Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Saturday Afternoons



Unless there is a blizzard or I'm at death's door it has become a ritual to visit my old friend  Joy on  Saturday afternoon.
 
Last Saturday was bright and sunny but still chilly.
 
 Someone has their bedroom window open - a presage of Spring?
 On the last lap
 Here a spot of colour in her front garden.



 A chat, a cup of tea and a ginger and dark chocolate cookie and I'm in the back garden.  Since a fall in this part of the garden Joy has been virtually house bound and suffers greatly with back pain.
Happily she can see most of the back garden from the kitchen and the flat path outside
I ventured up the steps but had to really concentrate taking shots - not only is the ground on a steep slope it is wildly uneven and I had a few staggers.  Joy and her husband moved from a very large house with a magnificent garden - again on a steep slope.  I now appreciate why Alastair had certain requirements when we were choosing a house way back in the eighties; a flat garden was a must.
 

 The birds love this garden and Robert the gardener keeps their feeders replenished regularly.


 Is this heather?  A Mackay favourite.
 There's the kitchen window.  doesn't really show the steepness.

This is quite an unusual clematis.

Not focussed but I wasn't either by this time

This was on the way up with the tree a real Spring-like sign.
It's so much easier coming back down the hill.
 
The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet   and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.
 
Mark Twain 1835-1910

18 comments:

Ms Scarlet said...

Yes, my garden is bursting into life too! Shame it's so gloomy today.
Meanwhile, less of the mountaineering and get a long lens!
Sx

Pat said...

Scarlet: that's not fair. You know I have to keep things simple.

LL Cool Joe said...

We've been having some lovely sunny but cold days recently haven't we? Spring really is in the air. I was driving past my house today thinking how much the lawn needs cutting. Sigh.

Lovely photos!

angryparsnip said...

I can't believe that you are starting spring when most of the North and East coast of America is still covered in feet of snow.
What beautiful flowers everywhere.
And your friend has a lovely garden.
I remember when they moved.
It has been spring here for awhile. I am concerned that it means an early and hot summer.

cheers, parsnip

gypsywoman said...

how lovely your walks and visits and photos pat - it is such a pleasure visiting them all via your posts! xx

Eryl said...

Gorgeous, you must be at least a month ahead of us up here in Scotland, though we do have crocuses and some nasturtiums.

I agree with Scarlet. Dave got himself a little Canon Powershot which has an astonishingly powerful zoom lens, you could get your flower shots from the safe path then.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

SPRING is really Springing there.....What a truly lovely garden, Pat....and how wonderful that you go and visit your dear friend every Saturday....! I know it must mean a great deal to her and to you, too....! Do be careful navigating those irregular spots in that scrumptious garden, my dear. And thanks for the fabulous pictures!

Kim Ayres said...

I always envy your Spring being 4 to 6 weeks ahead of us. Still, with you posting this it means it's not that long now until it reaches here :)

Pat said...

Joey: Lawns are lovely and I'm dead against hard standing on top but they are exhausting and costly to keep up. Still it's doing our bit for the environment as I firmly believe all the replacing grass with hard standings is one of the causes of flooding.

Pat said...

Parsnip: do you really remember that far back? That's amazing.

Janine: lovely to have your company.

Eryl: lovely to see you here. I'm sure what you and Scarlet say makes sense but I'm loth to complicate my life any further.
I didn't realise just how much being alone would impact on my free time and energy. Far from moping I welcome the days when I have nothing I'm meant to do. and sadly any creative work is well on the back burner.

Naomi: being careful has become a way of life. Joy is one of the few remaining staples of my life here and I value her greatly as I'm sure you understand from your own experiences.

Kim: Scotland is such a special place - I get quite emotional when I see old familiar places on T.V. but one has to take the rough with the smooth:)

Granny Annie said...

This post ignites me. Love this taste of Spring and cannot wait to walk to my neighbor's and take pictures of their gardens. Our ground is a little too soggy right now but the warmth is coming.

Pat said...

Granny Annie: I've ignited you?
That's quite claim to fame:) Thank you.

neena maiya (guyana gyal) said...

Deeeelightful. How I crave a garden to work in again. This is my vicarious garden today. I even try to imagine the sounds and fragrance.

Exile on Pain Street said...

You have MUCH more color than we do for March! Things are still quite brown and dead here. These pics are enough to give me hope.

Mage said...

Just special, and glad you didn't fall.

Pat said...

GG: there is a lot of bird sound around here. One guest complained the birds woke
her up:)

Exile: I hope you have finished with with the snow. We have been known to have blizzards at Easter.

Mage: me too:)

rashbre said...

Wow - there's a lot happening in that garden. I thought our few daffs were pretty good, but this is amazing.

I hadn't realised that you live so much closer to the tropics.

Pat said...

Rashbre: my friends - Joy and Margaret- have always had better gardens than mine and have always been generous with plants and advice. Sadly Margaret has fled to Cheltenham and Joy is housebound and my garden has subsequently suffered.