the running wave

Apart from the precious flowers on one of my witch hazels, which I am not going to be snipping, there is absolutely nothing I could find to pick for today's vase that we haven't seen a lot recently.  So I am using feathers I have collected over the past weeks.  Herring gull, mallard and swan.  Crisp black and white seagull, gentle brown freckled female mallard, and ethereal snow-white swan. The donor!

.... into the last day of 2019, the dogs and I had a walk in the midday sunshine.  On the far side of the small golf course, which is adjacent to our property, there is an open area of grassland.  Two years ago I saw about three or four giant hogweed plants growing there.  I mentioned them, in passing to the groundsmen who looking after that area, commenting to them that these plants are very invasive, potentially harmful if touched, but nothing was done to remove them.  They have seeded to well over fifty plants now, towering to about ten or twelve feet high.  Ho hum!  A stitch in time and all that. We walked on past the triffids and past the ancient walls surrounding Seton Castle ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seton_Castle , currently on the market for £8,000,000) when I heard the gentle clucking of hens.  And there they were, at high level, in an old window opening, which must have been part of an old outhouse built into the wall.   ...

Happy New Year!

The holly and the ivy When they are both full grown A beautiful Christmas carol, celebrating the holly and the ivy in equal measure, and then what happens?  The ivy gets forgotten and the holly goes on to celebrate all aspects of the reason for Christmas, and poor old ivy is left trailing behind. I love ivy, Hedera .  I love the variety in its leaves, the way it climbs trees (acknowledging that it can strangle them, not good), and most of all I love the way it trails and hangs from trees like tropical vines.  It covers the ground in an impenetrable carpet and its flowers provide nectar for bees when almost every other flower has finished for the season.  The berries are mysterious and handsome, and a good food source for the birds in winter.  So, taking all that into account, I thought I would celebrate ivy in my vase today.  I found some little pink blossoms to compliment the purple-black berries, and santolina to give a bit of contrast. ...

The holly and the ivy, When they are both full grown, Of all trees that are in the wood, The holly bears the crown: O, the rising of the sun, And the running of the deer The playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir. The holly bears a blossom, As white as lily flow'r, And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, To be our dear Saviour: O, the rising of the sun, And the running of the deer The playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir. The holly bears a berry, As red as any blood, And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, To do poor sinners good: O, the rising of the sun, And the running of the deer The playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir. The holly bears a prickle, As sharp as any thorn, And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ, On Christmas Day in the morn: O, the rising of the sun, And the running of the deer The playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir. The ho...

Christmas is minutes away now!  I have some lovely holly in a couple of vases today, along with a little ivy.  'The holly and the ivy' is the best Christmas decoration as far as I am concerned, along with the tree.  I usually add in one or two silk hellebores and I always enjoy the combination.  This year there are also a few small cheery red roses, to lift it all a bit. This is the container I used for the arrangement.  The bird motif is mirrored on the other side and I love its elegant neck which creates a double handled vessel.  And here is my favourite Christmas vase.  A teapot! Happy Christmas to all IAVOM contributors.  I hope you all have a lovely peaceful Christmas time.

Yesterday, not a distant mountain range but clouds!