sydney Cafe which left two people dead and some injured. It was quite distressing.
I wrote this on an instagram post about it..

'My heart weeps today. For a world that is broken. For a world where children can be shot in their classrooms. Where madmen can use weapons to kill and destroy. For mothers whose children will not come home. Weep with those who weep.. But I cannot join in the hate. It is too great a burden to bear. Hate fixes nothing.. I stop a moment to mourn the loss of innocents. 
I pray for a better world..'


  
Today I have quietly and purposefully sought silence and 

peace in my garden, taking in the beauty of 

my surroundings and giving thanks for this life I have been

 given.




 It had been raining overnight so there were lovely raindrops on all the petals..









Tuesday, November 11, 2014

For the love of Roses



    I have fallen in love with The Rose
I seem to wake most mornings wondering which rose may have budded or opened its blooms for me today.
I adore their perfume and the delicate look of those petals.
I am in love with David Austin Roses and  I love carpet roses and the beautiful Banksia rose that grows beside my house. I am awfully fond of the nameless climbing rose under my kitchen window. Blue Moon is delightful and its fragrance is delicious! I have just planted Iceberg and beside her 3 more David Austins along the fence.
I dream of having enough of my own roses to be able to have vases filled with roses in every room of my home.
I fear I may be addicted but my, what a lovely addiction.




Lamarque is a beautifully fragrant rose







 This is the beautiful Windermere...... 
and below is Blue Moon.




 Won't you come into my garden, I would like my roses to meet you...







What a lovely thing a rose is....





Monday, October 27, 2014

Sunny Day in our garden...



I have been trying unsuccessfully to capture photos of our chickens. Those girls move faster than I can snap! But this morning I managed to get a couple. My darling Sarah and I and our cat Whitey and our doggy Meela enjoying the sunshine...

These are our newest chicks... Miss Penelope and Miss Loretta 



 Betty is a proud Mumma

 Dot and Gladys have hit that awkward teenage stage :)


 Patsy is looking so good these days!

 Meela would love to be allowed to play with our girls!

Gladys is a lovely Blue Australorp
Kisses..  

Whitey...grumpy as always..


Saturday, October 25, 2014

Feels like Summer



The last few days have been so warm it feels as though summer is not far off. In fact its only 8 weeks till Christmas! I am waiting patiently for my roses to bloom. I have lots of buds ready to open. The two climbing roses beside the house are flowering and looking lovely. 
The trees are green once more and giving much needed shade and it's warm enough for flies and bees and those pesky mosquitoes too!
I take much pleasure in wandering through my garden, pulling a few weeds and taking off the dead flowers here and there. I have planted a few seedlings, some successful others not. I think I needed to leave them a little longer before I planted them out. I'll remember that for next time though. The grass is greening up and needs mowing more often these days. 
My dream is to create a peaceful place to wander and think as well as having a thriving veggie garden to provide us with food for our table. 




“As I leave the garden

I take with me a renewed view,

And a quiet soul.”