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

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

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 

2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt 

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

@ the Run*A*Round Ranch in Texas.

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

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.

Hello again...........

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post and I wouldn't want you to think that I've been skiving (Dictionary- skive: to avoid school or work by staying away or leaving without permission).

The reason I've not been around is due to a bout of severe pain in my hands and fingers making blogging (and gardening and scrapping for that matter) something to avoid.

When the joints in my left foot started to hurt earlier this week a trip to my medicin traitant (GP) was called for and she confirmed my self diagnosis - I have arthritis. 

Osteo not Rheumatoid, which is a good thing. Right?

Anyway, enough whining......................

During my self imposed rest period I have been doodling around in the kitchen, trying out a few of the hundreds of recipes on Pinterest for tomato pie. 

You may remember that I enjoyed a Southern style tomato pie at Annie O's restaurant in Hilton Head earlier this Spring since when I have been trying to track down a recipe to replicate it here at home.

Many of the recipes have mayonnaise in the topping and of all the ones I tried they probably came the closest to Annie O's pie but we didn't like those, too sickly.

This one is more to our taste, it's more of a quiche though than a pie, as you can see someone couldn't wait to take a piece.

Whilst all the testing and tasting was going on the new green asparagus arrived in the Farmer's markets so I made an asparagus quiche, just for a change!

In just a couple of days I'll be off travelling once more - this time to the beautiful Ikos Oceania Resort  overlooking the beautiful blue Aegean Sea, in the heart of Halkidiki, Greece.

If you'd like to share the trip with me be sure to watch out for travel bulletins coming soon.

Linking to Mosaic Monday with Judith @ Lavender Cottage..

cherry blossom haiku

seen through a window

cherry blossoms float across grass

drifting in corners

joining Judith @ Lavender Cottage for Mosaic Monday

with images captured through my bedroom window this weekend

and my first haiku