Sunday 28 June 2015

2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt - First Round Up.

with chief scavenger Rinda @ Gallo Organico
for the
 2015 summertime photography scavenger hunt



SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A bouquet of flowers
2. An ornate door knocker

3. A person walking a dog (or other animal)
4. People playing a board game or card game
5. Architectural columns
6. A metal bridge
7. A turtle
8. Someone "plugged in" to social media 
9. A tent
10. A college or university
11. A cellular tower or television satellite dish
12. A public restroom, bathroom, or toilet
13. A merry-go-round or carousel
14. A traffic signal
15. A flag pole with at least three flags on it
16. A panoramic view, taken while standing someplace high in the air
17. At least two people wearing matching outfits or uniforms
18. An overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle
19. A ticket booth
20. A natural body of water
21. A photograph of you with a sign reading "2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt". Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for any one item on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: People eating outside
Alternative B: Someone holding an umbrella
Alternative C: A rocking chair


#3 person walking a dog
#15 a flag pole with at least 3 flags on it

#9 a tent


#18 cousin Colin's overloaded car ready for the return trip to UK
#2 & #5
ornate door knocker & architectural columns
#12 a public bathroom, restroom or toilet
# 20 body of water
#21


Linking through to

Mosiac Monday
Mosaic Monday


Wednesday 24 June 2015

I Spy



Friesians stand and stare
As I pause at the ancient gate
To stare back at them


Linking to Good Fences hosted by TexWisGirl
@ The Run*A*Round Ranch Report

Monday 22 June 2015

Flower Power


For Mosaic Monday this week
 a delightful bouquet of Normandy wildflowers.


hidden in the hedgerows


unseen in the forest


flowering in the field

Linking this post also to
Our World Tuesday




Wednesday 17 June 2015

Equine Bonny Baby competition

This morning we headed out to run some errands.
 I had my camera with me because I was also on the lookout for items to check off Rinda's 
As we drove past one of the local equestrian properties 
I thought I'd spotted item #18 (overloaded tractor) 
so the SP stopped the car in the middle of the lane for me to take a closer look.
But it wasn't, overloaded I mean.


What I did see however was the sweetest Mother & Toddler show 
taking place behind this very plain wooden fence.


The pair on the left have matching white blazes.


These two would win the prize for synchronized walking and eating.


As the only Judge at the show I decided that these are the winners.
Look how perfectly matched they are
right down to the white socks on their hind legs!
Perfect.

Linking this post to
Texwisgirl's  Good Fences meme


Sunday 14 June 2015

How to enhance a building site.

Bonjour from my Normandy garden.

this hard working honey bee just adores a yellow iris or two
This week the driveway in front of the house was turned into a building site/danger zone as men and machines dug holes and created trenches in a quest to redesign our drainage system to comply with recent changes to the regulations concerning fosse toutes eaux.


To get away from the noise and the mess I escaped to my potager, behind the house, where I am in the process of creating a new herb garden.
(Thyme; lemon thyme; chives; basil; rosemary; parsley and coriander are all thriving well and just as soon as it stops raining this weekend I plan on taking photographs to share).
Back to Tuesday - so involved was I with those bunches of sweet smelling herbage that I mis-stepped, lost my footing and fell backwards landing heavily on the wooden fence enclosing the vegetable bed behind me.
Luckily no broken bones but my derriere has a humongous bruise which bears an uncanny resemblance to a map of the world, (or so I'm told!)
Proverbs 16:18 KJV
"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall".

That'll teach me to watch my step.

A couple of days later I was mobile again and in need of some plant therapy so off we went to the garden centre for geraniums and a few more herbs.
An idea I brought back from our recent trip to Greece is to add a small pot of fragrant thyme or rosemary to the table when dining al fresco, simple yet stylish.
(Note to self: go on internet, search for small terracotta pots).


As a tribute to my many friends who live in Texas I added a pack of 6 "Tex Mex Hot Pink" simple geraniums to my cart.

Ever the pragmatist the SP found a convenient platform to unload the plants onto when we got back home again. Now that's a much better use of a digger, n'est pas?


Not to be outdone by the red hat gals, my blush pink roses continue to gracefully adorn the old stone walls.

Their delicate perfume scents the air returning our home to beauty after all the turmoil of the past five days.


Joining
Judith @ Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday
Linda @ Coastal Charm for Show and Share
Our World Tuesday


Sunday 7 June 2015

Kalimera - 5 things I know about Halkidiki.


A belated kalimera, alas not from the wonderful hotel in Halkidiki 
where I struggled with internet gremlins all the time we were away, 
but from back home, once again, in sunny Normandy.





5 things I know about Halkidiki

Aristotle was born here in 384 B.C.
Also known as Chalkidiki it is a peninsula situated in the north of Greece 
and resembles a hand with three fingers.
From the ikos Oceania resort I could look across the Aegean sea to Mount Athos.
The people of Halkidiki are kind and friendly.
The large green olives grown there are very “moreish”, 
I’m remembering delicious tapenades, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese. 



joining Judith @ Lavender Cottage
for Mosaic Monday
and dreaming of returning to Halkidiki later in the year
for our anniversary getaway.