Whimsical Kitten

This beautiful ornamental cherry tree can be found in my local town near the library, it took my breath away on first discovery and now gladdens my heart each time I pass by with its delicate white/pink blossoms bravely flowering in the middle of winter. I would really like to get this small tree for my front garden to sit among the hellebores and anemones other favourite winter flowering plants.

My creative mojo appears to have returned having alluded me for the last month or so. After a short walk with Ursa during which I collected some Ivy and a thin bendy Hazel twig, I made a festive wreath for the front door. I took the twig and tied it using light weight green garden wire into a circle, you may need to bend it for a bit to shape it into a perfect round. Then I systematically tied stems of Ivy with their lovely green berries at the top and bottom of the stems, all in the same direction again with the green garden wire. Finally I took a length of gold tinsel and wound this around the Ivy stems and the Hazel circle covering up all the exposed stems neatly, and tied it onto the front door with a piece of thin ribbon. The cost was absolutely nothing, everything was available in the hedgerow, my house and the shed – lovely!

Ben asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I said something quiet, perhaps a walk and then a meal and a cold pint of beer in a dog friendly pub. So after a bit of Internet homework, we set off for a walk with the dog, binoculars and camera, destination Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve. A word of warning for anyone planning on sampling the designated dog walk, the visitor centre where you are required to get a permit was staffed by a patronising and officious individual who made us feel very unwelcome for having a dog in tow. Having paid a compulsory ‘donation’ we were then guided out and away from the nature reserve towards a rutted tractor path alongside some farmland populated by bird scarers going off at frequent intervals and scaring the wildlife away. At the bottom of this track you turn around and walk up the road back toward the visitor centre, frequently stepping onto the verge as cars leaving the reserve drive past.

Undeterred we went on to the nearby Whalebone Pub as advertised on the website ‘Dog Friendly Britain’. However it looked very much like it was under new management, we both looked at the immaculate cream decor, the lack of dogs and dog facilities and the well-heeled clientele and decided that it no longer welcomed muddy dogs and their equally muddy owners.

So we stopped off at Tesco, picked up some provisions needed to prepare a Sunday roast and some cold beer, and ended the day in front of a roaring fire at home instead - champion!

This is my second post of the day, I was simply compelled to share these two videos with you. Whilst searching for images of Mavis Cruet, the wonderfully plump and inept fairy from Willo The Wisp a much loved cartoon of my childhood, I came across a website belonging to a software engineer by the name of Michael Hogg, among the pages of things that he has developed, was this page dedicated to Foxy, I fell in love with her and the video Michael had lovingly made of her straight away and after at least 20 minutes of struggling first to embed the vimeo video unsuccessfully and then link to the URL unsuccessfully I found the same video in two parts on You Tube (phew!).  I have lived in the countryside for the last seven years and have only seen a fox twice playing in the back field, also we kept hens and never once had a problem with foxes, so it would seem that they are now firm town-dwellers. Enjoy. 

Part One:

Part Two:

The stripped and shapely

Maple grieves;

The ghosts of her

Departed leaves.

The ground is hard

As hard as stone.

The year is old

The birds are flown.

John Updike (1932 – )