Tags
Celandines, clouds, daffodils, Dog's Mercury, dogwood, farmland, Jacob sheep, lichen, Lords and Ladies, primroses, snowdrops, St Margaret's church, Suffolk, sunset, walking, Winter Heliotrope
On Saturday, Richard and I went to the church coffee morning held this month at our friends’ farm instead of at the Rector’s house. Our Rector had his heart surgery last week, and will be off work for some time while he recovers. We wish him a speedy return to full health. As usual we listened to all the gossip and news. I bought some delicious home-made Bakewell bars which we ate later that day and Richard won a tin of sweets in the raffle.
Saturday was cloudy and chilly but there was no frost and the birds were singing lustily. I heard the chaffinch’s spring song for the first time this year.
Sunday was a much brighter day. The church service was held at our church in Rumburgh so Richard and I got there early to get things ready. The church didn’t need much tidying as I had helped another lady to clean it thoroughly on Friday and there had been a wedding on Saturday afternoon after which Richard had tidied up again.
After lunch we went out for a walk. We decided against driving somewhere and also thought it better not to walk across the fields as everywhere is waterlogged. We took our usual circuit of a couple of miles, walking along the lanes. I have photographed this walk so many times now, so I will just show you a few of the new and/or interesting things I saw.
This plant is found in woodland often forming carpets, also under hedges and in other shady places. It has a fetid smell and is poisonous, being a member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Male and female flowers are found on separate plants and are small and yellow in spikes. It is pollinated by midges.
Another woodland and hedgerow plant. I was surprised that these leaves were matte green – they are usually glossy. Another plant that smells of decay when in flower, the berries are poisonous and the roots have a high starch content. In Elizabethan times the roots were gathered to make starch for stiffening the high pleated linen ruffs that were then in fashion.
We got home as the sun sank below the horizon.
This week Elinor is taking her mock GCSE exams. She has already taken Psychology and English. Maths is on Wednesday and Thursday and Art is all day on Friday. She is coping very well indeed though she is exhausted already with the strain of it all.
Richard stays away from home only one night this week; Wednesday night is spent in Gloucestershire. On Friday he goes back to the specialist to find out more about the lesion/tumour on his pituitary gland and what is to be done about it.
I am disappointed at not being able to go to Sheffield to see Alice perform in ‘Emma’ especially as she is taking the leading role. I would really have loved to see her and support her but the performances are at the same time as Elinor’s exams and Richard’s hospital visit. I also don’t have much money to spare for train travel and hotel rooms after Christmas and Elinor’s birthday in January.
My mother is fine. She went to the eye specialist on the 30th December and had to return the next day for an injection to stop a bleed in her eye. We went back last week for a check-up and fortunately all is well again. The next appointment is in mid March. My brother has filed for divorce and is in the process of selling his house. He is moving to Suffolk to be near us and Mum and especially his daughter and has got a transfer to work in the open prison in Suffolk and continue his teaching. My sister is working hard as always as a paramedic practitioner. She got her degree and will be getting her certificate at a ceremony in May. My mother-in-law is out of hospital and in a nursing home. This is a temporary arrangement as she hasn’t yet been assessed but we all know that she won’t be able to go back home. She has a weak heart, breast cancer, problems with her thyroid and has lost all her mobility. All so sad. She understands the situation and is making the best of it; such a sensible woman.
Lavinia Ross said:
The photos of your coutryside are lovely, as always! You seem to have a lot going on right now. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you so much Lavinia; how kind you are.
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Aggie said:
Bless you, Clare, and your family. Beautiful countryside. Is St. Margaret’s your church?
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Aggie. It’s complicated! The Church of England divides the country up into Benefices which are then sub-divided into Parishes with a Parish Church. In areas of high population each parish has its own priest (ideally) with one of them in charge of not only his/her parish but also of the benefice as a whole. In areas where there are fewer people there are fewer priests who look after more than one church. Our benefice is sparsely populated but there are eleven churches/parishes and one redundant church (that still has services twice a year) all looked after by one priest, our Rector Richard Thornburgh (currently in hospital). An area of about 36 square miles. We are a roving community going from church to church each week so we all get a turn. Richard my husband and I live just in the parish of Rumburgh, the church of which is nearly two miles away. St Margaret’s church is nearly a mile away in the other direction so is much closer but not our church though we regularly worship there! Each church has its own funny little ways but we have all got used to them and look forward to our visits.
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Aggie said:
I am so happy to hear that the small churches are being preserved. Here in the US one brand new monster church would probably be built.
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clarepooley33 said:
The powers that be have been considering closing most of our small churches as a cost-cutting venture for many years. However, our churches are part of our heritage and people get so emotional about them even if they never attend church. The few redundant churches we do have are sad places on the whole and local people still ask for them to be re-opened.
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Aggie said:
I liked that so much in my trips to England, Clare, the old buildings still cared for. Please enjoy them for me!
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Julie said:
I enjoyed your walk Clare, Spring is awakening and its lovely to see. Good luck to Elinor with her GCSE’s and best wishes for your husbands check up. You have an awful lot to worry about, Is your Mother-in-Law’s nursing home near you?
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, Julie. Unfortunately Mum-in-law lives in Manchester where my husband grew up. They moved there from Frodsham in Cheshire when Richard was nine. My brother-in-law still lives in Manchester and is the main carer of his mother but Richard visits as often as he can.
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Julie said:
That sounds as if you at least have someone else to share the worry and care but it can’t be easy. Look after yourself.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, Julie.
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Jill Weatherholt said:
Thanks for sharing your lovely photos, Clare. What a wonderful day you had out and about. I’m happy to hear your mother is doing well.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Jill!
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Jane Thorne said:
Love to you all and thank you for taking us on your walk with you. I had a lovely time. x
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, Jane!
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fodrambler said:
Great post. Now I am jealous of your Primroses and Lesser Celandine, neither are flowering here yet. I photographed Lesser Celandine with flower buds on the 24th of January, I have been back several times to check on it but yesterday it looked exactly the same as it did three weeks ago, frozen in time. I put this lateness down to us being about 500 feet above sea level, just a short drive away there is a town that is at sea level and it is always two weeks ahead of us. I have just finished writing about Dog’s Mercury, plenty of buds but they too are not open here yet. It won’t be long.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Colin! We haven’t had a very severe winter again, though it has been a little colder than last year and we have seen some snow but none settled for more than half a day. You in the Alps have had a colder winter than us. I was really surprised to see the Lesser Celandines but the primroses have been very confused this winter and I have seen some in flower since November, poor things. My mother’s garden has flowering Winter Aconites but ours won’t appear for another couple of weeks as we are very windswept here compared with her garden.
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Alysian Fields said:
Lovely photos as always! Makes me miss being in Suffolk, I wish I could come back more often. I’m sorry you won’t get to the play as well, but I will send you lots of photos xx
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you my love! I wish you could visit more often too! I look forward to the photos Love Mum xx
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quietsolopursuits said:
It looks as though you had a very relaxing walk to take your mind off from some of the negative things going on right now. It’s a shame that you won’t be able to see your daughter in the play, maybe some one could record a video for you?
I’m surprised, and a little jealous, to see so many flowers blooming there already. When I look outside, all I see is snow with more on the way. The sunsets were gorgeous!
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you very much Jerry! Yes, spring seems to be springing here but I really could have done with more frosts and more snow. We may get more winter weather yet and that could be bad news for the birds, animals and plants that think it’s spring already. Not enough cold weather this winter and last has meant that pests and weeds have hardly been held back at all. On the plus side it has also meant that more hibernating insects have survived through the winter and last summer I saw more insects than for many years.
I have asked my daughter about videos/photos and she tells me that she doesn’t know of anyone making a video but she will send some digital photos.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
It’s nice to see spring happening somewhere and nice to see fields plowed and ditches cleared. It must be great to walk along and smell the fresh turned earth and the heliotrope as well. I love its fragrance.
I hope your daughter does well in her exams. That will give her a confidence boost! I also hope taking care of your husband’s tumor isn’t too involved.
it seems like you’re in a whirlwind right now. I hope the dust settles soon so you relax.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you Allen. It was a most enjoyable walk despite having been walked so often before. We have been so busy lately that we haven’t had time to go out since the new year.
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tootlepedal said:
I am impressed by the primrose.
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clarepooley33 said:
They are very early, as are the celandines.
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Christy Birmingham said:
I see that spring is soon to be here with the flowers starting to bloom as shown in your photos! I feel like I just got a nice walk in with you in your post 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, Christy! Yes, spring won’t be long now. I hope you have a very happy weekend, Best Wishes, Clare x
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Elizabeth Melton Parsons said:
I so enjoyed your lovely photographs this morning, Clare. Love the snowdrops and the lichen covered tree. Thank you for including us on your journey. 🙂
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clarepooley33 said:
My pleasure, Elizabeth! 🙂
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Kate Happenence said:
I hope Elinor enjoys her Art mock exam. You reminded my of mine, which whilst being an exam was actually a really good day as rather than go from class to class being bored by school I got to spend it all doing art. My parents still have both my mock and final exam pieces hanging up in their house.
I loved looking through all your pictures, was a good reminder to take a look outside today.
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clarepooley33 said:
Thank-you, Kate. I think she did enjoy herself as it was all fairly relaxed. It’s so nice to have talented children who can provide original art work for the house. We have a couple of my elder daughter’s drawings on our walls too.
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Aquileana said:
The Italian Alder tree and its catkins are just perfect!… I will share those pics at Google Plus later today (and the link to this post of course!)~ Love and all the best to you, dear Clare! Aquileana 😀
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clarepooley33 said:
How very kind! Thank-you so much! xx
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