Sunday 17 July 2011

Sunday safari

The little bee is cold and wet.    This weather is not good for insects.   Poor bee.
I love to see the young birds.   So pretty.
The feeders are always busy.
The juvenile Gt. Spotted Woodpecker is a regular visitor.
Butterfly visits are fleeting.   This rainy weather does not suit them.
Hostas have really bloomed this year.     I love the flowers.
The pale lilac blooms are beautiful.
I struggle with hanging baskets.    They usually suffer from wind damage.   This year has been an exception and they do not look too bad.


Each year in July the Romany wagons go by my garden gate.    For me this a magical experience and something I so look forward to.    The wagons are beautifully decorated.    The horses are well kept, their mane decorated with ribbons.    The girls wear their long skirts with elegance and gold coins hang from chains around their crown.    The lines on the faces of the elderly tell a thousand tales.   They follow the old ways.......I always nod to them as they pass, they do the same.     They do not like to have photographs taken....I give them the respect they deserve.
They came last week and made my summer.......

Happy Sunday safari.

13 comments:

  1. That little bee looks cold all huddled in the cosmos. The butterfly looks similar to some of our angle wings. How interesting that there are still Romany wagons caravaning in your country. I wonder where they are going?? The Amish around here don't like their photo taken either. I do like to snap their horses and buggies when I get a chance. Happy Sunday Safari.

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  2. Hi Lisa,

    I always feel so sorry for the bees when the weather is wet and cold during the summer.

    The Romany wagons take the same route each year....Mr P believes it is a route they would have taken many many years ago. I do not know.
    I would love to speak with them but somehow feel it would not be the right thing to do.
    The wagons are beautifully painted....I cannot tell you just how much I would love to photograph them :)

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  3. Hi Cheryl,

    Lovely photos; poor little Bee... Hopefully it will warm up again for them soon enough and they can continue buzzing around the garden.
    My hanging baskets are doing ok this year compared to normal - I've been watering the one by the backdoor very regularly, however the one in the front has been somewhat neglected... Ooops.

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  4. Dear Cheryl,
    I cry....just reading about the Romany made me tear up. It is so very kind and loving of you to respect their ways. I also believe their route is the same as it has been for thousands of years.....Being able to witness them is an honor indeed. Wow...wow...wow.
    Cool and wet is good for the plants but so very hard on the bees and butterflies. Your orange and brown looks so much like our Question Mark and or Eastern Comma.
    Heat advisory at my house. The bees and butterflies love it...this girl melts in the heat and humidity.
    Wonderful Safari...
    Reading about the Romany and knowing you saw them has made my summer too. I am lost now in a world of fairs and festivals and dancing.....I shall get books and dream of long ago days. The heat is on for the next week....
    Sherry

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  5. Hi Cheryl...very hot here...95F. today and humid and has been for about a week!!
    Spent the day with my daughter, 10yr old grandson and his friend at the beach on the ocean!!
    I feel bad for your insects and plants they need the sun!!
    Thanks for the Safari..lovely!!
    I am not familar with Romany's ..are they like gyspy type of people??

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  6. Hi Liz,

    Another wet and chilly day ahead by the looks of things.

    It is easy to forget pots at the front of the house. I often forget my box balls by the front door, fortunately they are as tough as old boots :)

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  7. Dear Sherry,

    I worry about the bees and butterflies. I hope the sun arrives soon and spreads a little warmth.

    When I hear the rumble of the wagon wheels my heart skips a beat. Yet when they pass there is a quietness that I cannot explain. The silence is one that I rarely experience in such a way. I sometimes feel I want to jump on the back of one of the wagons and join them for just a day.
    Sadly they are often misunderstood. These are gentle folk, they follow the old path, they mean no harm........I am honoured they pass my gate and wonder how many times their ancestors have passed this old house. I am humbled.

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  8. Too hot Grammie, way too hot. Stay cool.

    Hope you had fun on the beach with family. Nothing better :)

    Romany are gypsy folk, their line goes back for hundreds of years. These are gentle folk that follow the old way. I have great respect for them.

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  9. I wish I could send you some of our heat, Cheryl. No rain here for a week, and the temperatures are soaring--the heat index forecast (heat + humidity) for the next several days is supposed to be above 110! I will be staying inside most of the time:)

    How interesting about the Romany wagons; I did not know they travelled through the English countryside. I would love to see them! As Lisa said, the Amish here also do not like their photos taken. Next time you visit we'll have to take you to see their community.

    I went to the Pollinatarium yesterday for a talk about hummingbirds. It brought back pleasant memories of our visit last fall.

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  10. Hi Rose,

    It is cool today, dull with drizzle...not like summer at all. Rose, 110, I doubt I would survive such temperatures.....way too hot for me.

    That would be wonderful Rose, hopefully in the not too distant future I will join you again across the pond. I must read about the Amish community to understand a little bit about them.

    Aaaah the Pollinatarium, wonderful.....wish I could have been with you.

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  11. What a treat for you to actually see the Romany wagons! When my children were small we read a book by Roald Dahl that mentioned the wagons so we looked up more information.

    The weather has seemed unusual everywhere this summer...either too hot or too cold. Here's hoping it's not the "new normal."

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  12. Aah Roald Dahl, my daughters favourite ....now she reads the books to her son.
    I feel pretty honoured to see the Romany wagons.
    I suspect that few do.....

    I do hope that this is not the 'new normal'.......I cannot remember a time when the seasons were so messed up.

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  13. Lovely woodpecker - young male?

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