seagardensandglass: June 2012

First garden bouquet

Victor sweetly clipped the roses from out front for me. I had to request the rose ancienne.

Daffodils, perhaps repeated

The daffodils also appeared just as we were leaving. I couldn't find a post that featured them in full bloom, so I'll run them here. Remember, this was March.

I haven't been able to plant anything, move anything, or cut any flowers. I sit in the kitchen window and OBSERVE the garden. I have snapped pictures while standing still on my crutches, next to my car. I have used crutches, scooter, and Victor to get out the hot tub, twice, and I took pictures along the way. I have driven along the front yard and taken pictures through the fence. And I have asked Victor to take a picture of everything that's in bloom, so I can see it. [sigh] You know, this was the year I wanted to completely re-do my sun garden... just not happening. What follows are hyacinths that popped up just as we were leaving for England. I bought these as potted plants for my mother's room. When the blooms died off, I (Gillian, actually) planted them along the house.

Cats, cats, & more cats

Either just before or just after our trip, Vic discovered a kitty in our boat.

Apparently, he makes a habit of sleeping there.

This is an interesting image of our cat--he's in focus, the backdrop is not.

And one of Sisco in our dining room, our CLEAN dining room. Being hobbled prevents me from clearing away cutter, and the dining room does not look like this any longer.

British glass & heritage

Trapped in my seat, I was able to sort glass. All acquired on the trip--though I still can't find the perfect pieces that we gathered in Lyme Regis and Portsmouth.

For one weekend before the fracture was diagnosed, we even had James up for a tour of downtown and an overnight. Does he look more Greek than British?

Snagged this picture from FB or somewhere, James with Alexandra and Rachel.

Final images

Frittilaria--I never could get this to grow in my garden. It's the purple-and-white, checked, upside-down tulip flower. Found, of course, in an English garden.

Where we stayed the first night, expecting to meet Uncle Nick and Aunt Nora, we found this interesting installation on the wall. There was something whimsical about the poka-dot mugs--tho' the B&B was kind of nasty.

Walk images

Again, from our walk to Tintagel. I like the one with Vic's shadow at lower right, when we're almost there.

Having subsequently been to St. Just and other mining locales, I wonder if a mine is responsible for this striking cut in the shale.

Trebarwith sunset

Two images that Vic captured of the sun setting--I'm not sure if these were taken on different days or just one.

Beach below Port William

The beach here was amazing. Erosion of rock formed patterns that curved and wound down to the sand. Erosion of sand, tide to tide, formed gullies that filled with water for the kiddies to play in. An island rock lurked off shore. Cliff to cliff, hill to hill, this stretch of coastline, including Tintagel, is one of the most beautiful spots I've ever visited.

This is where we deposited some of my mother's ashes.

Lush Trebarwith Strand

Trebarwith Strand really was take-your-breath-away beautiful. Vic snapped these pictures during our trek to Tintagel.

I still can't believe the Port William hotel had such a prime location, yet the lowest per-night price on the entire trip. Everything there was wonderful. Below are Vic and I, waiting for dinner service at the Port William Inn.

Aah, Tintagel

As I'm sure I said before, Tintagel is a castle spread over mainland and headland. Also, it's supposed to be the home of the man known in English mythology as Arthur. (I don't know why that tale holds such appeal for me.) The pics below reveal the sprawl of the castle.

The next images are two of my favorites from the entire trip. Both were taken at Tintagel. Victor went down the myriad steps to the beach, and along the way snapped some fantastic pictures, including one of Merlin's Cave:

The headland was closed until the day after our departure; April 1 is when national parks open in England. However, we met a couple who had tried to visit Tintagel after April 1 and were turned away: Winds were too strong. When my friends Shaun and Ilona went, during March, even standing on the mainland was dangerous due to the wind. What I remember about Tintagel from my childhood is this shop, closed on our visit. There is something about the snack shop at Stage Fort Park that feels just like this.

Water, water, everywhere

This one was taken as we headed out, hoping to see puffins.

This one was probably taken from another place where we dined on St. Mary's. Sea views are quite common on small islands! Note at the back the Scillonian ferry, the one that later proved so very uncomfortable in high seas.

The Scilly lifeboat and the now-disused lifeboat house, with launch. Twenty years ago, this lifeboat house was in use. It seems so odd that, within my adult lifetime, things can have changed so much. Note, these were either taken on different days, or on our last day, when the weather changed instantaneously.

Dining in the Scillies

This is a meal that Victor and I enjoyed during our brief stay on the Scilly Islands. (The stay that was interrupted by the big storm at sea.) It was VERY cheesy!