Tags
ash die-back, ash tree, calendula, clouds, collared dove, Eye, lupin, moon, Rain, Rumburgh, St Chrysostom's prayer, St Michael and All Saints and St Felix church, St Peter and St Paul's church, yellow iris
The past couple of days have been fairly busy doing mainly mundane chores. Fortunately, I am feeling much better and have regained what little energy I usually have.
View from our front door on Sunday after one of many showers
I took Mum to church again on Sunday morning. A windy day with lots of heavy showers. Her church is currently full of scaffolding and difficult to get around. Quite a few years ago they bought a new second-hand organ at a bargain price (still many thousands of pounds I believe). They took out their old one and sold it on but before they could put in the new one somebody thought it might be a good idea to make a Parish Room with a kitchen and toilets too. This could be done more easily without the organ being in place. The church is quite a wealthy one but even so, some time was spent fund-raising and then all the architects reports, and surveyors reports and moving of tombs etc took even more time. Bits of organ pipe and casing were handed out to all and sundry to look after at home as there was no-where to store the new organ in the church. All money raised was spent on the Parish Room and the church had to make do with a little electric organ. At last the Parish Room was finished and everyone was pleased with the result. Saving up for the installation of the organ was resumed and was going very well until the boiler broke down and had to be replaced. Fortunately, some very generous parishioner kindly paid for a new boiler for the church. At last, a few weeks ago the installation of the organ began and should be completed in time for the arrival of their new priest in the Autumn. When I got to church with Mum on Sunday even more scaffolding had been erected as they had decided to investigate a large damp patch that had appeared above the Rood Screen. They also have a Doom painting up there (covered with whitewash) which they want to look at to see that it isn’t deteriorating too much.
I had lunch when I got home and then spent a quiet afternoon reading, checking e-mails, feeding the birds and preparing the vegetables for our evening meal. Our church had an Evening Prayer service at 6.30pm and R and I went along at 5.45pm to get everything ready. It is fortunate that the lovely prayer of St Chrysostom is used during Morning and Evening Prayer, because if it wasn’t one might be tempted to wonder if there was much point in having the service. There were only five of us there including poor Maurice who had prepared a very thought-provoking homily and led the service so well.
‘Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests…’
Monday was another showery day with a few rumbles of thunder as well. I did a lot of supermarket shopping and washing and other necessary jobs around the house. I took a few photographs in the garden in-between the showers.
The tallest tree here is a lovely Ash tree. It upsets me to think that it probably will be dead in ten years time because of Ash die-back disease
The lane in front of our house is looking particularly green at the moment.
A lupin in R’s flower-bed
Calendula/Pot Marigold in R’s flowerbed
Yellow Iris in bud by the pond
You can tell by the Collared Doves’ blurred feet that it was moving fast and I had difficulty keeping up!
The sky gradually got cloudier and more stormy-looking as the day progressed.
Living in the (fairly) flatlands of East Anglia you can always see what the weather’s going to be like before it gets to you.
This is a plane from one of the local air bases
I was glad I wasn’t flying before the storm.
I got indoors just in time.
(If anyone is wondering why there is a brick on top of the cage over the ground bird feeder, it is to try to stop squirrels lifting up the lid and eating all the bird seed.)
By dusk the rain had stopped and the moon had risen.
A Suffolk Lane 