goodbye may

A snapshot of the beautiful blossom in our garden this month.  The trees are awash with tiny pale blooms.  Our apple trees have never had so many flowers, the elderflower blossoms are just appearing from their tiny green buds and pretty blossom weighs down the branches of the hawthorn. 

May, you have been especially beautiful this year.

after the rain

I love this time of year and its ever changing weather. Bright sunshine this morning gave way to torrential downpours this afternoon. After the rain, freshness filled the air. A clean, damp scent. A scent I love. Maybe I could bottle it. 

The skies were beautiful, full of clouds. Pretty wispy clouds emptied of their cargo. And in the hedgerows, clouds of cow parsley dampened by the rain.  

wildflower posy

A wildflower posy gathered from the hedgerows along our road. A little posy for our eldest to bring to church to celebrate his First Holy Communion last Sunday. Despite not being especially religious, we had a lovely family gathering to celebrate another milestone in our little man's life.

Gathering these flowers will be ingrained forever in my memory.  Eight o'clock in the morning, dressed in pyjamas, raincoat and wellies, as the rain poured down.  I must have looked like I had lost the plot.  But I loved picking each pretty bloom. I really hope the neighbours were having a lie in.

Joining in with Lou for nature in the home.

sunday rambling

After a week of incessant rain the sun appeared this afternoon, so we took ourselves out for some Sunday rambling and exploring.  We visited a little National Trust church nearby which has beautiful grounds with masses of space to play and explore.

The little ones ran, climbed and scaled the fallen branches, casualties from the unmerciful winter winds. The fallen trees were a perfect hunting ground for all types of bugs. Spiders, woodlice, centipedes and millipedes were discovered and inspected.  

Being outside in the sunshine lifted all our spirits after so many cold and dreary days.  I've just watched the weather forecast and it seems the weather is on the up.  Fingers crossed for more warm sunny May days.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend.

may day

May Day and the beginning of summer.  

May is without doubt my favourite month.  My grandmother always marked the beginning of summer by having a May altar in her hallway decorated with wildflowers and a statue of the Virgin Mary. Combining the pagan traditions of the Gaelic festival Beltaine with her Catholic faith.

As a child I picked wildflowers from our hay meadows to fill the vases. Bunches of buttercups, marsh marigolds and cuckoo flowers picked throughout the month of May.

When Lou suggested we join her in reviving the ancient Pagan tradition of flower baskets to mark the return of Nature in the Home I was sold.  The idea is to leave little posies of flowers on friends and neighbours doorsteps to mark May Day.  

I filled an old jam jar with a few blooms from our garden and some pretty green foliage and left it on my friends doorstep. I really enjoyed making the posy, remembering my flower collecting years ago and my friend loved the surprise. It's definitely something I'd like to do again. 

Pop over to Lou's lovely blog to see more May Day prettiness.