The Bluebells

Wild garlic, oak apples, wood ants and more wildflowers than we could name.  But most of all, bluebells.  Mile after mile of bluebells.

Everywhere we walked in the woods today, we picked our way through clouds of blue; the misty haze hovering somewhere above the woodland floor, delicate, ethereal, beguiling.

‘They’ said it was going to be a spectacular year for bluebells and ‘they’ weren’t wrong.  On and on we walked; on and on went the bluebells…not confined to one area of the woodland but rampant.

We took endless photographs but photos - sadly - can never quite capture the massed beauty of these shy flowers.  Which means there’s only one thing for it: you just have to get out there and experience them for yourself.

Show Me April

Okay, I know it’s May.  There just hasn’t been an opportunity to show you this until now!

I asked Dixon Hill News subscribers to send me their images of April - in the same way that I did in March - and here’s my favourite shot.  This was April in Arkansas….where rain and storms predominated for much of the month, as they did in so many parts of the States (and with such tragic consequences).  So very different to the dry and sunny month we enjoyed at Dixon Hill.

Thanks to Bethany who took this picture.  I love so many things about it: the composition, the light, the depth of field….and the hundred shades of green!  But I especially like the way she’s captured both the raindrops and the falling rain.  It’s stunning.

Seems like this will be a regular feature on the blog, so start clicking your camera on May now.  Details of how to enter your photo will be in the May newsletter.  If you haven’t yet signed up, just hit the button in the sidebar to the right.

P.S.  And if you have a minute spare, do visit Bethany’s blog to see a few more shots of April in Arkansas.  There’s a great picture of her feet in the waterlogged grass!

Virtual and Real

There’s something very special about meeting internet friends in the flesh for the first time.  Unlike ‘normal’ first encounters, you generally know quite a bit about each other; so you’re starting quite a way from square one.  And there are usually terms of reference….like other people you ’know’ in common.

That’s how it was yesterday when I met Milena (I almost wrote ‘the lovely Milena‘ - but that makes her sound scarily like a game show hostess…).  She’d travelled up to Dixon Hill from the Midlands just so we could meet.  And it was such a worthwhile trip!  With a minimum of introductions, we were soon chatting about stuff that mattered (you know the kind of thing).  And laughing like we’d known each other forever.

Milena, it turns out, is a complete joy…and has the kind of smile that lights up a room.  If you don’t know her yet, pay her a visit at Dreamchair Adventures.  You already have one friend in common!

P.S.  The photo was taken by Milena’s gallant husband, Simon, who also played chauffeur for the day.  Thank you, Simon!

Royal Wedding Fever

This is the bunting I made for a friend’s wedding a couple of years ago.

The local Young Farmers’ Club has borrowed it and is in the throes of turning the rather stark barn above into a party venue fit for a right royal occasion.

I won’t be at that particular shindig, but I will be sharing the day with friends and watching as much of the coverage as possible.  Love stuff like this!

I’m particularly keen to see the flowers in the Abbey (trees lining the path to the altar?!); and am very happy that the bridal party will exit to one of my favourite pieces of music: William Walton’s Crown Imperial (just ‘cause it means I get to hear it).

Great music, gorgeous flowers.  Oh yes….there’s a little bit of royal wedding fever here at Dixon Hill….

Helen’s Hellenic Holiday

Loved Athens!  It’s such a relaxed, laid-back city.  So sunny.  And the green hill of the Acropolis is bang smack in the middle of it all, visible from pretty much everywhere in the modern-day city built around its base.

I’ll always remember:

• Shared food - a Greek tradition.
• Watching the sunset from the top of Lycabettus Hill , whilst the priests inside the church intoned the Easter liturgy.
• Three small sisters dressed in identical beige trench coats - oh so stylish.  We kept bumping into them all over the place.
• Paddling in the clear waters of the Aegean.
• The palpable tranquillity of the wildflower-strewn gardens surrounding the Agora.
• Walking on marble….as commonplace as concrete paving slabs.
• Graffiti - ancient and modern.
• The strange, bird-like, tai chi-esque movements of the changing guard outside the Parliament building.
• The sights and sounds of the lamb market on Good Friday.
• Freshly-squeezed orange juice, as plentiful as water.
• Deep red hard-boiled eggs decorating Easter bread; and sweet Easter biscuits.
• The ubiquitous stray dogs - it was like being back in Delhi.
• Whiling away the hours in street cafes to the sound of Greek music.