Therefore all seasons shall be sweet to thee,
Whether summer clothe the general earth
With greeness, or the redbreast sit and sing
Betwixt the tufts of snow on the bare branch
Of mossy apple-tree, while the nigh thatch
Smokes in the sun-thaw; whether the eave-drops fall
Heard only in the trances of the blast,
Or if the secret ministry of frost
Shall hang them up in silent icicles,
Quietly shining to the quiet Moon.



Monday, September 25, 2006

Oh! My Aching Wheels and Axle Rods Moaned Henry!


I've been working nearly all day on a deceptively small and innocent looking bed in the garden. It can only be cleaned up by crawling about bent double or squatting on your haunches because it contains shrubs and is very narrow and has a tall beech hedge on one side. It's finished now and so am I! Everything aches now but tomorrow I shall be really glad I did it. The title of this post will be familiar to anyone who has ever read Thomas the Tank Engine books to their children - Henry is the big green engine! My boys both loved these stories.
The photograph was taken last week when I was driving home from a funeral in Cheshire, this is on the road from Congleton to Buxton in Derbyshire. It's a high,narrow,winding road through some really beautiful countryside and I coudn't resist stopping several times to take photographs. The little black and white dots in the foreground are cows and the white dots on the top left are sheep!

7 comments:

Janet said...

Beautiful photo (and I noticed you have your photo on your profile!) It looks so peaceful and serene. I know what you mean about everything aching! With all the work we have been doing I can barely crawl out of bed each morning!!

rel said...

Rowan,
Those well earned aches and soreness. are badges of accomplishment. In some perverse way it feels good.
I like that pleasant, bucolic scene you photographed.
rel

gma said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I came by to see who you were and love your photos and sounds like you are very busy. Happy Un-birthday. What.... you don't want to jump out of an airplane?

Tea said...

Love the beautiful rolling hills in Derbyshire.
And thanks for showing more pictures of your holiday to Winchester. It`s all so interesting! You have so much history over there. It`s so fascinating to think about the lives that lived in those times. And Jane Austin....I like her books. And you got a lovely room! I hope my husband and I can travel to England like we hope so he can experience how amazing it is to see places so old. And there are so many really great names of roads in England! And what a cutey your little grand daughter is :)

tea
xo

tea
xo

Lynda (Granny K) said...

What a small world! I reached your site via Spiral's blog, (I think!). I was born about half an hour's drive from Buxton). I now live in Lancashire. Nice to meet you, Rowan.

Lynda

Britt-Arnhild said...

I want to take off my shoes and walk in this mossy green paradise :-)

Jeanne said...

Hi Rowan,
As always, your photos are lovely! It all looks like a fairy tale.
Yes, I have quilts and other decorations for all round the year :)
You'd like that "Autumn" book, I think. It's an anthology, so lots of different writing styles combined. I already have the "Winter" one, and plan to get the other two also.

You have your reply function set somehow so I can't reply directly back from the comment you leave at my blog.

Jeanne