Florence loves to browse my books as she sits on the conservatory window sill and toasts her toes on the radiator. She particularly likes the old handwritten ones, enjoying that feeling of connection, through the ink, to the hand which wrote the words so many years ago.
Cosy Corner, the place where I sit to read/write blog posts, do most of my craft work, read my books. Until last year Cosy Corner was in the kitchen, next to the Rayburn.
Things have changed, the Rayburn has gone and there is a log burner in the conservatory and this corner has become my favourite.
Of course that means that the animals have all decided that it is their favourite, too. If I leave my seat you can be sure that when I return, one of the cats will have taken it, even though they have very cosy beds of their own.
This week hasn't all been about reading or crocheting. We had a few glimmers of brilliant sunshine the other morning, I was easily tempted out to do a longer walk than normal. A walk which I haven't done since last autumn - through the village, around some fields, then up to the old gravel pits.
Trouble was, my feet decided to lead me up to the Wild Wood instead.
This is one of several paths which lead out of the far side of the village. Over the bridge, follow the muddy path through the barley field and then you can turn left or right.
My intention had been to turn right, but when I reached that point I found myself turning the other way instead. The Wild Woods then!
We cut along the edge of a field, crossed this little bridge. One path leads to the Wild Wood, a remnant of the woodland which covered the land 10,000 years ago. You can see it in the distance.
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| Wild Wood |
As Toby and I approached, I could hear a woodpecker hard at work hammering on some trees, searching for his breakfast, busy as a workman with a jackhammer. We didn't venture far inside because
of this. Old bottles and jars, mangled metal. In little heaps. I assume that the trust which owns the woodland has started a programme of making the place clean and safe. I couldn't risk having Toby cut his pads, so we stuck to the fields margins instead, made do with peering through the hedges and over the boundary ditch.
Little glimpses of big fairy doors, glorious green moss, brilliant orange lichen. A place of great beauty.
I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful weekend.
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You have such interesting places to walk to. Around here all I have is muddy fields and almost as muddy lanes! No woods, no rivers, no common land. It was just the same at the smallholding all arable and flat and boring......no wonder we once entertained the idea of moving to Wales, should have chosen Lincolnshire!
ReplyDeleteI spend most of my walking life in Wellington boots, Sue - thanks to the mud. This area hugs the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, so we have gentle hills, the last ripples from the Wolds. The good news is that it means the views are big and wide, so I feel quite safe walking about on my own - I know I have Toby with me, but he is generally off lead, unless we are near livestock, or roads. I love him dearly, but he believes it is 'every man for himself' when he is frightened!!
DeleteNice walk though I can see why you would not want to walk over that lot, has some one dilberatly put them there to stop people going though
ReplyDeleteFrom what I could make out, they are taking their time and clearing away years-worth of brambles and detritus, including all these old bits of glass and metal work. I think they are just in heaps ready for collection the next time they are working there, Bill.
DeleteAhhhhh, a new Cozy Corner!!! Delightful...
ReplyDeleteDo you use a laptop to do your Net things? Can't be an old computer, because for that, you need a desk...
Both sad and good, that the Old Wild Wood, is being made clean and safe. Sad, that you don't now know when you and Toby can walk in it. Good, in that it certainly needs to be cleaned up.
So awful, that people do not respect something Old and Wonderful. And trash it.
And that's a whole, huge topic, in itself. Which I will leave dangling, and silently steal away... :-)
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I use my old laptop, wow. I also share an ipad with my husband, but I prefer to be able to touch-type.
DeleteNext week I will go round to the other side of Wild Wood, see how we get on there. There are many entrances (unofficial ones!) so I won't give up just yet. I want to be able to watch out for the early spring flowers, especially given that whatever grows there is by nature's design.
The woodland suffered many years of neglect, the new guardians of the place are working hard, trying to do things slowly and correctly to benefit the flora and fauna and to preserve the place for future generations.
You are so lucky to live so close to such a wonderful place to walk. We have to get in the car to find anything like that.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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It was one of the things I liked about the place. I hope poor Rupert is feeling a lot better now Briony.
DeleteAnd such a comfy, cozy corner should also conger a sweet nap once in awhile! The woods are so comforting. I would hope the owners would tidy up a bit, but the trash doesn't take away from the smells and exploration of all things woods! Great pics!
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice, but I can rarely manage to take a nap. By the time my busy brain has calmed down enough to nap, it is time to get active again! My husband more than makes up for my deficiency in that department, he can nap anywhere. The woodland is a magical and wonderful place!
DeleteAnother lovely walk - I like your new cosy corner.
ReplyDeleteI am sitting here now, Susan. Needless to say there is a cat parading up and down the windowsill, threatening to send piles of books scattering. I think she wants to be fed!
DeleteA lovely walk. Excitement here is the first snow of this winter! Most of it at night now, but a winter wonderland to wake to and no shoveling to be done by us. Our plans for tomorrow have changed once already and may have to change again if snow amounts climb to the upper part of the prediction.
ReplyDeleteHello Marcia, I hope your day has turned out to be fun, whichever activity you are able to do. The first snow of winter is a wonderful sight, magical and exciting, though it soon palls!
DeleteYes, I hope someone(s) or authority have begun a clean up. And how nice that you acquired a cosy corner. How I related to changing seats with the cat, regularly.
ReplyDeleteIt all looked well organised, Joanne. Had it been a few fields closer to Parsonage Cottage, I would have gone along and gathered it up for recycling. I clear the litter from the lane along here. I walk it every day and almost always come home from walks with coke cans, empty vodka bottles, sweetie/chocolate wrappers, sometimes half eaten pies or sandwiches, all dumped by lazy people along our quiet lane. Grrrr.
DeleteEveryone needs a cosy corner!
ReplyDeleteI think we all like to claim our own little bit of space - and in my case I always need room for an armful or two of books!
DeleteLovely cosy corner and what sounds like a wonderful walk, nice to be out in the sun xcx
ReplyDeleteThe sun didn't last long, Chrissie, but it lured me out and got me walking! It was wonderful!
DeleteA lovely longer walk (I am planning one too, time permitting). Shame about the wood being such a dumping ground. Round here we come across piles of bottles where Jim, our local drunk, has dumped the evidence!
ReplyDeleteI love your little cosy nook. I don't have one as such as I rarely get to just sit and read or sew - busy busy here again preparing the house for the market and I am New Brooming since 1st January! However, two new quilts on the near horizon to work on so I need to set some time aside for cutting fabrics for those.
Sounds as though you are whizzing through those jobs, BB. My fingers are crossed that your hard work will be well rewarded with someone falling in love with the house - and that they are 'good to go'.
DeleteThe cosy corner works well, but too often I am victim to two very naughty cats. I don't know whether you can see the red mark on the radiator - that is where the older cat stalked through my paints when I had everything set out to paint the peg soldiers. She wanted to be fed and she was not prepared to wait a second - create a little chaos is her method of getting immediate attention.
Florence looks very happy in your new cosy corner and it sounds like you are too. Shame about the rubbish in the wood and it does look as if people are getting ready to clear it but really it shouldn't be there in the first place. I do wish people cared about their surroundings a bit more. I hope that next time you walk that way with Toby you can enter the wild wood again:)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely agree about the rubbish, but the bottles and jars are very old, perhaps 60 or 70 years or so. There is another area, on the opposite side of the woodland, which has a lot of broken glass and metal rubbish, I imagine it was probably where a neighbouring farmer used to dispose of all the household and veterinary bottles and jars - last year I started gathering them all up, but had to give in in the end. I must head up there without Toby, check it out again!
DeleteI remember the days when visitors to woodland would carefully pack away their jars and cans and take them home to put in their own dustbins. There used to be signs with the words TAKE IT HOME. Whatever happened British pride?
ReplyDeleteCats and chairs: my cat always wants the chair recently vacated by me. You've got to love 'em, though.
Senior cat Sparky thinks she has first dibs on my chair - the little ginger ninja sneaks up when she isn't looking, but they are willing to share when they are in the right mood. If Sparky is in a grumpy mood, then heaven help anyone who crosses her! She is a bit of a character, but we love her. She had a difficult start in life, but we love her.
DeleteAlways a joy to have a cosy corner, I like to be near the multi fuel stove I find the flames through the glass relaxing. Mickey loves my chair too. Beautiful walk, such a shame about the debris, hopefully it will be picked up soon.
ReplyDeleteOur weather isn't nearly so wild as that of your island, but we still need the cosiness of the log burner, which is on the opposite wall. Chances of being able to get near to it are low, Toby absolutely loves it, toasts himself at every opportunity!
DeleteI love the photo of Florence reading your book! Cosy corners are important.
ReplyDeleteFlorence is a rescue doll, she belonged to my granddaughter. I found her in a carrier bag, unloved and unwanted.
DeleteShe is much happier over here, and her reading has come on a treat!
How I would love to have such a magical place in which to walk my dogs. I may live in the country, but there's nothing bucolic about it anymore. I would have loved a doll like Florence when I was a girl!
ReplyDeleteI would love to take you out walking around here, Susan. There are so many choices, places of beauty, or historical interest, others are simply peaceful. You would definitely need Wellington boots though, most of my walks are through mud!
DeleteA lovely place to walk but yes it is very muddy underfoot at the moment. Nothing worse than having your welly left stuck in the mud!! Have a great week with hopefully some sunny walks :)
ReplyDeleteMuch brighter and sunnier today - much colder, too - Toby and I had a very nice walk, thank you. I hope it is bright (and a tad warmer) where you are.
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