Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Sunday 7 August 2022

This and That

 

Recent Reading

Orchard is a book I keep at the caravan along with all the other Herefordshire books, some church books and a few wildlife id guides.  It is a book I bought years ago in Weobley when D and I came for the day to visit some of the "black and white" trail villages. Its a lovely book. There is little text but just photos from a Herefordshire Cider Orchard through the seasons.


I think I spotted this book on Rosie's blog "Corners of My Mind" and I really enjoyed it as it made a change from crime and mystery novels.  It is a fictional account of why Jane Austen's sister Cassandra may have burned Jane's letters and delves not only into the content of the imagined letters but fictional accounts of the Austen Sisters' past. It is very moving and imaginative.



Another Logaston Press I bought for the caravan!  Fascinating book of ghost stories on my favourite county.





You may recall the jumper and scarf and hat I knitted myself recently. Deborah of Country Ways and Cottage Days had the brilliant idea that I should knit Timothy a jumper and scarf in the same wool so here he is posing in the finished products. The jumper is a bit too long like mine!!  I am making another jumper for myself now in the same chunky marble wool but different colours and will try and make the jumper and sleeves shorter this time - you live and learn!




The Passion Flower in the garden at home is flowering again this year which is great news.







I usually do several Garden Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Counts each year but unfortunately as I seem to spend so much time in Herefordshire at the moment I've only done one this year! 

The results are as follows:

Peacock x 1

Small White x 1

Holly Blue x 1

Speckled Wood x 1

Large White x 1


We've just come back from another few days in Herefordshire as we had to be there for a gas boiler service and gas safety check appointment.  So a few posts to come on a few places visited. We did return to places visited before for various reasons but this time I did visit the interior of Berrington Hall where resides the most amazing restored Georgian dress.

I hope everyone is staying safe and well.



5 comments:

Billy Blue Eyes said...

I had a passion flower years ago but it dies in the end and I could not grow another because we had an extension where we had it. The only book I have with me when we go to the caravan is my Kindle. The bear looks cool

Rustic Pumpkin said...

Your books look interesting reading. Doesn't Timothy look dapper? Sorry I landed you in it with himself! You might be glad of overly long sleeves this winter! How do you find your butterfly count compared to other years? I think numbers here are plummeting. The passionflower is stunning.

Ragged Robin said...

Billy Blue Eyes Thanks so much. We had our passion flower years before it flowered. Planted on an arch which surrounds a bench top of garden. Thank you re: the bear. Oh I take my kindle too. There is a shelf or two in lounge area caravan and it frees up space on book shelves at home :)

Rustic Pumpkin - Thanks so much. Timothy does look rather sweet :) Yes re long sleeves you could be right! I must have short arms or perhaps I can't stand stuff round my hands and wrists as bought jumpers always have sleeves too long! :) Butterfly count was low I think compared to some years ago. Pollinators in general suffering so with declines :( Not good news.

Rosie said...

The jumper and scarf are going to keep Timothy warm in the winter. I enjoyed Miss Austen and am number two in the queue at the library for the new Gill Hornby book Godmersham Park, again featuring the Austen family. I'm number one in the queue for the latest Kate Ellis Wesley Peterson book - hopefully they will turn up together so I can grab them from the library at the same time. Your passion flower is lovely. Not many butterflies in the garden recently, a few white ones and a rather faded small tortoiseshell. Yesterday a dragonfly flew in and around the garden but didn't linger long:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rosie - Thanks so much. They will keep him cosy :) Tempted by the Godmersham Park I really am! Thankfully not yet up to end of the Wesley P series. I have to wait for new books to come down on inprice for the kindle. I think you can e books from Solihull Library which I am a member of but I think it is complicated with a kindle and you have to get an app? I ought to look into it! Seems another poor year for butterflies, bees and hoverflies although NT properties often seem to have many which is better news! I've seen a few dragon/damselflies in the garden this year but as you say they don't linger long!