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| The Birds Nest by Emile Vernon |
Spring has come. Birds are nesting and bulbs are blooming again. The Snow Queen did not visit us this Winter in our little village perched atop the borders of Berkshire / Wiltshire but our hearts were cold having lost our beloved cat Isabella in the Autumn.
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| Love Never Dies - Isabella Elizabeth |
Most of England had lots of water and howling wind. Yet overall it was a mild season. We were so much luckier than friends down in the valley, and in Somerset where the floods enveloped their homes and they lost everything. The great beauty of Nature is awe inspiring but sometimes she can be cruel.
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| Nearby cottages where the river flooded |
We will always miss Isabella, gone too young, so naughty, under our feet, on our papers, and into everything but our hearts are slowly beginning to feel warm once more. We have neglected life and now have work to do. Spring and Nature will inspire us.
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| The Snowdrops were exquisite this year. |
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| The cheeky Jackdaws are back on the church tower. |
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| Mrs Black loves her vintage shawls. |
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| The lodger Munchkin L'Strange |
Mrs Black is getting old and the loss of her dearest kitten Isabella was hard for her to bear but Spring is her favourite season. When she is not sleeping snuggled up in her shawls Mrs Black is outside again, minding her tenants, the Mice who live underneath my studio. She is also engaged in discussions of living and dinner arrangements with her other lodger, Munchkin L'Strange, a distant relative of the Black family and one who reverted to the French spelling of his surname after all the trouble his cousin Bellatrix caused.
Woodland scenes are so uplifting and the woods near us are now filled with bluebells.
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| Detail from Ophelia, Jules Joseph Lefebre (1836-1911) |
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Enchanting woodland China lifts the spirits.
There is nothing like the scent of English Bluebells.
This is a Shelley bone china Woodland trio, from ebay |
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| This sugar bowl is Aynsley bone china. |
