Elderflower or Marmalade?

Tiny fragrant flowers and a powdering of pollen

Elderflower umbels are in full bloom in May or June depending on the climate.

One lovely way of using them is to make Elderflower jelly.

Steep the flowers in water for three days

Strain

add lemon juice and sugar

and boil until thickened.

This year I've made Marmalade and Elderflower Jelly

Wind down the canvas awning

and set a pretty table outside surrounded by flowers

Put some flowers in a vase

Cut some raisin and nut bread

Make fresh coffee 

Chunky orange takes centre stage

but golden Elderflower edges in on the sidelines.

Which one shall I choose?

Why, one of each is the only solution!

Won't you join me?

What do you like for breakfast?

Creative Moments in July

Colour!

I've always enjoyed playing with colour

ever since I was a child.

Crochet!

I taught myself from a booklet

when I was expecting my first baby

born on July 5th 

and that's today.

This preciously kept booklet only cost 35 cents when I bought it

in White Plains, New York in 1971.

A crochet hook

and a basket full of yarns make my fingers tingle

and want to create!

These are very large flowers

measuring 18cm across

(almost 7 inches)

I joined them all together to make a wall hanging

which creates a corner of happy colour

on a wall in my home.

Taking the time

Have you ever noticed how much a child

lives each moment so fully?

Painting stones is so absorbing as the creative energy

is allowed to run freely.

What can be so interesting as we walk in nature?

Snails!

It has been raining so there are plenty of them

along the path we have chosen to walk.

A new pretty shell is chosen for his collection!

Look at this one which has been broken.

What is the snail's story?

Contemplation

Every single thing is a reason to stop and observe

and children show us how important it is to take the time to do this

in a world where so much frantic rushing seems to exist.

Such fascination in the shapes of  these shells

which once held a living being.

and now it's time to climb and play

totally in the moment

feeling all those lovely stones under summer sandals

and to rest at the end of the day with furry friends!

Children teach me how to take the time

to enjoy each moment fully

excluding all else

except 

for 

this moment!

I feel so lucky to have a grandson

with whom I have a privileged relationship

and feel blessed when I am in his company.

At the end of my day

As I leave the house, I pass the iris leaning softly into a sea of green leaves

I notice shapes and details and colours as I stroll and unravel my day

tiny grasses sway and tremble on Nature's summer blanket

and a single stem brings me back to simplicity

Fresh green foliage waves me on my way

Soft tendrils brush away  the little knots that appeared during the day

and the last rays of sunshine illuminate the trunk of a tree

reminding me

to come back to my centre.

Dappled skies show that a change could be expected

yet on the other side, the innocent pink and blue sky enhances the clear-cut  silhouette

of a tree 

and gives me another point of view.

Do you like to unwind in nature at the end of your day?

It helps me let go of all that has passed

and brings me back into the moment

I am actually living.

Street Photography

Colour coordination

Red is the colour of the day!

Are my cuffs in the right place?

Happy moments on the lakeside path

Devoted daddy with his little babes

and a silver-haired couple seeking a spot in the shade.

Reading the menu

"Mummy! I've chosen my ice-cream!"

This is the life!

A sunny terrace and the time to enjoy it!

Sharing a moment

When time stands still...

What is he writing?

Expressing himself

Quiet contemplation.

It's quite an honour to enter into other people's lives through photography.

A connection is felt and I feel closer to their life stories

as if I am part of their world

which I am.

Using my 50mm lens to capture these candid shots.

Discovery

When pansies become a painting

 and where the wind whispers its impressions to soft and dreamy yellow daisies

Tiny speckled flowers fade in and out of their smudged background

like the breath of a flower fairy

When flowers and crocheted Mandalas blend together and connect

and a chalice of petals reaches up to brush the circle of life

A soft blanket cascades down to meet with a single flower

and all becomes muted and mingled and each object becomes part of another 

as they dance together in joyful abandon.

The discovery

of the 50mm lens

how it connects to all it sees

with a paintbrush dipped in watercolours.

I've just finished a very uplifting class

with Kim Manley Ort

The 50mm Project