Even after the whole side of our west-facing hill has gone dark, should I turn my head at the right moment, I may catch the last rays of the setting Sun as it sneaks through a gap in the landscape..
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Always of very short duration, it never-the-less pulls me from my chair.
That moment when the Sun dips below the horizon has always touched me.
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Since I started taking volumes of photographs, I have realised that I am drawn to pockets of light.
There is always a reason why certain images appeal to us. I am collecting an album of these and when/if I figure it out, perhaps it will be worth a post.
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Since mentioning “triggers” recently, I thought about that particular one and realised it has it origins a long way back. So the piece I began writing is becoming very long.
What I shall do with it will be decided when I’m done.
Sometimes these things are beneficial simply as brain exercises.
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This morning, Brain was sluggish.
“Oh take me back to bed!”
Brain may think it’s the boss but it soon discovered that it had been taken outside for a look at Grant’s enterprise.
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Our next door neighbour needed some dead trees removed and Grant assisted, which accounts for the woodpile and branches.
The large log makes a wonderful place to sit and listen to the wind and birdsong.
The pile of sticks was to be a bonfire but as birds flock to it, it must remain as is!
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As you can see, it is no small pile of sticks.
It’s our birdhouse, though as far as we can tell there are no nests.
It seems more like a communications-exchange centre, given the racket from within.
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The neighbour’s dead trees were replaced which meant digging holes after which there was a large mound of superfluous stuff.
Grant had the whole lot brought up to the field so he could sort it.
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The ground here is mostly slate and rocks so when the man was done, there was a large pile of those!
But there was also enough decent soil to create a bed.
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Occasionally, I can be persuaded to eat squash. Butternut or acorn.
They are full of seeds and Grant has been saving them.
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A previous attempt to grow them failed because it was too late in the season.
This time…a shoot appeared within days.
Now, if some of these plants survive the various sorts of wildlife that may take an interest…
We could have homegrown squash.
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Meanwhile, of the seeds I planted there is no sign. Not one. C’est la vie.
The Physocarpus which went dormant 3 years ago is producing blooms though.
It had put all its effort into growing to 4 times its original size. Now we have flowers.
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There are quite pretty and bees like them.
My Spirea which was so beautiful in 2019 has been in decline ever since.
It is adjacent to my Lilac which managed to bloom this Spring after 4 years. Sadly, though, a late frost brought those blooms to a precipitate end while at the same time killing off the Spirea buds.
It is disheartening when I see Lilac and Spirea thriving elsewhere. But local temperatures vary tremendously depending on the lay of the land and my hill is very exposed.
So I enjoy what comes and tell my plants I love them no matter what.
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This pretty bloom was looking lovely in this morning’s dew. From one year to the next I can never remember what is what so I always check in with PlantNet.com.
This year the answer: Sulfur cinquefoil
It has 5 petals, so that is good enough for me but I am sure last year I settled for a different name.
What’s in a name anyway?
It also identifies as Scotch rose.
Not sure about its pronouns.
So I’ll just use beautiful.
Thank you, Carolyn, for stunning pictures!
Joanna
Don’t get me started on pronouns!!!
Ridiculous, isn’t it?
I also like those moments before the sun goes down – the sky show off some beautiful colours. With you, however, it’s not just the sky that’s beautiful, the whole landscape looks picture-perfect! Growing your own veggies are very satisfying (we had lovely vegetable boxes at our previous house in Cape Town). But currently, we have to visit the local supermarket or farm stall for our veggie purchases. I hope the butternut grows nicely (hopefully the animals don’t like butternut) 🙂. As for your flowers – I have no idea what they are, but they are certainly beautiful!
I ate some Squash once, and it tasted of nothing. I put a lot of pepper on what was left, and it tasted of wet pepper. I can’t see the point of Squash. 🙂
But I love your log seat! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
Well there are lots of squashes and I agree some of them are horrible. We sometimes get one that isn’t brilliant but most are good. I just can’t be bother cutting them up. Too damn lazy!