I've been rather out of the loop over the last 10 days or so - a combination of a back problem, a rather unpleasant virus that left me with no energy, physical or mental for several days, and a sudden passion for doing jigsaws! The back problem and the virus are now, happily, more or less OK but..... 'My name is Rowan and I do jigsaws' :):) This has all been brought on by a recent decision to sort out the attic which has an accumulation of 30 years worth of 'we'll put it in the attic for now'. My husband rather grudgingly agreed to go through several boxes of his books which have been up there since we moved here. I should think that 80%( we are talking several hundred here) of them are now for sale on Steve's Amazon website and the others are in the cellar awaiting further review. This appears to have inspired my husband and last weekend he sorted all the games and jigsaws into various piles and brought all the jigsaws downstairs. We decided that we'd better actually do them all to make sure they are all complete before doing the throw away, give away or keep bit. Again this began in a rather half-hearted way but.............well, what can I say, our family has always enjoyed doing jigsaws. I don't think either of us has got to bed much before 12.30am for the last few nights and a lot of other stuff has been neglected too. We both of us get lost in what we are doing and 2 or 3 hours has passed before we realise it. Usually it's Bilbo Baggins enquiring whether he is ever going to get fed or go out for a walk that brings us back to reality. We're only doing the 500 piece ones at the moment, wait until we move onto the 1000 and 1500 ones!
When I finally felt up to taking Bilbo into the woods again I took some photographs of the bluebells and other wildflowers that are in there at the moment, the bluebells look much better than in the photographs because they are all taken in the afternoon and the sunlight drains some of the colour. I shall try and get early morning ones before they start to fade. The blue is so intense and the scent of them is heavenly, I think an English bluebell wood in Spring must be among the most beautiful sights in the world.
There are little grassy glades in places and among the bluebells are the starry white flowers of Greater Stitchwort - it is such a pretty combination.
More bluebells
Pink Campion - these sometimes grow among the bluebells too but, once a very common wildflower, there seem to be fewer of them these days
A young fern emerging.
Yellow Archangel growing with goosegrass or cleavers - regarded with loathing by gardeners but actually a very useful wild herb.
A dandelion clock, the first I've seen this year but probably not the last!!
A beautiful peacock butterfly on the woodland floor.
And, of course, the ever present Mr B Baggins - here ferreting after a large stick in the river.
Lastly, thank you for all the lovely comments on my last posting, it was so nice to see new people leaving comments and I shall be visiting all of you soon.
11 comments:
My heart always beats a little faster when I see a post with bluebell photographs. I found bluebells pips labelled English bluebells, last Fall, and eagerly planted them. They have emerged this spring, but as I feared they are Spanish bluebells, and not at all the same thing. The colour is lovely, but there is no comparing them to the English ones..
:(
My parents were jigsaw enthusiasts too, and there was always one 'on the go' when ever we visited.
Sorry to read you've not been well.
I'm a jigsaw addict too, and have just spent a most enjoyable hour and a half listening to the first installment of Daphne Du Maurier's "My Cousin Rachel", followed by Bookclub with Jodie Picoult on Radio 4, whilst doing a jigsaw of Turner's The Fighting Temeraire - lovely reds and golds.
We went with the family for Bluebell Walk last Sunday when the weather and the bluebells were just perfect.
Rowan, I wish I was in a field of bluebells right now. The weather here is totally "frightful" and more bad weather happening in the state right now. We are out of line of the tornadoe watches for a change. The tiny devistated town is only 90 miles from where I'm at. My cousin and her family farm about 3 miles from Greensburg (they're actually considered residents) and their farm was missed but just by a hair. I guess it went right past them and they saw everything.
We've been in touch and they're all so brokenhearted. I'm just anxious to get home now where our weather isn't near as destructive. Two more days!
Oh snap! I am in the middle of clearing and sorting, to accomodate my mum's belonging that she has no room for in her new flat. I came across all our old jigsaws, for two days I have looked at the stack, and today which has been rainy, I found myself thinking, yes just the thing for this evening one of our old jigsaws. I'm afraid I am not as good as you, I can't bring myself to get rid of our thousands of books or any that have come from my mother's. My bookcases are full, and the older rarely used ones are in boxes in the cupboard. I need a room to be a library! Can I magic an extra room!
So nice to have you back! Sorry to hear you haven't been well but glad that you're feeling better now. Jigsaws are very addictive aren't they? I agree bluebells in the spring are one of the best sights. When we went to the woods last weekend there was a clearing absolutely full of dandelion clocks - it was beautiful, especially when the wind blew!
Kim x
The bluebells are lovely! I'm glad you're feeling better. It's been years since I've done a jigsaw puzzle but I can see where they could become quite addictive! Have fun! ♥
Yep, jigsaw addict here too. I try not to open one up, because once it is on the table nothing else gets done.
Cleavers we call Lady's bedstraw over here. It can be a very obnoxious weed, but I am happy to have a little patch of it in my yard because it is an essential ingredient for my first aid salve. Nettles are also a beneficial herb and quite tasty to eat, but I can't think of a more obnoxious plant and I have not planted it on my place -- yet.
Isnt it a lovely time of year? The sudden sight of the intense colour of a bluebell wood always takes my breath away. You've reminded me to visit my favourite spots before they are over (so early this year!)
Jigsaws are great fun - they appeal to the librarian in me that makes order out of chaos! My daughter and I usually have one on the go.
Rowan,
What a delicious smorgasboard of images. I really like the butterfly shot.
I'm delighted to read that you're recovering suffciently to rejoin us. These spring ailings are unpleasant to say the least.
I too enjoy jigsaws. My problem is the cats. ;-) so I only bring them out during the Christmas holiday and it becomes a family endeavor. They are definitely addicting, to which I can attest.
I've been taken plenty of spring flower pictures which I'll post soon. Dandelion clock? New term to me. Quite appropo though, I'll be sure to tuck that in my memory box.
Again, so glad you're feeling well again.
rel
Glad you are feeling better. We used to love our jigsaws too, but older eyes...
Thank you for the beautiful pics, the flowers look wonderful!
Truly beautiful pictures, it's so nice to see someone elses wildflowers when they go out for their walks.
I hope you're feeling better now - but what a perfect way to spend ones convalescence! Enjoy your jigsaws :)
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