Category: Rural Idyll
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The joy of dreams
In a previous blog post, I waxed enthusiastic at the prospect of minimal building work over this coming year. I felt delighted that we might contemplate settling in and living, rather than preparing for the lifestyle we’d hoped for. I forgot how much fun it is to plan and to anticipate the renovations, and then…
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Embarrassed by the busy bees
We didn’t think the lovely orange ball tree (Buddleja globosa) was in quite such a flurry of blossom last year, but the intense cold, for these parts, seemed to have prevented lots of floribundance. The plants are making up for it this summer. And the bees were as busy on this tree as I’ve ever…
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Waiting for the rain
After a prolonged wet spell, when we yearned for the simple protection of a veranda over our heads, so that we could enjoy the outdoors in relative comfort, May turned dry and the friendly builders installed both frame and glass panels of the Simplicity 6 system. Plants in their outdoor pots began to wither before…
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With tidiness comes a sense that a disciplined work-life balance might be achievable
In bright sunshine, our cat lurks beside the table that we’ve strewn with breadcrumbs for the cheeky robin or two that indulge our offerings if laid out on a surface. The garden nook took a fair bit of tidying, but today our lovely neighbour has brought us over two purple pots of chives that we’ll…
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As neat as ever you please
Our new builder friend, who’ll be a neighbour just as soon as their own house build starts two doors down, is working with us on a few jobs we’ve been thinking about over these past months while we settle in to our new home. These new patio blocks will, eventually, when we collect enough shekels,…
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Sunset glows after torrential rain . . .
Work has commenced here in our Holmview garden, in a fair few places. The gate that was a barrier has been taken down, as I’ve mentioned in an earlier entry here on my pursuit of joys. The carving out of a place for our new greenhouse is now ongoing (to the left of the decorative pots, in…
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Bright sunshiny day . . .
So Monday morning is our regular Men’s Coffee Morning at New Galloway Town Hall, and after finessing yet another file for the cheerful printer, I moseyed along down for a cup of coffee. I’d heard that the big heater in the lesser hall had been repaired (a bust fuse), and so I expected to be warmed…
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Windmills in the clouds . . .
It was a misty morning, and there were icy patches on the tarmac as I hopped it down to the Men’s Coffee Morning. I thought, as I passed this scene, that it was quite remarkable, and then I realised that I’d better extract my iPhone and take a quick snap. Far across the valley of…
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The festive season begins . . .
The first Sunday in December is often, but not always, also the first Sunday in Advent, the start of the Christmas season. But I believe that December’s first Sunday is always the traditional ‘lights-up’ event here in New Galloway, which we shall experience this year for the first time. Villagers apparently gather at the Golf…
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The ineffable wonder of water . . .
I’m to mow the lawn this morning, with our lovely rechargeable battery- powered Bosch mower. When I looked out of the kitchen window, the delight of the glistening droplets caught my eye, sparkling as they were in the sunshine across the grass. Not because I should have to delay my mowing chore until the sun’s…
Roads to Joy 