sorry, I'm still not quite 'over' the dead irises yet so here's another photo of them today. The colours in this look much better when viewed on a black background.
...... and I quote, " I am missing you lots but on the plus side there is great wifi here. It is better than it is at home so everything is really quick."
An extract from an e mail from Sam that was waiting for me when I woke up this morning. It made me smile.
It sounds like he is enjoying the snowboarding almost as much as the extremely cheesy pizzas that they sell in the food court. He closed his e mail by telling me that he would write again when he woke up in the morning. Of course he didn't. Now, the rational side of me says that this is great news because he is probably having such a good time that it has slipped his mind, but of course a voice in my head keeps saying 'maybe he has lost his iPad or it has been stolen, maybe he is being bullied by the boys he is sharing a room with and doesn't want to look like a Mummy's boy, maybe he is in hospital with a broken leg and the school haven't told me." Absolutely ridiculous I know, but hey, that's me all over. When I mentioned my concerns to Graham, he said, "no, he has probably been kidnapped and sold into the white slave trade." I don't think he is taking me seriously.
The ironic thing is that the weather on Mount Killington today was about five degrees warmer than it was here. Today I had a look at the photo that I put on here exactly a year ago. It was the day that the donkeys escaped into the garden and they were standing there surrounded by blooming daffodils and grape hyacinths. Not a hint of flowers from them yet. I heard on the news that a lot of tulips wont actually flower this year, and that is looking pretty likely from what I can see here. We even had some snow today.
Our garden is due to be opened to the public in about nine weeks. I can't imagine what it is going to look like by then because everything is so far behind - I might have to hire some artificial plants to dot around!
Because it is relatively remote, our village does not have mains gas, so most people here heat their houses with oil. Most of us are in a syndicate where we order our oil deliveries in one big lot which means we get a 5% discount from the suppliers and our combined buying power means that we can sometimes get the price down a bit more than that. All of the oil suppliers around here are completely rushed off their feet at the moment because of the unseasonal weather, so lots of us are already running on the dregs in our tanks and are relying on the delivery that we were expecting on April 8th. It now looks like this delivery is going to be delayed. Even tho we are now only using minimal amounts of central heating I don't think we will even get through to the 8th which is a bit miserable.
On a more positive note, I saw a muntjac deer just by the stables when I went to put the donkeys away last night, and Angus 'appeared' to do some revision today. I think he is going to do really well in his GCSE in Facebook.
Oh good. We were coming back to the boat last night and for some reason I was thinking about school trips and remembering my first and I did wonder how Sam was getting on (and how you were getting on without him!) Sounds like he's perfectly fine. And keep listening to the rational part of you - it's def good news that he's not emailing all the time.
We're in a similar situation to you with the oil - we rely on a fuel boat, but now the boat's delayed out east somewhere because of unseasonal demand, and we're about to run out of coal. But I've read that spring is coming this weekend, for sure...
Oh I do like your iris btw, but I think I like the other one more.
We run on oil too & getting low in the tank...must order today...nearly have to take a mortgage out to fill up too, your syndicate sounds a great idea!!! Might approach all down our lane about that!!!!!!
Never realised dead iris petals were so beautiful...looks like a taffeta sleeve edged with velvet!
Good for Sam...having a whale of a time!!!
Love the detail. Sure Sam is having a great time at Killington. I skied there anumbe rof years ago and what a resort. Like you wish Spring would appear
interesting visual to tie in with your fragile state of mind....lovely. really. and sorry about the long winter. i spotted a bud yesterday. chicago will be springing soon.
Amazing shot, love the colors.
BTW, worrying about our kids is part of the job description :) Although I must say, I found your hubby's response amusing.
We're in a similar situation to you with the oil - we rely on a fuel boat, but now the boat's delayed out east somewhere because of unseasonal demand, and we're about to run out of coal. But I've read that spring is coming this weekend, for sure...
Oh I do like your iris btw, but I think I like the other one more.
Never realised dead iris petals were so beautiful...looks like a taffeta sleeve edged with velvet!
Good for Sam...having a whale of a time!!!
BTW, worrying about our kids is part of the job description :) Although I must say, I found your hubby's response amusing.
Thanks for the giggle.
Sounds like your boy had a good time.
I am impressed by your skill at making a dead iris a VERY lovely thing. :-)