A Special Window

I thought I would share with you all the latest installation in our house. I have always hankered over having a stained glass window. I love coloured glass and have a friend who restores and designs stained glass. Refurbishing the farm house seemed an ideal opportunity to incorporate something of this kind. I had been left a bequest by my mother in law and I was looking for an appropriate way to use this.

We asked my friend to design a window which reflected all aspects of the farm. We wanted a rather abstract design and are delighted with the outcome. It is a combination of old and new glass. Different colours and textures are incorporated. There are also eggs, ears of corn, bales, hens, a tree and much more.

It is situated between the hall and our dining room. I am enjoying everyone's reaction to it and it looks particularly fabulous with the light on behind it. I know Joy would be pleased that I had spent the money on something specific but I suspect it's a little abstract for her taste! 

Early Summer

I started to prepare this post back at the beginning of July so it's way time I posted it. This year has been dominated by our move but farming life has of course continued as normal. Hay making now seems a long time ago.

The long hot days meant it was a cracking season for hay making and quite a heavy crop too. Poppy and Sky of course came along to supervise.

We were also joined by my niece and her family.

This gave us a chance for a belated Happy 21st Birthday celebration for Student Daughter (who actually is no longer a student but more about that another day). She had been away for her actual birthday. There were however no candles, not in the middle of a very dry hay field!

We are in!

Yes! We have moved across the yard into the farmhouse. Still chaos and a lot to do. We are busy dawn till dusk but just stopped for breakfast and this is my new view.

Lots of Stones and More

I am always on the lookout for photos for The Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt. One of the photos this time is No. 10 Something made of Stone. The breadth of this is pretty wide and I have already posted a few possibilities. I have been out and about Friday and Saturday which has given me a chance to find a few possibilities. 

Our walk on Friday was mainly around the farm where one of my friends grew up. Hidden in the middle of a copse was this collection of stones. They are know as The Devil's Bed and Bolster. Despite examining them from every angle we couldn't actually work out the significance of the name. The stones are apparently the remains of a Long Barrow so a burial chamber from 3400 to 2400 BC. It is hard to believe they have been there for that long period of time and what significance they would have had.

While still on the burial theme these next two are in the churchyard in Wrington village in North Somerset and are curiously part of graves. This sun dial suggests the passing of time. 

This is further suggested by the dial itself. It would of course also be a possibility for No. 1 An Outdoor Clock.

This grave includes a bird bath! I guess the occupant was a bird lover.

My reason for visiting Wrington was because they had an open gardens day. We spent a very pleasant time strolling around the village visiting a variety of different gardens. I took very few photos to respect the people's privacy of their property. This garden however was an exception. The owner who is a local vet is also a sculptor and his work is on show in his garden. They were all made from a variety of different types of stone.

Here are a few of them.

Including a possibility for No. 11 A Fish.

I guess this seahorse may also count as a fish. I was rathe taken with the seals.

This amusing sculpture was hidden behind the shed it was well camouflaged but showed a certain sense of humour!

This last rather curious sculpture again made of stone was in another garden. Any suggestions as to what it's intended meaning might be?

Take Three Thursday: Alpines

Things are progressing quite well in the farmhouse now. The floor tiles are nearly all down, the kitchen is being fitted, a lot of the wall paper is up. We still need to see a bit more of the electrician and the plumber. It's completely beyond my comprehension as to why they don't just concentrate on finishing one job rather than chasing from one to another.

We have also been tidying up the garden and have put a stone trough on the wall near the door. I thought some of the plants we have in it would be good for this week's Take Three Thursday. 

1. This gentian is a beautiful blue. It has had a series of little flowers.

2. I bought this little pink plant when in Cornwall. It's always nice to have a plant to remind you of your holiday.

3. House leeks always fascinate me. This one is producing a sizeable number of house leeks.

I will post a photo of the whole trough soon.

A Few More Finds for the Scavenger Hunt

Rather than bore you all totally in one day I thought I would spread my finds over two days so here is the second instalment. My next photo is for No. 6 An Umbrella open or closed.

My first possibility for No. 7 A Curving Path is the knot garden at Trerice House in Cornwall. 

Then a path weaving it's way through the garden at Landhydrock House.

There are so many possibilities for No. 10 Something made of stone. The most commonly used stone in Cornwall is granite, a resilient tough stone usually silver grey in colour. This is depicted well in a tableau at the Royal Cornwall Show which was part of a WI competition "A Celebration of Cornwall ". It shows the importance of granite in the whole county.

Leading on from this here are some uses of granite that I captured while on holiday in Cornwall last month.

I think one of my favourite finds so far is this iris which depicts No. 13 Two colours of the rainbow in any combination.

The coastal walk along the cliff between Treyarnon Bay and Constantine seems to have more than it's fair share of benches. It is of course a lovely place to sit and admire the view on a relatively accessible walk. There are no less than 3 broken ones and here are two of them for No. 15 A broken chair/bench/stool.

My last category for now is No. 18 Something that should be found in pairs. Yes, you guessed, I set this one up with my shoe.

However I did find this lonesome boot.

Then surely car wheels should really come in pairs! You do need to look quite carefully.

The First Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt Link Up

I am still at the stage of finding and choosing photos for the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. This is hosted by Mary Lou so don't forget to pop along to see her finds and also find the links for everyone else joining in.

I am sharing some of my possible options for just a few of the prompts. I have in fact already posted my finds for No. 14 A Handwritten Sign which you can find here.

No. 1 An Outdoor Clock.  I found a couple of possibilities for this when I was in Cornwall. The first is the clock on the tower on the harbour in Porthleven. This tower has become a popular subject for photos in stormy weather has it is beaten by large waves. It is often mistaken for a church but is in fact the Bickford-Smith Institute and houses some of the town council. The clock tower stands 70ft high.

Another choice is on the stable block at Lanhydrock House which would have helped to ensure that all horses and carriages were ready at the correct time.

My third choice is a natural option. I am sure you all know how to tell the time with a dandelion. Hold the stalk firmly and blow. Keep blowing until all the seeds have gone. The number of blows needed indicates the hour of the day.

No.3 Repetition . The first two are taken at Lanhydrock House.

A classic Cornish wall with a fence on top gives two repeated patterns.

A row of terraced houses on the harbour of Porthleven.

An impressive collection of keys in Trerice House.

No. 4 Blurred Vision is a fairly difficult one to portray. The focus on one group of flowers obscures the rest.

Catching the waves at sunset at Treyarnon Beach.

Looking out from Trevose Head.

I have a lot more to show but will save those for another time.