February Flowers and Calendars

Hello Lovelies, 

this past week I've been I've been enjoying a £2 bunch of Tulips immensely. They are on my kitchen windowsill and make me smile every time I walk into the room...........

The petals are so delicate and I love the way the light shines through them . When I bought them I would have said they were red , but they have faded slightly to a wonderful deep pink..........

I keep sniffing them, hoping for some scent,  I can't say I've noticed any.......but the inside of the flowers are truly stunning when you take time to notice them.......Oh Tulips, such wonderful happy flowers ..........

Their beauty is greatly appreciated at this time of year when the weather is cold and the garden is not very inviting.


On Saturday I flipped over the pages on my five ( ahem ) calendars..........Here are the best ones this month.
My Emma Ball calendar shows a lovely painting of Conwy and its Castle...........

Visiting a castle or two is high on my "to-do list" when we visit Wales this summer. Maybe THIS one, or THIS one, or THIS one.....they all look fabulous.

My free "Country Homes and Interiors" Calendar shows Stormy Coastal Skies .......It's a lovely palette, but a rather chilly image.......

For February my thrifted "New Zealand" calendar shows high summer........when it's cold and grey outside it's rather lovely to have such a colourful and sunny image to look at........

And Katie Daisy's artwork is always so cheerful and happy..........this month is delightful........

Speaking of delightful things, I'll finish this post with a sunny photo of some more indoor flowers. I popped my latest Hyacinths in the porch.........they love this sunny spot and haven't gone all leggy looking for the light.
I'm also delighted by a  their intense perfume whenever I pass through this small space.........

Here's to finding many small things and bursts of colour to cheer the winter days this February.
Jacquie x

Countryside Colour

Hello Lovelies,
I'm missing the Nature Notes posts that I so enjoyed writing in 2011.
On Wednesday I was out and about looking for some some outdoor images to share with you all. Unfortunately the day was dark and dismal.
When I got home and looked at what I had managed to capture it looked so colourless I decided to abandon that idea. So instead I've taken photos of some of the images in my calendar..........

It's the first time I've bought this calendar,which is made up of images sent in by viewers of this programme.
I partly bought it because £ 4 of the cost goes towards the BBC's Children in need appeal, a very worthy cause.
 As you know, I'm also drawn to images of our wonderful countryside and it's wildlife.
At the moment I'm so enjoying looking at this cute little fella....isn't this an amazing image, it's called " winter weasel".
The ice crystals and blue in the background makes it pretty darn perfect ,in my opinion.

 I will be very sorry to turn over in a few days and say good bye to him..........

Each month you get two images , these are the images for February.........

The main one is pretty colourful, though I think I prefer the small image.........

This is April...not too sure about this either.......

But I'm loving May......

Wonderful colours in the pebbles and the shiny seaweed

Ooooh , look at my Birthday month, Ahhh lovely June with all it's pretty plants and wonderful colour.Not to mention looooong days :0)............

As the picture below shows, there is a space for notes ...........

The bride and groom make me smile. I've taken a close up of the cute mouse on this months page too........

This is a dramatic shot.......

and this image is pretty impressive , amazing the way the fox is staring straight into the lens......

I can totally see why this image was the overall winner of the competition...

It just looks so idyllic , don't you think ?? All those wonderful fresh greens and the colourful narrow boat.Not to mention the gorgeous heavy horse.

A lovely bonus at the end is this image for January 2013........

The quality of the paper and printing is very good and I can see myself buying this calendar again.

Hope you are finding colourful things this winter , or enjoying summer if you are in the southern hemisphere.
Jacquie x