Dropping By

Just a quick drop-in to say 'hello' and to say 'thank you' to the lovely VeggieMummy at Tales From The Riverbank for nominating me in the Two Good Reads tag. I was thrilled with her comments, and have to say that there are so many wonderfully inspiring blogs out there that choosing just two is very difficult, but here goes.




The first one I'm tagging is Jan at Jan's Ramblings. She is a new blogger and her posts are full of companionable walks in gorgeous countryside, wildlife photos and beautiful crochet.

The second one is Hawthorn at I Live, I Love, I Craft, I Am Me whose blog details her fantastic knitting and crochet, wonderful hikes in the hills and some stunning photos of nature and home life.

(To participate you just need to display the logo, link back to my blog and make two of your own recommendations)

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Last week I made the rhubarb I picked in this post into one of my favourite jams, rhubarb and vanilla. I've made this a few times from this recipe, and love this rhubarb and custardy-flavoured jam which we sometimes have as a treat on sweet brioche rolls for breakfast - delicious! 

We've had some sunshine here today which was very warm, a foretaste of summer. Clover quickly found a patch of sunlight to sleep in after her tea and nodded off next to me on the sofa this evening. There are few things as relaxing as sitting next to a sleeping cat in warm sun,

After work I popped out into the garden and found the first rose of the year, 'Compassion' which has a very sweet perfume. I picked it and took a deep breath of its delicate fragrance - a moment to savour.

I put it into a tiny vase with some Spanish bluebells from the garden, and will put it on my bedside table so that I can drink in that scent while I'm drifting off to sleep.

Out in the garden, instead of noticing how much the grass needs cutting, I noticed just how very pretty the lawn looked with so many daisies and dandelions growing in it.

Down at ground-level the daisies almost sparkled in the vibrant green grass.

The dandelion clocks were ethereal and delicate close up.

I never want to blow them because I love their shape. I've read that when the sun is shining the fluffy heads open right up, ready for the seeds to float away on the breeze, However, when rain threatens they close up until it's past so it's possible to use them to predict the weather. 

We'll probably get around to cutting the grass this weekend, but until then I shall enjoy our 'bio-diverse' lawn.