Cobweb

D IS FOR ?

DREAMCATCHER!
Dangling in a dingly~ dell this delightful dreamcatcher is to be found in a Cheshire garden which you can discover more about here and here.

Do not dally but dart over to ABC Wednesday now to download more about the letter D!

On Our Doorstep

It's curious how we often overlook what's more or less on our doorstep and somehow caught up with the demand of everyday life we don't always get round to visiting local attractions. This is something that we have resolved to try to remedy. So as I already touched upon in my last post, we recently went garden visiting in Cheshire. Here some further impressions and information about our walk round Mount Pleasant Gardens near Kelsall in Cheshire. This is an RHS recommended garden curently opening on Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays plus bank holiday Mondays from 12.00pm - 5.00pm. Opening is from the start of April to the end of September. The gardens have been developed since 1994 and shame to say this was our first visit.

There were several distinct areas to the 10 acres of gardens including a wildflower meadow, a tropical garden, a vegetable garden, a bog garden, water features as well as a recently created Japanese garden.

We were were slightly too late in the year to see some areas at the peak of their perfection. I imagine that the view down to the wildflower meadow would have been spectacular had we come just a few weeks before. The planting we saw was dominated by beautiful blue chicory but there was evidence of the tail end of poppies and various other wildflowers. We will have to return next summer.

Not surprisingly I enjoyed peeking at the vegetable garden. I particularly liked this planting of both red and white flowering runner beans ~

and positively drooled over these onions ~

Some of my perceptions of the garden were perhaps coloured by unfair comparisons - when it came to the Japanese garden I could not help but think of its near neighbour - the subtly and superbly planted Japanese garden at Tatton Park. The Japanese garden here seemed to be too fussy and as far as I was concerned did not evoke an air of tranquility but that could have just been my mood on the day - see my last post for a photo.

What made me pause though in this garden was not the planting for once but the carvings (both in wood and stone) that were dotted throughout the garden. Occasionally they were distracting but by and large they were sympathetic to their setting and enhanced the planting. Not only is there a resident artist but Mount Pleasant Gardens also holds an annual sculpture exhibition in September, which attracts artists from across the United Kingdom. The garden extends its opening hours during the exhibiton. The resident artist also holds sculpture workshops throughout the year. I know himself enjoys having a chisel in his paws - now  can I persuade him that he would like to attend such an event?

It was perhaps not the best day for garden visiting as the weather had become close and clammy. As the afternoon went on I became slightly grouchy which perhaps clouded my judgement as I wanted to speed up to get home to cool down. Hence I came away feeling that I would like to see the gardens again at other times of the year before coming to any firm conclusions. Having said that there was plenty to hold our interest and the visit was well worth the admission fee. Although we did not partake light refreshments are available. Some interesting pieces of art work were for sale and there is a small nursery sales area. I came away with a most striking blue salvia which sadly was unlabeled. Hopefully we might return next month when the sculpture exhibition is taking place.

This is the first in what I hope will be an occasional series of articles on what is on our doorstep. The next trip is already in the planning stage.

Front Porch Visitors

Our family spends a lot of time on our front porch.  It's not a big porch but there is a two-seater swing, two rockers and a small bench so it's the perfect cozy place to hang out in the summer.  

 My husband loves birds and he spends a lot of time feeding them and with the heat we've been having, he keeps all the birdbaths filled with fresh, cool water.   

Over the years we've had a number of hummingbird feeders, but a couple of years ago at the Powers' Crossroads Country Fair and Arts Festival  we found a handmade pottery hummingbird feeder that has brought us so many beautiful hummingbirds.   Because our porch is so small the birds are always just a few feet away so we are able to capture some beautiful photographs.   If you look carefully as you watch the video my husband filmed yesterday you will see the hummingbird's tongue.   Read a bit more about the hummingbird tongue here.

Today I'm linking up with The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays.   Hop on over and enjoy other scenes of summer.  

Snakeskin table

As many of you suggested…

I put together a little side table with the “snakeskin” hide

carry on.

“It is one thing to photograph people. It is another to make others care about them by revealing the core of their humanness.” - Paul Strand

A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion .... All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth. - Richard Avedon

Carve Out Some Time For Carver's!

Today my girlfriend invited me out to lunch so instead of going to lunch with my TLG (Tuesday Lunch Group) I went out for a lunch time adventure.  

Not far from my office is a place called Carver's.  Have you heard of it?  If you love southern food you might want to check it out.  

This is not necessarily a place that you would notice driving by but then again the fish might catch your eye.

Once I was inside I had no trouble deciding on my entree.  My pick was the Dolly Parton Fried Chicken Breast along with mac and cheese, crowder peas, a biscuit and sweet tea, of course.

 Honestly,  I haven't had a biscuit that good since my Aunt Elphia made them for our breakfast back in 1966.  If you live in Atlanta or happen to be visiting the area and you like southern food, you have to try Carver's.  They are only open weekdays from 11-3 and it's a cash only restaurant.  Hope you like it!

Crossroads

C IS FOR?

ALL THAT WAS MISSING WAS THE CHESHIRE CAT!

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. Where do you want to go was his response. "I don't know", Alice answered. Then, said the cat "It does not matter". " ~ Lewis Carroll (the author of ' Alice in Wonderland' spent his childhood days in the Cheshire village of Daresbury)
~ A clear and sunny day last week saw himself and I setting off deep into the Cheshire countryside. First stop was a cheerful cafe where we enjoyed a most convivial lunch. We lingered outside chatting away as the sun gave way to clouds and it became uncomfortably clammy but this did not deter us from continuing on our way to a local open garden.

Once there we came across colourful planting schemes ~

Cascading currents of water ~

A wildflower meadow dotted with chicory and craftily placed chairs ~ 

As well as a collection of curious and creative carvings ~

Another chapter on this garden later this week but in the meantime this is your cue to exit stage left in the direction of ABC Wednesday, for a cameo of all matters connected to the letter C.