This morning, when she had finished her work, including planting of spring bulbs, in Elizabeth’s Bed, Jackie joined me in clearing up after yesterday’s installation of the Monet arch. This involved removing more clippings to the burning pile; a slight repositioning of the path edgings; and hoeing and raking the gravel. She had, yesterday evening, retrained selected stems from the two roses.
I had enjoyed a certain amount of banter with a pair of Open Reach engineers who spent most of the day working on a pole outside our house. I suggested that, because of their frequent attendance, they may like to buy a season ticket.
At least their temporary traffic lights slowed the traffic. We could do with them all the time.
Miraculously, this magenta rose still blooms at the end of the stem shown on the arch.
I understand that certain Australians are under the impression that we have stolen their sunshine. They may appreciate the benefits of what they are missing by seeing that
our bees still plunder flowers such as the dahlia Bishop of Llandaff;
that sunflowers, impersonating Catherine Wheels, still tower aloft;
and that this honeysuckle, very poorly earlier in the year, has recovered after liberal doses of systemic fungicide and insecticide.
Later, I made a couple of prints for Frances, and posted them. She had asked me for a copy of one taken by Jenny on 17th.
I was struck by the same pair of sparkling eyes that had smiled at her father’s lens in the 1950s, so I made an additional crop of our sister-in-law herself.
This evening we dined on Mr Pink’s fish and chips with pickled onions and cornichons. Jackie drank Festbier, ‘brewed according to German purity law’, and I drank Doom Bar.
I read of a study conducted a few years ago in Sweden that seems to indicate that the eyes are indeed the “window of the soul.”
The study found that everyone has a different structure of lines and dots and colors in the iris and argued that eye structure and personality could be linked because the genes responsible for the development of the iris also play a role in shaping the frontal lobe of the brain, which influences personality. So maybe the eyes DO have it!
Fascinating, Cynthia. Many thanks
Thanks for the flowers and the sunshine; we’ll have it back now, thank you. Swap you for rain clouds if you like. Our forecast predicts that we’ll have a sunny spring day by Monday and 26ºC by Tuesday.
Thanks, Mary. We didn’t get many 26 degrees days this year at all, but it is set for sunshine here as well on Monday and Tuesday
We have a super moon and a full eclipse on Monday so everything is happening!
Good
Lovely eyes, and a matching smile.
Your posts, aside from being lovely offerings, continue to further my education. I can now ask for little gherkins using a posh sounding word, and I know that Doom Bar is not some low-down, dangerous drinking establishment.
Thank you, Yvonne. If you were in a low-down boozer you could ask for wallies to accompany your fish and chips.
Is this what you mean!?
wallies
plural noun
(Central Scot, dialect) false teeth; dentures
It’s fascinating that the Scots dialect is different from the cockney slang explained here: http://derrickjknight.com/2015/03/25/a-beach-beauty/
I feel I right wally! So many meanings for one word!
Before and after photos are quite compelling – one sees the eternal and the effects and choices made during a life – in this case the result is quite beautiful!!
Honeysuckle in my experience is always riddled with fungus and pests – can’t grow it even though I love the scent!
Many thanks, Pauline, especially for the apt philosophical comment
I’m happy for the rain here, helps spring flowers along 🙂 I love the bee on the dahlia
Thanks, Matt
The man in the cherry picker, if he thinks he’s picking cherries, is up the pole. Love the sunflower! They are such extravagantly happy plants.
🙂 Thanks, Bruce. He was laying 50o’ of new cable and had just discovered that the battery (whatever that is) was no good
What a beauty she is, and your garden too.
Thank you, Aggie
Always a beautiful way to start my day! Thanks, Derrick & Jackie.
Thanks, GP
You’re welcome, G.P.
Another fascinating entry documenting an otherwise hum-drum day. Hope you made reservations for Wed. at the Royal Oak wine tasting event!
Thanks Oscar. I wondered whether you would notice that
It’s settled then. I await your full report on the wine selections next Thursday! 🍷
We won’t be going, Oscar. We don’t like the publican
We are enjoying the weather too. So unusually warm. Some plants are in bloom again.
Thanks, Inese. Set to continue here for at least a few more days
Doom Bar! And sparkling eyes. You rebuild time.
Thanks, Candice
Oh, the dahlia and the sunflower are so lovely. Bulbs, yes. My goodness I need to do that too. I need to hire a team to help me here. Today I had an enthusiastic six-year-old helping me pick up sticks to build a burn pile. I also asked him to see if he was able to run all the way around the pond and back to me again. After we returned to the house, his mother thanked me with sincerity, ha ha. I think with a team of six year olds, I could get this place organized in no time.
Go for it, Crystal. Thank you