Early Morning Glories

My first early morning hike had me creeping from the sleeping house, along a winding garden path up into the surrounding wooded hillside. The bay was a silver shimmer in the watery light of dawn. Yesterday the group staying at The Dell grew to eight ~ tonight we will be eleven. The quintessential British house party comprising of Brits, Americans and a Canadian. A lovely group who are 'mucking in' to make each day fun altho' full of kitchen messes, inabilities to figure out the idiosyncrasies of English washers and dryers, and blowing a fuse causing the chandeliers to die................requiring a visit from a guy with a ladder and a Cockney accent.

As I climbed upward through swathes of bluebells, wild onion with their white blooms, pink campions, and banks of trailing ivy, rabbits ran ahead and huge black crows cawed in the tall trees.

There were several old benches along the trail, not particularly comfortable for resting on, but the mossy seats and iron frames made great pics!

Arriving a little breathless at the top of the cliff, I looked back and could see the water far below glinting through huge chestnut trees. This sign caught my eye........yes, it definitely was very private, and very beautiful!

The road along the top had some amazing properties including a huge home built as a replica of a castle. Crenelated turrets, a huge portcullis entry gate topped with a Tudor rose, and iron railings decorated with fleurs de lys ~ perhaps the combined home of Brits and French!!!

In England, flowers pop up everywhere, even peeking through gaps in walls.

This walk was exhilarating ~ today I was to lead some of the group on this magical trek however heavy rain this morning had us hanging out in the conservatory.

Safe Harbour

Arrived safely and am settled in the lovely house above the bay named The Dell. It has secret gardens, flowering shrubs I've never seen before, and perhaps a ghost!This is the view from our bedroom window. This morning, our first, we awoke to rain. The sea was gray but the shrimp boats were already casting nets by 8 AM. Later the sun broke through and the day was cool and fair. The Dell is lovely. A listed Regency house full of antique furniture, chandeliers, embroidered tapestries, bronze statuary, Aubusson rugs...........also modern marble tiled showers with plentiful hot water and a Jacuzzi tub. The Victorian conservatory, dripping with pink and orange bougainvillea, is decorated with an amazing group of ancient birdcages. Slate terraces with urns beckon and entice you to little hidden pathways leading down to the beach and up to the coastal walk.

I'll post again soon.......................about thatched cottages, primroses and Devonshire cream teas!

Cheerio.............

Almost time to go. The trip across the pond tomorrow night will take me to the green, green grass of home once again. Thank you so much for all your recent good wishes for my trip, you were all so kind to take time to comment so generously. I've been fighting Spring allergies big time this week, feeling lousy, croaky voice from such a sore throat, painful to swallow, lethargic, had to limit computer time as I've really been dragging.............and there's still much to do before I fly away!

I hope to keep in touch while away so check in during the next two weeks ~ hopefully I'll manage a post or two and show you what's happening in Devon, England's beautiful Southwest county on the English Channel.

Time at Home

The last week to ready ourselves for the trip is here. We sat out on the porch in the hot sunshine this weekend, braving the heavy pollen falling silently like yellow dust. Looking skyward, the big jets flew through the Carolina blue above, heading to unknown destinations.
Going home...............I love those words. I've crossed the pond so many times I've lost count. Sometimes the trip was for sad reasons. Illness and death of loved ones, hard at any time or distance, becomes a dark journey when the night is black and endless. Fortunately most trips are happy. The anticipation of the pleasant days ahead fills your heart as you set your watch to a new time. Dawn brings views of the ocean still churning far below. The sky at that height presents an awesome sunrise, colors are intense for a short time and one feels the promise of a wonderful day. On descent, the watery light of morning rips through the soggy gray, and far below, the coastline appears, the patchwork fields unfolding on the edges of the cliffs, the familiar English hedgerows, the pale glow of street lights come up to meet you.
You are home.

The Pull of the Sea

Having surfaced from what feels like three weeks of total immersion in Daphne du Maurier's haunting story of REBECCA ~ the book, the original Hitchcock movie and the BBC mini-series ~ I almost feel the call of Manderley, that very special house in the novel.

I will soon be on my way home to southwest England. You may already know that I hail from Devon, the county next to Cornwall where many of du Maurier's books, including Rebecca, were set, and where she lived for much of her life.

Thoughts of being home by the sea where I grew up bring much joy. There are also tinges of sadness as I no longer have my parents and sibling there, but do have cousins and many great friends. My home town has changed a lot from when I was a child. British seaside resorts have struggled to survive since travel to the Continent became easy and cheap.......and the European beaches often enjoy a warmer Summer climate with guaranteed sunshine!

This house is not Manderley in Rebecca's story, it is however an old, beautiful, large house overlooking the bay..................and it's where DH and I will be staying with some wonderful friends.

Just a short walk from the house brings one to this small park with a view of Thatcher Rock , Tor Bay, and the English Channel beyond.

Below the house, looking over the cliff, one has the feeling of the strength of the sea as the water crashes around the rocks...........similar to the Cornish coast viewed beyond the windows of Manderley.

One of my favorite places to sit and enjoy just the feeling of 'being home'. This bench has been here so many years.....................and had better still be there when I take my first morning walk on April 27th!!! Hopefully I'll have new photos to show ~ these I took during my stay in 2007.

April Promises Fulfilled

The European Snowball - viburnam opulus - also called the Guelder Rose, has come into its own this Spring. Planted two years ago as a tiny shrub, it's now eight feet tall, loaded with 'snowballs' just turning from pale green to creamy white. Two lower branches rooted themselves into the ground - these I dug up and replanted in other areas of the garden.

A mid-morning walk through the garden brings new surprises around each bend - blooms are putting on quite a show. All these images were caught in the garden during the past few days.

Azaleas are almost at peak.

Drifts of bright white Sweet Alyssum light up the dark corners like late snow.

Solomon's Seal...........white bells dangling.....

...................Spanish and English Bluebells jingling.

'Lovey dovey' doves kissing, oblivious to Hostas pushing upward through the warming ground around them.

I have a few Iris plants and one is showing an early bud.

Hope you enjoyed this walk in the garden.

"Soon o'er their heads blithe April airs shall sing;
A thousand wildflowers round them shall unfold;
The green buds glisten in the dews of Spring,
And all be vernal rapture as of old." J. Keble

Wisteria Wizardry

Six years ago a dear friend died and I inherited a little green plastic pot of wisteria, tossed aside in her back garden. Struggling in its scramble up a bamboo stake, the wiry stems with a few yellowed leaves didn't look too promising. I brought it home and it sat in that pot for a year. I then decided to plant it in the ground and tied its tender stems in to a metal obelisk. It was happy there and started to thrive. Three years ago we constructed a cedar arbor next to the plant. As it grew I tied the now quite sturdy stems to the wood. Last Summer it crawled across the top winding its stems around as if holding on for dear life. Leaves were pretty, green and healthy, but that's all, no flowers.

Recently, while chatting with a lady gardener I was introduced to, I mentioned how I'd given up expecting flowers on my wisteria. She told me it would take seven years for the plant to bloom!

First ever blooms ~ April 11, 2009

Looking out through the greening trees and blossoming azaleas a couple of days ago, I noticed the leaves of the wisteria opening on the arbor, and there on one end, dangled two violet-purple flower racemes..........and in just six short years!!! Patience is often a requirement when gardening ~ miracles sometimes take a long time. Memories of special friendships last forever in extraordinary ways.

If you want to know some interesting facts about wisteria, including the location and amazing size of the world's largest wisteria vine, go here.

Shopping with Sisters

Such a fun time...................shopping on a Saturday with lovely sisters. Not my sisters, unfortunately I was not blessed with any, but my wonderful friend Vanessa at Vanilla Lavender and her beautiful sister Telma who is visiting from their home in Brazil. Little Luna, Vanessa's sweet daughter came along too and, after coffee and chocolate biscuits (Luna ate most, ha! ha!) at my house, we all headed over to SuzAnna's for some serious treasure hunting.

We also met up with Deborah of Pictures, Pots & Pens - she was ready for a break after a week of taking care of her adorable grandsons!

Hard to believe lovely Telma had just arrived in the USA - her first visit - at 11 PM the previous night and the sisters had been up chatting until 2 AM!

As always, lots of fabulous stuff at this wonderful shop. Owners Susie and Jenny, along with their helpers Linda and Gail, have been busy redecorating, color co-ordinating, organizing, you name it.....................everything looked ready to be snapped up and taken to someone's home.

Isn't it great to have warmer weather to go antiquing?

Do you venture out early on the weekends to hit your neighborhood yard/garage sales?

Do you ever take off on an antiquing road trip with your girl (or boy) friends?

I think during this shift in the economy, buying second hand makes so much sense.
Happy hunting.

Simple Easter Decor

Easter decor around the cottage is minimal. In the quest to simplify, the knick knacks have gone.

These little chenille bunnies ~ too cute to let go ~ will greet visitors on the front porch.

My pair of large white china rabbits sit on the dining room table and will be joined by a pot of Easter lilies in the next day or so.

My sweet mother bunny and babies sit on the hearth.

Blessings to you all at Easter.

Household Chores

Last Sunday afternoon the memories flooded back as I stood at the ironing board smoothing DH's shirts and trousers for a business trip to California early Monday.

As a child, I always helped my mother with the ironing......and there was plenty of it! No automatic washers and dryers then. Clothes came in from the outdoor line, often stiff as boards on cold, Winter days, but soft and sweet smelling in the Springtime. Because my mother worked full time outside the home six days a week, Sunday was far from a day of rest. We cleaned house, cooked the ubiquitous English Sunday dinner, consisting of a 'roast and three vegs.' along with those British specialties such as Yorkshire Pudding for beef, or fresh mint sauce for lamb....................and of course desserts such as trifle, steamed treacle sponge or gooseberry fool! And we ironed for what sometimes seemed like hours on Sunday afternoons.

I find enjoyment in ironing once I get in the mood to unfold the board and plug in the lightweight modern iron with steam and spray. Nowadays, the French scented linen water in a pretty bottle, for me lavender or verbena, makes this chore a pleasant one. As the iron slides across the clothes I take the time to reminisce about those long ago Sunday afternoons. Once the stacks of fresh clothes and folded linens were done, the kettle was boiled and the tea things set out ~ time to relax and realize the pleasure of a job well done.

These days I iron in the kitchen looking into the back garden and enjoying the sights and sounds of Nature. Out there I see more chores ahead now Spring is here. The gazebo needs re-staining, the beds still have leaves to be cleared, the veggie patches need digging over and refreshed so we can plant on our return from England in early May.

Household and garden chores are never done. Ironing gives one time to plan. Do you enjoy ironing? Where do you iron? Do you have a view making this chore a pleasant one?

Growing Family

Introducing our new family member................Razzy the Yorkie. Held lovingly in the hands of her owner, granddaughter Jasmin. This little silky dog's future will, I'm sure, be full of fun and love.

Jasmin has wanted a puppy for some time and her wish was granted recently. DH and I are not really 'dog people', however, when this little bundle of energy comes to visit, have to admit life in the garden becomes active! We get lots of exercise keeping up with Razzy...... and plenty of puppy love licks.

Looking Homeward

This is my current stance, looking east wishing to see the ocean across which I'll soon fly.......................home.

These images were taken in the Autumn of 2007 on a lovely day in Lyme Regis, Dorset, just along the coast from my home in Devon.

If you have grown up by the water it's hard to spend months where it's far from your daily view. In the United Kingdom nowhere is really far from the sea. Living on a small island means you are either on the coast or just a short distance from it. The sound of the waves and the smell of the salt air never leave you and you crave them when far away.

Life on the coast is different, often revolving around the turning of the tides and kindness of the weather. Livings are made from the sea. They say riding the waves and casting nets is in the blood, passed down from father to son.

A fresh crab sandwich is already making my mouth water. Leaning on the old rail around the harbour, watching small fishing boats unload the daily catch costs nothing, makes one thankful.

Walking a pebbled shore, the beach huts still boarded up before the season opens, Spring and Autumn often the loveliest times of year on the coast.

Home can mean an awful lot and one often appreciates it more as the years go by. It may have been a simple life and a silent place compared to now but, oh, how wonderful it was!

Do you have a special memory of your childhood home? Did you grow up along a coastline? Are you far from the ocean now.......and missing it?