The beauty of an Iris - It's all in the eye !!

I woke up this morning with a head that felt like I had cotton wool squeezed into it and about as much motivation as a dead sheep. Three strong coffees later, which I know is not good for you, I feel a little better and I have busied myself hanging and photographing two more mirrors for the shop. Best of all, I sorted these photos of the Irises in our garden which I took this morning. Even a cotton head feels better for seeing these beautiful flowers first thing every day. We have moved them around the garden several times and each year they get better and better. Its name is derived from the Greek word for rainbow and its petals form a perfect landing stage for all the good pollinating insects in the garden. It also has over 100 uses including medicine, essential oils and artists colour. Definitely one of my fave plants !

A change is as good as a rest!!

Needing a break from everything mundane, Tree and I spent a few days down in Glastonbury to revive our flagging senses and celebrate her birthday. We stayed at Heaphy's, right in the middle of town, which gave us a good view of the monument and hill. We had our usual, fantastic, lunch at The Rainbows End and spent some time in the bookshops. Needless to say, we also spent a lot of time finding new suppliers, talking to Terry at Dillaways, etc, etc.

I was mightily impressed by a new mural that has been painted in the passageway leading to the assembly rooms. The more one looks at it, the more one sees. I recommend you click on the photo to enlarge it and see what I mean.

Monday started out quite drab, as it had been raining all night. We had breakfast at The Blue Note Cafe, which was pretty good, and chilled reading the papers for a while. Not to be put off by the weather, we went to Wookey hole and took a walk through the caverns. It was nice and quiet, as there weren't any children there, and we spent some time going round the place. However, I wouldn't want to go there in season as it is plain to see how busy they can get. As usual, the people who were there in the caves with us marched off to the cafe as soon as they got out of the caverns and failed to notice the 1000 year old Yew trees nearby or the calming sound of trickling water, coming out of the hillside! Tree and I were quite pleased, as this meant we had the place to ourselves.
Now we are back, I will be concentrating on creating stuff, ready for Tiddesley wood at the end of the month. Not forgetting that we also have the Beltane celebration this weekend to look forward to.

Spring has sprung

Spring has sprung indeed! I love this time of year when every day brings something new to see and hear. Every morning now, we hear blackbirds calling for mates and see another one of the plants burst into life. The Sycamore tree, at the back of our garden, has just opened it's buds and is nearly in leaf. Meanwhile the bluebells and wood hyacinths are in full bloom, giving a burst of sweet fragrance as we walk down the path. This spring has been particularly warm as well !! With Beltane just around the corner, we should get busy with planting seeds. I am sure we will make an extra effort to celebrate this one!!

Eostre and back from the brink.

Eostre blessings to one and all!!!
What can I say ? I have been without broadband for a whole week and cut off from the cyber world of blogging. The lesson I have learnt, is to never trust ISPs when they say they'll sort you out in a couple of days !!
Otherwise, I have been having a good time in the real world. Tree and I gave ourselves a break over the Easter bank holiday and needed every minute. Sunday, we went to Westonbirt, and bought shed loads of wood, and Monday we chilled out having lunch out with Elliott, Katie and Sandra. It turns out Elliott is really good at photography and we spent the afternoon round at San's looking online at some of his work. It must be hereditary, as my grandfather and my father were both keen photographers as well.
I have got the confirmation for Tiddesley Wood Fair again this year and I will now have my head down working non-stop until the end of April making mirrors, wands and staves. Deja-vu
I think!

Walking back to happiness.

The clue is in the title I think. Tree and I went over to Symonds Yat yesterday and clambered up to Yat Rock to see the view. Apart from the heat haze obscuring the far distance, you could almost see to the Malvern Hills . The wind was strong and quite refreshing as well. You don’t realise how high up you are until you see that the trees in the photo are 50 foot Oaks!! Tree and I then went on to Ledbury, in search of some wood, and walked the pathway that was once the old steam railway line. You get a different view of the town from up there, as the line used to run on a steep embankment right across the middle of Ledbury. We came back via the Malvern Hills and I stopped to catch a photo of a beech tree that is just to the right of the road as you ascend to British Camp. The root system is fantastic and you would almost believe this tree could get up and walk.
After all this walking, you can imagine, we were fit to drop and too tired to do anything when we got back. Fair play!!