June Snippets {two}

☀ Friday : morning walk along the track towards the woods, stopping to take in the distant misty shape of The Crag and marvelling at the idea of us actually standing on top of it last week.

☀ Friday : good coffee + latest crochet crush = Bliss. Add into the mix a great bunch of friends and you can easily guess how my Friday morning went down. I had the added pleasure of spending the whole day hanging out with Christine and Emma who were visiting Atticland, it's always a pleasure to yarn and laugh the day away with those two. Emma and I are working on a little joint project which is so sweet and fun, I can't wait to share more with you later in the summertime.

☀ Sunday : a jaunt on the train to Leeds with the youngest, an outing he had asked for specifically because he is growing rapidly and desperately needed new trousers and also desired new trainers. While the offspring are still at school, we have an agreement where we buy essential clothing for them at reasonable high street prices, but anything non essential/over priced they agree to fund themselves. So new jeans from a high street chain is a Mum purchase, but another pair of non-essential Adidas trainers, well that's what his after school pub kitchen job pays for. I think it's a good balance and the ease of hopping on a train and shopping in this lovely city is always fun.

☀ Sunday : in amongst the shopping which included a trip to the Lindt shop (yes, I'm still on with my sugar detox, so this was a good test of willpower), we stopped for lunch and mocktails. Little B was delighted with his "shade-switcher" drink which is an Alchemist special. It tasted like liquid sherbet and smoked and bubbled like a science experiment.

☀ Sunday evening : a gentle stroll through the woodland with the middle Lady-child. 7pm and the air was heavy with the scent of wild garlic and damp earth, and the pond was still and reflective. It's such a lush time of year with the daylight stretching into the night as we approach the summer solstice in a few weeks. Love love love it all.

☀ Monday : stopped in my tracks by these amazing colours growing in front of the old mill apartments beside the canal. This is meadow cranesbill (a wild flower from the hardy geranium family) - just look at that colour, isn't it stunning?

☀ Monday : taking pleasure in making a small side salad to go with homemade pork and apple burgers (this recipe) and seasoned sweet potato fries. The fam all had baked beans with theirs which I'm not a fan of, so I made a single-serve salad for myself instead. A little crumbled feta cheese and pomegranate rubies elevated it to another level. Delicious.

☀ Monday evening : a walk to the wild grassland beyond the buttercup meadow to gather in some elderflowers while it was dry. Little B is always my official Chief Gatherer on these expeditions, and we easily managed to obtain enough floral booty to make our first batch. In the photo above : Yorkshire Fog Grass still in it's early un-foggy state of growth.

Talking of foggy states, this week I've officially entered my hayfever season. The modern day anti-histamines do a great job but the unfortunate side effect for me is dense brain fog. I take them in the early evening as this is when my symptoms are peaking, so on the upside I've been sleeping like a dead thing. However, in the mornings I'm having to wake myself from the aforementioned dead state which isn't at all easy. On Saturday night/Sunday morning I slept for a record ten hours, which kind of horrified and impressed me equally.

☀ Tuesday : more flowers stopping my stride as I walked into town, this time a simple window box planted with different coloured pansies. So pretty.

☀ Tuesday : flowers growing out of walls/pavements is one of my many, many visual obsessions, I absolutely love to see them. There is something about the extreme triumph of a flower seed lodging itself in an inhospitable stoney setting and still managing to bloom it's little heart out which I find hugely inspiring. I don't know what these yellow flowers are called...hold on...let me investigate on the interwebs....Oh, here we go > it's yellow corydalis.

"A member of the poppy family with masses of trumpet-like yellow flowers, Yellow Corydalis is yet another European colonist. Originating from the Alps, it is well-adapted to wedging its roots into the gaps in walls. Known in the UK since 1796, it is not a recent introduction and can be quite common in terraced neighbourhoods".

Isn't floral information wonderful to have stored in one's brain? I'm going to really try to hold onto this for future reference. Corydalis, corydalis, corydalis.

☀ Tuesday : a solo coffee date, and the joy of having the whole upper floor of Caffé Nero all to myself for a while. Light opera vocals playing on the sound system this morning, it was such a beautiful way to sit and re-boot my brain and spend time gently planning out my day. 

☀ Tuesday : fresh flowers on my table, a glorious bunch of British grown Sweet William. The bunch was huge, enough for a large jug on my table and two smaller bonus jugs.

☀ Tuesday : floral sweetness beside my bed, one of life's pleasures for sure.

I hope June is treating you well so far, do chat to me in the comments and share some of your seasonal snippets, I'd love to hear what catches your eye, pleases your heart and stops your stride?!

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Comments

[Jana]

I was thrilled to see the cranesbill in such a lovely purple. Here in Wisconsin they are more pink or magenta in color. A difference in soil I'm thinking.

[K]

I have a ton of Sweet William I started from seed last year now brightening the flowerbed along the back of my house. What a delight!

[Lynn]

I’ve been following your blog for years. I love the beautiful photography, thoughtful and inspiring snippets of your life and fellow coffee aficonado! I will be visiting your lovely area this summer and hope to see many of the beautiful trails and towns you’ve mentioned over the years. Thank you!

[Fiona]

This year I have found the antihistamine in a squirty bottle to be very effective. Its a prescription one but de-bungs me nicely and there's no woolly head feeling either

[Peggy R]

Good morning. I was just reading an article that placed little measuring devices in plants to see if they had feelings , and it noted that plants reacted when you stop and smell them. 😊

[Julie Simmons]

Hi Lucy,it's now Thurs here in currently soggy Somerset. My late neighbours low walled flower troughs are abundant with joneysuy,cordalis?, freesias, seeded hydrangea peonies and the occasional roses, all of which I see from my kitchen window up above. We've also got a family of seagulls who have babies which I hear daily calling from the bathroom window so cute even if they aren't a favourite bird.

[Femke]

Yesterday I made a little stroll with my husband and we found a spot with a beautiful vista. We just sat there on a bench and let the sun warm our faces. The barn swallows flew over our heads. It was bliss. Love this time of year.

[Cathy Tucker]

Life snippets in Sydney Australia: The huge full moon has been delightful to watch as I catch my train home from a day of school teaching. Tallowood tree leaves are turning all the autumn hues. I am in peak hooky as it's our wintertime (but a Sydney winter doesn't really put it's back into it 😉) xx

[Carol]

Love your photos and all the flowers!! So, so beautiful and uplifting. I still feel like I am there in Skipton by your photos. You do live in a beautiful place.
I have had some success with NAC for allergy symptoms, it is an amino acid, take in morning on empty stomach with some vitamin c. Takes the edge off the sinus issues.
Take care, can't wait for the next blanket and your secret project!

[Kate]

Beautiful words and photos again, lifts my soul
I have just finished my first Flowerpress Mandala and I love it 😍
Can’t bring myself to put a vase on it yet as I’m still admiring it too much 🤣

[Kate]

Beautiful words and photos again, lifts my soul
I have just finished my first Flowerpress Mandala and I love it 😍
Can’t bring myself to put a vase on it yet as I’m still admiring it too much 🤣

[Miranda]

Lovely photos - I always love 'visiting' Skipton through your blog! I have been using an app called Flora Incognita on my phone because I wanted to know what the wildflowers I saw when walking the dog were and I love reading all the nicknames for the plants I've found.

[Frances Anne]

Very, very beautiful snippets, my dear! I could expound on the loveliness of each of them and this comment would become a tome. So nice to hear about your warm relationships and skillful parenting with your offspring. Mine is mid-40s now, and I still mention how much I enjoyed his and his friends' teen years. Especially driving them from place to place in my station wagon (estate car?). This summer I am (aside from actually counting down the days till winter, because it is tRuLy the only time of year I am bodily comfortable temperature-wise) struggling to keep up with the yard maintenance between too-hot or too-smoky days in the US Upper Midwest. Dreams of being able to plant things someday . . . maybe next year. And living within the thoroughly belt-tightening austerity budget, except for yArN!! Splurging on some of the new Noro Ito colors--absolutely essential. Rather have that than food anyway--ha! Then dive straightaway into knitting some Noro Classic Scarves for totally relaxing knitting and maximum color enjoyment. Just sent my step-granddaughter a rubber band loom kit for making bracelets. Apparently a popular pre-teen craft trend. They are so colorful I may have to try a few myself!

[Maypole]

Oops,an add on to my comment above. Just noticed that your cranesbill has a different leaf to mine, but there are so many varieties, all beautiful though.

[ChrisB]

Such lovely observations, and I love the hardy resilient pallet that grow in almost nothing (one year we had a seeded tomato growing in the dusty gutter outside)! I’m loving the Cosmic petunias I bought for my window boxes -
Deep purple velvet night sky with starlight splashes 🌌 and not many people seem to realise that they are scented! My garden project was in the planning until my boiler broke 😩 so sadly thats the priority now. Planning what wip to take to America at the end of the month when I go off to sing Barbershop with my mixed chorus in Denver, Colorado! I reckon I should have a pair done on the flights if I also do some whilst spectating

[Tineke]

Perhaps the common name of Corydalis helps you; it is named Bird on a Stool. I've got the pink variation in my garden, better adapted to moist conditions. I would love the blue <3 But that one loves alpine conditions, I can't offer.

[Maypole]

It's good that the children have a job and pay for things themselves. Cranesbill, or bloody cranesbill as they are known, my favourite perennial, they grow all over the dunes near me and they flourish in my garden with the sandy soil.

[Linda Hedley]

Evening Lucy. Another interesting blog. Loved it. Your coffee the crochet and of course the flowers.
Been a strange week so far here in the south east. Sunday I passed on so much craft stuff and some toys to my niece, she is new to childminding, I retired 14 years ago. So lovely to help her and know the things will be used. Sadly I am a “keeper” . Note not a hoarder. I knew it would be useful one day.
More gardening. New colours. Just loving the blue tinged with white delphiniums. They are striking.
Weather dry but hazy. Getting warmer.
Visited a National Trust property in Henley. Oh it was a delight. The flowers were beautiful, especially the peonies, but oh my goodness the roses, so pretty and the perfume WOW.
Still knitting. Baby hats.
Early night tonight. Hopefully to sleep better.
Best Wishes Linda x

[Linda from Boston]

Beautiful pictures……..and those flower colors are out of this world. Your writing always gives me a chuckle!! Here in Boston, we’re stuck in a pattern of gray, cloudy, rainy days. If there IS a sunny day, smoke from Canadian wildfires blocks it out!!!! This coming Saturday will be the 13th straight Saturday of rain predicted!!! Sigh………. My husband and I will celebrate 49 years of wedded bliss on June 12. Hope it’s not raining!!!