Silent Sunday at Sculpture by the Lakes

Sculpture by the Lakes

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More from Doreen’s Garden

When you enter Doreen’s world it is like entering wonderland, with a fabulous mixture of caring touches

surreal sculptures

(in March)

and a poignant little row of memories

The sculpture of the children climbing always draws my attention

I love the way the lichen decorates the surface (you might remember I’m a great fan of lichen)

It came as no great surprise to see a man who appeared to be walking on the roof 

he was in fact working in the garden behind

(can you see that little white model of a dog’s bottom up in the air as if digging in the lawn)

and then to come across these shoes sunning themselves on a bench

They belonged to Doreen’s very own Mr Mcgregor who was clipping the evergreens

The house looked like this in March

and the garden

What a transformation takes place during the year

I discovered these two brief videos taken in August 2016.

 

I hope to return in April or May one year to see the flourish of Spring.

Maybe I’ll stay in her Garden studio – a link here to see more about it.

Now I’m off to be a ‘bit more Doreen’ and sort out the containers of bulbs in my garden.

Thrift

Photos taken at Sculpture by the Lakes in May 2014 of this bronze sculpture surrounded by thrift.

joining Cee’s Flower of the Day

and look, it’s the same colour as my handbag

If you ever get a chance to go to these gardens, go – it is the most stunningly beautiful, peaceful spot with spectacular sculpture and superb garden design all to the highest quality.

On the subject of ‘thrift’ does mending count? bringing me right back down to earth …….

…the pile of mending and alterations that sit on the end of my sofa waiting for me to be in the right mood to tackle it. Bimbo’s ear and a couple of his seams need attention and the doll needs her foot. The rest of it (mostly for grandhchildren) is much less appealing!

Thank you for all the entires to this week’s  Photo Challenge, I’m a little late to the party this week, but managed to squeak in. Leave a link in the comments to be included in the monthly round-up.

Thursday

Anyone who has been following this blog for a while will know how I like to make everything as multi-functional as possible – it is a Permaculture thing and Permaculture is the closest thing to a religion I have.

Imagine my delight when I realised I could combine Thursday Doors, Three Things Thursday, Cee’s Which Way Challenge and Odd Ball Challenge AND recommend some simply splendid people and places – my cup overfloweth with golden delights.

Three Things Thursday:

Emily shares “three things that make me smile: an exercise in gratitude – feel free to steal this idea with wild abandon and fill your blog with the happy”

So here goes:

1.Yesterday I took Miss E to one of Sewchet‘s wonderfully empowering sewing workshops. Seeing her glee at having made something she can actually wear was a joy. She learnt so much.

2. Meeting Sheila of Sewchet. Meeting fellow bloggers is a fun, enriching experience. I have met Mrs Snail, Judy of Edwinas Episodes, and now Sheila. What a wonderful community it is. …. and there are plans to meet more bloggers brewing.

3. Meeting an old friend after a very long time and having such a brilliant time at Durlslade Farm, art gallery, cafe and sculpture garden. Go if you can!

This is my favourite photo of the day which I think has a touch of the Edward Hopper about it. ‘Hopper’ turned positive and optimistic perhaps.

The Garden and Gallery are absolutely amazing and inspiring, and the food in the café is delicious.

The next photo from this garden is for Cee’s Which Way Challenge

and there were plenty of contenders for the Odd Ball Challenge at this fabulous gallery

How about a giant steel bucket full of shiny pots and pans

or a steel tree

with pots and pans for leaves. I love that it is set against this ancient farmhouse and looks a lot like old mulberry trees in gardens of houses this sort of age.

Here you can see the two sculptures against the old buildings and the gloriously blue sky – what a day!

And another door to the farmhouse for Norm’s Thursday Doors. You can stay there! Pricey but just take a look at the website to see how wonderful the interior is.

I did have such a magical day – and have loved sharing it with you.

 

Frivolous

---

island man dreams of

magic, glimmer and glamour

we all need some of that

~

I have a ‘fairy godmother’, J*, who comes to help me in the house and garden when she can. She spent a sunny day spring-cleaning ‘Pippin’, the caravan, inside and out whilst I struggled with the instructions on erecting the fruit cage.

Pippin is now looking spick and span and happy in her new place in the garden and I’m at last inspired to make some cushions and curtains for her, which I will be sure to share with you at some stage. The Fruit Cage is nearly done, the diagrams on fitting the door with hinges and latch is making my brain ache, but I will feel a great sense of achievement when it is finished. I get such a kick out of demonstrating ‘The Power of One‘ if only to myself.

Easter Island Man stands by my front door to greet all who walk up my garden path. Sometime after J* had gone home I noticed where she had left her cleaning cloth to dry – she thought it suited him – I laughed! A touch of frivolity after a hard day’s work.

Inspired by J* and writing this post, I have given him a Beret.

Joining in with

Ronovan’s Weekly Haiku Challenge, prompt words this week: MAGIC and GLIMMER.

Island man dreams of magic, glimmer and glamour

Magic glimmer and glamour, we all need some of that

~

and

Cee’s Odd Ball Challenge

~

and

 our 52 Week Photo Challenge, which has all the subjects set out for you in advance. Go on, be frivolous and add a link in the comments to your frivolous photo, past or present.

Next Week’s Photo Prompt is

CHECK

~

Listen

No grief, no pining

I will be glad to be free

Of this old body

~

 

For Bluedaisyz Photo prompt: LISTEN

Another soothing take on ‘Listen’ by Cathy: and click here for Jamie’s avian photo.

Only slightly smaller than life-size this statue/sculpture is in a little pergola in Doreen’s garden in Branscombe, Devon

~

Allegory

Pine tree pines for cones

Dropping to the ground to grow

Not grief, just pining

~

And Ronovan’s Haiku Challenge: PINE and GRIEF (including a nature reference)

Go see this post by TJ –  but allow some time to really take a good look at the sunrise photo – just stunning! Click on it and see it much bigger with more detail – gorgeous!

And Olga’s Haiku takes my breath away, the sparkling picture and that last line ……..!

Next week’s photo prompt is ORANGE

Wednesday Walk-Along at the Old Mill

The Old Mill, Netherbury, Dorset.

Joining in with Wordless Wednesday.

And for somewhere completely opposite, join Mary in Kentucky at Walking My Path

I’d love you to leave a link to one of your walks, could be recent or archive, it would be great to be able to walk-along with you.

WWAL: Doreen’s Garden and a Pub Lunch

For this week’s Wednesday Walk-Along: A return to Branscombe for a walk with a friend and time to fully appreciate Doreen’s garden. Branscombe is an extremely long village, sprawling along the sunny valley. From the Village Hall we walked up to the hill to the west towards the church. I was delighted to see this village still has a primary school.

The one in our village closed about 7 years ago – I miss the sound of the children at playtime.

Next you come to the church, of course I had to see the inside ….

 

 

 

…… and the needlepoint.

All the kings and queens of England are commemorated here. I just love the way each church has a design theme carried out by willing crafters. And this church still has the old box pews where the gentry used to sit to keep them safely separated from the hoi polloi. And an extraordinary structure for the pulpit, raising the speaker on high.

Then just a little further up the hill you are greeted by the delight that is Doreen’s Garden!with all sorts of quirky items to entice you in the garden is possibly nearly 2 acres filled with a bonkers mix of different styles and statues

A complete delight..

I didn’t get to meet Doreen, but I could sense her humour and her love for all living creatures, with poignant markers in the garden at random spots …the sculptures have obviously been in situ for some years….. I am always fascinated by the colour and texture of lichen – here an added twist!

I hope to come back again in late Spring to see how this garden is transformed by colour.

 

The garden is open every day, all that Doreen asks is that you make a donation to the Devon Air Ambulance Service, which of course we did – it would be interesting to know how much she has raised for them altogether.

We had a day of bright sunshine, cold breezes and snow flurries (back at the beginning of March) and headed on up through the village to the pub, as the sky darkened,

passing ancient cottages along the way and arriving at The Fountain Head just in time to watch the snow flakes fall whilst sitting by a warming fire.And continuing with Big Bros’s cushion cover, whilst waiting for our soup to arrive.

At this stage, it looks like a scarf, and the length is actually perfect for a scarf –  this is the Cosy Cal pattern that keeps on giving!

A walk discovering new places with a close friend, a quirky garden, sunshine, a pub lunch and time to sit and chat and crochet – all the ingredients for a heavenly day!

 

Here are a couple of other lovely UK walks to walk along with:

Walk along from Thornton Dale to Ellerburn with NanaCathy,

and near Southampton with RainbowJunkie