Four Seasons In One Day.........

Hello Girls, it's been the most windy, blustery, showery Spring day here.

 I stayed inside and had some one on one time with my Janome and finished off my latest little stitchery.

Some of the things I love about Spring.......

It's now finished and ready for sale on my Facebook page.

Ok, let's head out and see what's happening in the garden.

The wind has blown alot of Crabapple blossom onto the ground and at a brief glance it looks like snow.

I hope we don't lost all the blossom, it's been divine, the perfume and the hum of the accompanying bees, make weeding in the garden....dare I say enjoyable?!

Anyone like to use the petal strewn birdbath?

The Hellebores have also put on a wonderful display and are well past their best, but I still love the colours and markings.

I'm happy to see lots of little Hellebores have come up and hopefully they will form a bit of a carpet in the Wild Wood....

On sunny days the Tulips are positively glowing.

These Camellias are form a friends garden, I love the pink tipped petals......

Last Saturday was the community Vegetable swap.

It's always interesting to see what people have growing and there was no lack of greenery on the table.

I had potted up some Rhubarb cuttings, Larkspur and Zucchini seedlings.

I came away with a freshly picked bunch of celery, a lovely piece of pumpkin and a bunch of Silverbeet.

I also managed to cut enough flowers to make a sweet little bunch.

I picked Linaria, a spike of Snapdragons and some Stock thanks to  Megan for the seedlings she gave me earlier in the year. 
I added some May flower, Broccoli and Parsnip leaves for some greenery and contrast......

Hopefully it won't be long before I'm picking bunches of flowers to bring inside...... 

Once every 3 months as part of the vegie swap the pizza oven is fired up. People can take along what ever they like to cook in it, from roasts to muffins, pizzas and everything in between.

Somehow, I think the oven was a little on the warm side when the door caught on fire!!

Luckily a CFA volunteer was on hand.....

Lauren is actually laughing NOT screaming!!

I happen to love rusty, dilapidated, deserted old buildings.

One's with a bit of history and character about them.

This dairy is just down the road from where I live.  

I love the patch work look of the corrugated iron......I wanted to photograph it with the trees in full blossom and Tuesday was the most perfect day for doing just that.

There are a few more old sheds around the district.....

 I think I know what I might be doing when this windy, chilly weather disappears!!

I hope you are all enjoying the beauty a new season brings wherever you are.

Thanks for dropping by and all the lovely comments on my last post.

Hope you've had a great week,

Claire x

This, That and Something Else...........

Spring has arrived in all her glory as she is want to do.....

She has beguiled me with her beauty and turned my head.

When I returned from Canada I created a corner under my 'new' birdbath.

I placed a couple of pots with bulbs in them and waited for the explosion of colour and scent.

I certainly wasn't disappointed.

The mini Daffodils bloomed first and I was happy to discover they actually had a perfume.....somewhat citrus like.

Then the Hyacinths put in an appearance and their perfume is one of my favourites.

The rather late planted Tulips are yet to flower but they will bring the curtain down in a blaze of glory.

I removed all the grass/weeds and am not sure whether I will put some plants into the ground or maybe have a seasonal display of flowers in pots.

 I'm thinking 3 or 4 different varieties of Lavender might make a nice Summer display.

Given my bad habit of forgetting to water pots, I'm a little apprehensive......what do you think?

The Crabapples on the bank above the birdbath are dressed in their finest and are now a foaming sea of pinks and green.

Someone must've been spring cleaning as I spotted this tin at our local op shop last week......

There's chickens, guinea fowl, ducks and mmm, geese I think  around the side.

It's an Emma Bridgewater product, I was very happy to purchase it for 50cents.

Perfect for my button collection, the best thing being, there's room for lots more buttons, yippee.......

I've also been busy stitching and trying my hand at different things.

I recently discovered the work of Linda Miller and wanted to try something similar.

It was a lot fun, but I think I would need to have shares in a thread factory as you certainly go through the stuff.

Spring has also inspired some bunting....surprise, surprise.

I loved putting this together and the polka dot bias binding which I had purchased some time ago, was the perfect choice.....

Daffodils, birds nest with eggs, 

"Spring would not be Spring without bird songs"

 Frances M Chapman

Violets, Blossom, A bird and Bluebells

Hanging on the Manchurian Pear.

I fancy making some Autumn/Woodland themed bunting.

I'm thinking, toadstools, oak leaves and acorns, a Badger, a hedgehog.....something along those lines.

I also made some more brooches,

They're a fun project, when I need to restart my crafting mojo. 

Out in the garden everything is starting to take off....including the weeds!!

The bees love Borage....

 Manchurian Pear blossom

Grape Hyacinth

Prunus Elvins on the right and Loropetalum (Fringe Flower) on the left.

Two different pinks, both stunning.

Guess what gourmet delight I was looking forward to when we arrived home from Canada?

Hot buttered toast and a cuppa made with tea leaves in a tea pot.

"Just perfick....."

Life has resumed it's routine since we arrived home.

I've been busy in the garden, trying to keep on top of the weeding. 

I haven't had another market stall yet, not sure if I will.

I'll just play it by ear and see what happens.

Second day of Spring, I discovered a brown snake near the house.

I wasn't happy to see it.....but a good reminder to be on the lookout and to trim any long grass.

The weather warmed up quite quickly and it was t shirts for a couple of weeks and I didn't need to light the wood heater in the evenings.

 I wasn't impressed as I love Winter and the cooler 

weather.

 But we had a cool change last week, so I was happy to cosy up by the heater for a few more nights.

The chooks have started laying but sadly Mr. Whiskers paid my small flock a visit....the first time in 11 years of having chickens. 

He killed my rooster and a beautiful Barnevelder.

This happened the evening after we returned home.

I was horrified, but glad it wasn't while friends were looking after our animals, that would've been too much......

So life goes on and I now have a new rooster who is settling in well with his little flock.

Well, that's what's happening here.

I hope I haven't put you all to sleep, I will try and post every week, so they are not so long winded!!

I hope you are all well.

 Sorry but I have missed replying to some comments on the last couple of posts, but thankyou for visiting. I read and appreciate everyone of them.  

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend.......

Take care,

Claire X