ABC Wednesday - I

It's Wednesday again, and today the letter is I.

Now you may think I should have posted this first picture last week, but for today's purposes this is not holly.
I am proud to present, fresh from my garden,

Ilex Aquifolium


Followed by two pictures of an unexpected little guest growing in a trough that's waiting to be cleared, cleaned, and eventually replanted, a pretty little dwarf

Iris

There's an out-of-focus Ivy leaf in the background, too, which reminds me of a couple of other photos.

Ivy by a mossy stone,

And flowering Ivy (with bramble and montbretia leaves) taken last October.

And that's an illustration of the difficulty I had voting in Mrs Nesbit's poll this morning. Mrs Nesbit hosts ABC Wednesday (do visit her to meet other participants and to join in the fun!) and she asked "How often during the week do you think about ABC Wednesday?" Now, I find myself thinking all the time that a shot would do nicely for next week. But sometimes I think and think, and nothing comes to mind, so I search my files, and even then I can be left wondering what to do. Those are usually the times when a last-minute idea hits me out of the blue. That was true this morning while I was arranging this post, and I thought of the Ivy.

I wish I had a more organised mind.

Periwinkle and Reflection

It's been another beautiful day, sunny and not too cold, although there was a frost last night.
The first flower has appeared on the periwinkle at the top of my garden, and the whole plant looks really healthy. It should cover that area nicely in the future.

Here's the sunlit top of our front wall reflected in the bonnet (hood) of our car. The double window to the right belongs to Stephen's room, and the smaller one to the left is the tiny spare room.
I love sunny weather.

Odd Shots On Paddy's Day!

Earlier I posted a picture of the Welsh flag. I should hurriedly point out that this was not intended to be an insult to the Patron Saint of my adoptive country. St Patrick's Day is a big occasion here.

So I have a mildly Irish Odd Shot today, but before I show you I'll give you a very quick history lesson.

Irish homes used to be roofed with thatch, rushes gathered locally and laid over the rafters. Sometimes the wind lifted the thatch, so twisted rope was thrown over and tied to stones left jutting from the tops of the walls. Where these stones were not available, loose stones were tied to the ends of the ropes to help hold down the thatch.



Bearing this in mind, I offer my Odd Shot for today.


For more Odd Shots, visit Katney and join the fun.

Thank You

I've been a bit "under the weather" so I didn't post yesterday - just visited a bit now and then. So I'm writing this now to say a big

THANK YOU

to all of you who visited my PhotoHunt entry and left such kind comments. I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to look in and let me know you were here.

To those of you interested in plants, I have to confess that I have no idea what one of those in my planter could be. There's the pink primula, some variegated ivy, a small tree-like plant that looks like something I've seen called "Goldcrest" (whatever that is!) and the mystery plant. This plant looks at first like the herb rosemary, but it's much paler in colour and hasn't the distinctive scent. As I said, I've no idea what it is, but it looks good!

My dragon is from a pewter pendant. Apart from the colour (which is pewter, of course!) it is the dragon from the Welsh national flag. He's a very friendly dragon, and gets on well with all the others. Oh, I wish there were dragon-eggs!


Editing this to say I've just realised that this was my 100th post. And to think I'd no idea what to do with a blog when I started!

I must extend the above thanks to all of you for making my on-line life so interesting.

Saturday PhotoHunt - I Spy

It's time for the Saturday PhotoHunt again, and this week's theme is I Spy.

The picture above is a planter I bought because it had some pretty, spring-like primulas. I'm afraid the recent high winds and hailstones have bruised the flowers a bit, but there are plenty of buds growing up to make new flowers.

I spy with my little eye,
something beginning with
D

Can you see my Welsh Dragon lurking in the greenery?

Click on the photo to make it bigger.

Look closely.

There he is!

For more PhotoHunters, pay a visit to tnchick, who started all the fun.

Happy Hunting!

Dog-Walking

Walking the dog can sometimes feel like a chore. After all, she can do what she needs in the garden, so a walk isn't necessary, is it?

I've explained this to her time and again, but it never works. She, unlike me, doesn't mind getting windblown, soaked with rain, and hammered by hail - and she adores snow! She has explained to me that she needs to go out, so that she can nose out who's been where and when - and exactly what they've done since she was this way last.

She has to know!

So I carry on taking her out.

I have to admit, though, that it has its advantages. Like this lovely scene by the old graveyard wall. There are no leaves on these alder trees as yet, but the daffodils are opening well and the grass is starting to grow.

It may not always feel much like it, but Spring is well on the way.

ABC Wednesday - H

Today's ABC Wednesday has reached the letter H.

H
is for

HOOKS

I couldn't choose between these two, so I'm offering both. They don't normally look as neat as this - I dropped a variety of coats on the floor to take these shots. Don't worry, I put them back afterwards so no-one will ever know!

Then I just had to add this one - the most important HOOK in the house!


For more ABC Wednesday pictures visit Mrs Nesbit's Pace. Have a good Wednesday.

Typing Test

Found this over at Damama T, and I thought I'd try it out.

26 words

Speedtest

Oh dear! I think I need to practise!

Belated Thanks.

I've just visited my friend Barbara's blog, for the first time in over a week, and look what she had for me there!

I'm so pleased and proud, although I don't know what I've done to deserve it. Thank you so much, my friend.

Vocabulary Test.

I found this on Rosebud's blog, and I thought it was rather fun. Well, I would, wouldn't I?

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?