Countryside and Flowers

Hello Lovelies,

 yesterday the weather forecast was for a bright start, but rain later. A good incentive to get out for an early walk.

As soon as the boys were at school I headed out along the lane. Where I peeped over hedges at the countryside.............

and was rewarded by the happy sighting of a hare, having his morning wash...........

and doing a little sunbathing.............

a little further along I came across some pretty white blossom.............

Delightful............

after about half a mile of roadside walking I was happy to get to this familiar bridleway............

There was no blossom in the neatly trimmed hedges here. And no greenery apart from the Lichen.........

 But as I wandered down this track I let out a huge sigh. A happy sigh, it rather took me surprise.
I'm not sure if it was the peaceful moment away from the traffic , or the fondness for this familiar spot.
Maybe it was the arrival of spring, after  the particularly  cold winter months............

Oh look , there are eggs for sale. I wished I had brought some pennies..........

I passed the back of the hay barn..........

and through the muddy tracks............

Till I got to our little local nature reserve. It's a simple place, with just a sign on the gate telling you that you might spot Brown Hares ( already spotted one of those today) or Kingfishers ( I've NEVER seen one of those and I would LOVE to, but I'm not holding my breath) .........

Here's the nature reserve....it's quite compact and I like the fact that it's over a  mile walk to get here from any direction. That makes it generally quiet, and litter free (hurray)............

There's a bench here to take in the view, but it was cold and damp yesterday, so I didn't linger........

The opposite side of the site is bordered by a brook, so I went to take a look at that.

I was amused to find this simple bridge to the island in the stream.........do you think it looks safe to cross?..............

I decided to risk it, reasoning that the worst that could happen would be a wet foot..........

Happily that didn't happen and I loved the island view..........

Sometimes, after heavy rain,  the water is quiet muddy looking, but yesterday is was crystal clear...........

 and I loved listening to the sound it made as it gently flowed through the valley.

Here I came to a more substantial bridge............

 

and I stood on it, looking down on the reflected sunlight for a while..............

 then it was time to climb another stile..............

Into a large field with views towards home............

Mr Robin was hopping around in this bush........

and a flock of birds swooped and twirled in the blue sky over the horse field.......

Back past the hay barn, where there's still an excellent supply of fodder......

Jacob was enjoying some for his breakfast.............

Nearly home now. I'm walking along familiar streets...........

and passing this favourite garden, which you can gaze at from the pavement........

It's got loads of mini Daffodils and Hellebores in flower.

Close to home my pedometer is beeping at me to tell me I've walked 10000 steps already today....... that's just over 4 miles :0)

As I reach home I search for the shy Hellebores in my own front garden. There are just a few flowers which look rather insignificant....until you gently lift their nodding heads..........

Wow.

My elderly neighbour was out in her front garden and as we chatted I remembered two pots of Snowdrops a friend had kindly given me. I offered her a pot and she was thrilled....bless her.

The other pot I carefully divided and planted by my front door..........

They were looking a bit sad, but hopefully they will survive and come back next spring.

And speaking of Snowdrops I've finally finished that little collage I started a couple of weeks ago, inspired by my drawing..............

A little mouse getting the best view of a snowdrop flower..........

It was fun snipping and sticking....and the finished picture makes me smile.

 
I do hope you lovelies have the chance to get outside and notice the change of season where you are.
Jacquie x

Colour on a Grey Day

Hello Lovelies,
 Well, continuing on with the drippy wet theme I seem to have going on here at the moment ....sigh. This morning was very wet, not just showers , but a real downpour. I was very happy I remembered my brolly....it's so cheerful with it's bright polka dots.........

Nevertheless the streets of town , with their puddles to dodge and chilly wind were not very inspiring. My feet were damp with a very short time and I was glad to take refuge inside a cozy coffee shop and watch the rain through the window........

And enjoy and hot cup of tea and a toasted teacake, yummy.....

All too quickly it was time to brave the rain soaked streets again, some essential supplies still needed to be bought , but to cheer myself up I tried capturing pictures of some pretty things I had spotted amongst the gloom. These tulips and bellis daisies looked so bright and springlike....

This newly laid paving was lovely and shiny , the rain highlighted the different colours of the individual slabs.......

Plants in a pavement flower stall were enjoying a refreshing drink of rainwater..................

Unsurprisingly no one felt like getting a wet bottom siting on these benches ,but the raindrops on the shiny metal looked striking............

Grey,wet weather is not what I would wish for on a day off , generally it does nothing for my mood , but the reflections and the raindrops are pretty ,and then something like this catches your eye..........

Wowwwwww   sunshine in a box . This intense orange really jumped out against the dull , rainy background ..............and carrying an umbrella makes it easier to take photos of such things without people spotting what you are up to :0)...............

When I got home , amazingly, the clouds had parted and there were a few sunny minutes to take some pictures of my latest make............what do you think?

A cute bunny in a bonnet pushing a pram....a Bunny Mummy :0).....the inspiration for this design mostly came from here.

This little collage is for a banner on my ETSY shop......yes I'm finally getting closer to opening it 

I am  disappointed  with how my little camera struggles to take a sharply focused image of my collages...it's much better at capturing crochet and flowers...I wonder why ?

The rain is now falling again outside and the conservatory roof has sprung a leak ! I'm keeping my fingers crossed  for  some  sunshine this weekend ....I need to visit a bluebell wood this year and I recon they will be at their best at the moment.

Thank you all for your running and crochet comments. My tutorial and Ta dah should be ready soon.

Jacquie x

P.S.   My brolly is from Primark                      

Easter at Home

It's been a pretty uneventful first week of the Easter holidays here. The weather has been wet and I had to work last week . But not this week, hurray.

Yesterday was one of those really nice at home days . We invited my lovely Mum in Law for lunch ( roast beef cooked in the slow cooker ...yummy ) and before the meal I enjoyed playing around picking a few blooms from the wet garden to make the table look pretty...........

I'm really enjoying having our dining table in the conservatory it's so lovely and light with more space than our dining room. I also added a meter of floral fabric from my stash added to my rather faded tartan tablecloth . Yesterday I even loved  the mismatched table wear. Can you see our rather chaotic Easter decorations on the tumble dryer ? ....

We had good fun gathering up random cuties to display under the Easter tree..........

Another thing that was making me happy was looking forward to sitting down with the May edition of country living this week ( May, now there's a month I really love)...........

It wouldn't be Easter for the boys without a few chocolate eggs , I just managed to capture these Smarties before they disappeared :0) ........

My Easter treat ( to myself ) was this rainbow pack of textured card. I'm really looking forward to using some of this in my next collage.........

I finished my second collage on Wednesday . It's A4 size like the first but this is a print I made into a greetings card. A couple of lovely bloggers made this great suggestion and I'm planning on making more to put in my shop when I get there........

I am rather thrilled with how this one turned out. I love the spotty jug and the bold background colour. Not to mention the cute chick and I'm really pleased with how the Daffodils turned out. I was a bit afraid of trying them . They are a much trickier shape than Tulips but after a bit of experimentation I finally got to a design I was happy with.

Of course I haven't given up with my crochet . These four circles are part of  my next quick project. More about that soon........

Today we have not been at home. It's been a very outdoors sort of day . An enjoyable family trip. I'll be back to tell you lovelies all about it tomorrow :0)
Jacquie x