Gnomes

May I introduce you to the Gnomes in my new blog entitled: Where Gnomes Go...

I have always had a deep fondness for Gnomes ever since I was a child, when I first encountered them in my Grandmothers garden.

Then quite a few years ago when I first watched 'Amelie' ~ which is now one of my favourite films ~ I thought the idea of a Globe~trotting Gnome, who sent photos of his travels to Amelie's Father ~ was an inspirational idea.

I wanted to adopt the notion and have some Gnomes comes and travel with me ~ or is it, that I am really travelling with them. Sadly, I never got round to doing it ~ and to whom would I share and send our pictures to in any case.
Has it really taken me all this time to realise that a blog of their very own would be the ideal solution.

So here they are, I realise they look similar, so I shall describe who is who by their coloured jackets: Ernest is in blue, Bernard is in Grey and Alan is in orange.

They have all been named after my Father~in~laws, who are sadly no longer with us.

 

I do hope you will follow our new blog and enjoy it as much as we will in writing it. 

Easter Egg Hunting

At the weekend we took our grandaughter who is five, on her first Easter Egg Hunt. You begin by getting your facepainted, a disguise is essential for creeping up on unsuspecting Easter eggs....

Wearing your brand new clothes, you scramble under bushes and shin up some trees,

Find a stinging nettle patch to step into and kick up as much dust as you can. Roll down a few steep inclines and dip the toes of those white canvas shoes into the lake, then kick up some more dust for good measure.

Please do NOT pick the flowers

~ but these are for you Nanny....

No wonder those terrified Eggs are hiding ?

This was so much fun,

can we do it again next year please?

Egg Moon ~ Pink Moon

The Full Moon in April is known as the Egg Moon, so called because it is now that the days grow longer, that the hens begin to lay more eggs. Other birds are also nest building and getting ready for the 'Stork to Arrive'.

The Full Pink Moon in April gets it's name from the herb moss pink, or wild ground phlox, which is one of the earliest widespread flowers of the spring.

Other names for this month’s celestial body include the Full Sprouting Grass Moon, and among coastal tribes the Full Fish Moon, because this was the time that the shad swam upstream to spawn.

Super Moon and The Moon Gazing Hare

A 'Super moon' tonight will reach it's closest point to the Earth for almost 20 years.

Clear skies will reveal a 'Super Moon' phenomenon tonight as the moon reaches its closest point to the Earth for almost two decades. The moon will appear bigger and brighter than normal as it reaches the closest point to the Earth since 1992. It is the first time since 19 January 1992 that the moon has come into such close proximity to the Earth. This type of full moon tends to bring a range of higher and lower tides than usual.

My Moon Grazing Hare is getting ready for the Big Close~Up

The myth of the Moon gazing hare reflects ancient beliefs. Pagans believed that seeing a moon gazing hare would bring growth, re-birth, abundance, new beginnings and good fortune. The hare is known to be sacred to the goddess Eostre and eventually became known as the Easter bunny. In some countries, it is customary to eat hot cross buns around the time of Easter and Christmas; the cross on the bun is said to represent the four quarters of the moon. These buns were originally pagan offerings and were often hung from rafters to scare off evil that lurked in houses.

Lenten Moon ~ Worm Moon ~ Crow Moon

The Full Moon in March sees the earth re~awakening, the ground softens and warms and earthworms begin to leave their castings as they process the soil. Other creatures begin their own Spring rites: the cawing of Crows herald ~ the Crow Moon. The Icy crust of snow that has formed from the repeated thawings and freezings ~ the Crust Moon. And the time of tapping the maple trees for their sweet sap ~ the Sap Moon.

The Old English name, was the Lenten Moon and was considered as the last moon of winter.
The name for this moon is taken from this period of time known as Lent.
There are traditionally forty days in Lent, which marks a time of fasting from foods and abstinance from festivities along with other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be acted upon with zeal during the period of Lent, are Prayer: representing justice towards God ~ Fasting: representing justice towards the self. Almsgiving: representing justice towards those less fortunate.
In modern times, the quitting of a vice, is seen as something that will bring them closer to God, and the time or money that it would have consumed, would be donated to a charitable purpose instead.

The House in the Clouds

The sun was shining and snowdrops were poking their heads through the soil, Spring is surely on it's way. 

We travelled from Aldeburgh to Southwold on the Suffolk coast and passed by The House in the Clouds along the way in Thorpeness.
Now here is a Room with a View........

How do they clean all those windows ?

 

Snow Moon ~ Wolf Moon

The Full Moon in February was know as the Snow Moon to the Algonquins and other First Nation tribes of the North and East of America, since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month. Other tribes also referred to this Moon as the Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.To the Old English it was known as the Wolf Moon. This is likely to be for the very same reasons that the Algonquin Indians had given the moon the same name in January instead. 
Perhaps the large herds of deer that roamed the length of the British Isles sustained the wolves for longer than their North American cousins.