Month: June 2022
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The joy of the reveal
When the power flicked off, right in the middle of the bread baking, we thought it was probably a valley-wide outage. But no, the special indicator light showed me that power was still coming in to the house; actually the domestic RCD switch had tripped out. We wondered, as you do, what could have set…
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The joy of building on criticism . . .
Let’s face it: nobody really enjoys criticism, but most of us suffer it with a pained expression. That’s to say, how could you not find my most recent contribution supremely edifying, wonderful and a sheer delight? But since you mention it, I shall try to understand what you’re saying. Before discarding your unwelcome contribution to…
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More things to do . . .
I keep forgetting that work around a big garden is never done. Much as I’d like to pretend that we’re keeping some borders wild and free (folks in New Galloway are very keen on the new ‘ark‘ concept of gardening, in which Acts of Restorative Kindness are brought to bear on domestic gardens that have…
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Life’s resets . . .
As I neared sleep, after a lovely day, I had an idea for a ‘joy’ entry that I had to email myself about in case I forgot. This morning I was glad I’d had the presentiment to make a note. I was thinking about the resets we may undergo in life. How many do we…
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The joy of things to do . . .
I suspect, could be wrong mind, but I suspect that one of the main reasons old(er) people turn to drink is because they’re impossibly bored. I’ve definitely found, for myself, that retirement days sometimes seem to stretch into oblivion and beyond, and I wonder what on earth I can usefully do with myself. But not…
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Ineffable delight of the alpine orchids
Orchids seem so exotic, and possibly because of that it’s a wonderful pleasure to find them growing wild on our own little patch of Eden. On such a sturdy flower spike, or inflorescence, put out by the broad-leaved marsh orchid that’s found an excellent habitat in these upland fellsides, upwards of 40 separate blooms cluster,…
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The sad sweetness of SORN
Actually, I have another couple of blogs, online spaces where I write about other things. Our travel adventures in Harry Hymer are usually recorded at HarryCarrieAndMe.wordpress.com (the pun is deliberate, but nobody is about to commit HariKari anytime soon!). And I’ve documented my wrestlings with my science fiction novels at BiomeNE47.com. Neither blog is very…
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But the clematis has gone crazy!
Perhaps it thrives on neglect, this climbing flower at our back door here in Sparty Lea. Or perhaps this season is just its time, but for whatever reason, the flowers are magnificent. I have a little job today, to fix an errant trellis back to the wall where it’s gone awry. But mostly I expect…
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Reclusive eccentricity . . .
I believe that I have Florence Trevelyan’s odd and lasting legacy to thank for my renewed interest in creative writing. We visited Taormina in 2012, a rare holiday, where we discovered the public gardens that she left to posterity. A plain, rather forbidding woman, she made her life in Sicily after a Grand Tour of…
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Six grasses and two cuckoos
We began with the hairgrass, and eyes opened to new possibilities, proceeded to identify five more species of grass along the marshland twirl. Thanks iPlant/PictureThis. Common velvet, meadow foxtail, false oat grass, reed canary grass and rough bluegrass. And many of our stops interspersed with competing cuckoos calling for a mate. The marshland feels like…
Roads to Joy 