Thursday 22 May 2014

The Best of Times

Hello Lovelies,
yesterday morning I went along to youngest's  primary school to watch him sing and perform in a special assembly.
Afterwards I was chatting to another Mum about how quickly these early school years have passed. Just a few words about how precious these years and moments are was enough to make us both quiet emotional.

 Youngest will be starting secondary school in September. I can hardly believe our family's association with this wonderful place will soon be over. 

I walked back home feeling a little melancholy, but my mood was soon lifted by the sight of our front garden....it's hard to be sad for long on a sunny May day...........


There was no time to go walking yesterday, but I still time to stop the car on the way to town with Mum.

 I find it hard to resist photographing the pretty villages we pass through when everywhere looks so beautiful........



And the countryside is looking stunning too.......

I love to see traditional hedge laying....as seen in the foreground of this photo.....if you click on the photo you can see a large Hawthorn sapling has even been bent to incorporate it into this natural, living barrier.

Further along the roads I had to stop and photograph another favourite view...............

How different it looks to February HERE


One final stop was made at a local Nature reserve...........


I think, due to the common sight of Yellow fields of Rapeseed around these parts , it's easy to overlook such a wonderful sight as this traditional Wild flower meadow.............


But this is no intensely farmed crop field.........it's a haven for wildlife and beautiful wild flowers.
 A traditional, seasonally flooded  hay meadow....a rare sight these days............

Originally an ancient Lammas Meadow , which was rented out to local  farmers in small parcels for the hay crop cut on Lammas Day ( August 1st) and then returned to common grazing. It's now designated a sight of special scientific interest and  managed by the Wildlife Trusts.

You can read more about Britain Wild flower meadows HERE ........it's where I found out what a Lammas Meadow is :0)

I didn't spend long there yesterday but it was lovely to spot Clover for the first time this year...........


 along with tall grasses and Yarrow..............


But it was the abundance of Buttercups that really made my heart sing..........such a wonderful sight against the backdrop of a beautiful blue sky...........


How I love this time of year and this time in my life.
Jacquie x

Edited to Add.....HERE'S a link to the Wildlife Trusts 40 best U.K. wild flower meadows......maybe there's one near you x

21 comments:

  1. Those beautiful poppies - they are enough cheer anybody up
    Julie xxxx

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  2. Buttercups against the blue sky - what a beautiful colour combination!

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  3. It makes my heart sing; we have had a beautiful crop of buttercups in the adjoining churchyard...it was impossible to walk through there without trampling them and now there it's red clover. Beautiful photos Jacquie and I love the one of your garden. It seems that lots of us choose to write garden blogs in the last two days :-)
    Enjoy the rest of your week, Tracey xx

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  4. Marvelous photos, dreamy scenery... thanks for sharing! : )

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  5. Gosh, look at that blue sky! Beautiful :) x

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  6. Beautiful photos, colourful fields and flowers, old buildings, I love it all!
    Pat xx

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  7. Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing. Absolutely love poppies, just waiting for mine to burst open, x

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  8. Thanks for sharing Jacquie!
    I know what you mean about our babies growing up. I now completely understand how my mother felt. My baby has babies now, and I have know idea where the years have gone.
    Cherish them, take photos and above all enjoy. :)

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  9. I know just what you mean about children leaving primary school, my youngest left his last year, my boys went to the same one I attended as a child. Whilst I am not normally a tearful person I did feel ever so slightly sad & kept on taking great sniffs of the hall so I could remember the smell. A nice smell I would like to add. Anyway a lovely post as always.

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  10. love the picture with the church, actually love them all!

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  11. Hi Jacquie, I love your Buttercup picture! so lovely against the blue. they are such glad little things, you must have been lying down there! Interesting to read about the meadows. I am learning, i like the names of all the different grasses, I have no idea which are which though! Heather x

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  12. The flower meadow is beautiful and I'm glad it brightened your day and mine! Sarah x

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  13. How lovely! Before I moved a couple of weeks ago I was a volunteer with our local Wildlife Trust. We did some work to create a wildflower area - hopefully next year it will look as gorgeous as your pictures here!

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  14. That road with the church is absolutely beautiful. There's been something so perfect about May this year, it's my new favourite month. Everything has been breathtaking. I know what you mean about the speed of things flying by. My eldest will be in his last year of primary school next year. Too fast, too fast. But it's the way it should be, so I take lots of deep breaths and carry on. CJ xx

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  15. I love the countryside at this'd time of year. Looks liker you've been having beautiful weather too. My oldest leaves school next year ... Where does the time go? X emma

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  16. Gosh, times will be changing in your house, I hope that your son enjoys his new school when the time comes. Your photos of the meadow are beautiful, just stunning in every way, thank you for sharing them. xx

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  17. We have got lots of buttercups around us too. They are so cheerful :)

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  18. What a gorgeous day and such lovely wildlife and uplifting views.

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  19. У Вас очень красиво! Как в сказке.

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  20. Who couldn't help be happy with such sites! I love the living fences, a true work of art. A wonderful thing, the wildflower meadow moments we could all do with more, a big help for the bees too.

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