Flowers and Garden in the Rain

Hearing the rain fall this morning as I woke from my comfortable slumber was music to my ears.  The thunder was rumbling in the distance and the rain tapped at my window panes and fell to the ground with a splash into the awaiting puddles.  To me, I should be sitting next to a fire, with a good black and white film and hot chocolate during weather like this.  I listened to the birds giving warning of the heavy rain and my little Coco getting a bit restless downstairs as she knew that she would be taken out into this downpour very soon.  

It was not to be a whole day inside as there was a birthday in the family... my Dad's (we haven't given him a nickname yet have we?).  So, with one Miss Teen ready (Mr Teen still snoring loudly!), it was time for a short journey to the parent's home.  The roads were beginning to flood, so we left the smaller lanes to their own devices today.  After some catching up, Mumsy wanted to show me some new plants that they had bought this week.  I always love to see their garden as a few years ago when they moved in, it was just grass and a shed.  Now, it is a gorgeous haven completely put together by the both of them.  So, shall we peek through the looking glass?

The chocolaty red rose that you see is an absolute beauty.  It is meant to be the colour of chocolate, but doesn't quite match that of a Galaxy bar or Fruit and Nut, but still looks delicious.

The rain was falling again, but I had to capture the many pages of the rose petals trapping the rain.

This rose had such a story to tell I felt, especially with the raindrops enhancing its petals.  The same rose bush is on my Grandparent's graves.

My parent's rose garden is full of such gorgeousness, and so many buds yet to open.

There are many different textures in their garden.  The rope ball against the stones give a wonderful contrast to the greenery that surrounds them.

There is a real nautical theme in the garden due to their love of Cornwall.

Here are a couple of their many 'wish stones' that they found over the years while they holidayed there.  I am yet to find one of these stones with a hole through them.

The stepping stones  take on a completely different look in the rain and even though we were dripping while I was taking photos of this tranquil place, I thoroughly enjoyed focusing on the simple things.

Such as this rose petal in amongst the stones.  I loved this shot so much that I have edited it and made it my banner!

At the bottom of the garden is this secret hideway.  The vine is the housewarming present that we gave to my parent's when they moved in a few years ago.  A little plant that has gradually grown and now is a firm fixture in this oasis.

Can you see a little visitor to the garden by the mushrooms?  He is a colourful character isn't he!  A new purchase by Mumsy who has been looking for a pheasant for a while now.

Through the arch and into the hideaway is Mumsy's calming place, with this little fellow quietly meditating amongst the foliage.

The neighbours over the fence at the back are at peace.  There is a cemetery at the back which still holds burials, something that my parents didn't mind when buying the house.  After all, it can't be built on!  It is a lovely little cemetery.

One of the new plants was this unfurling fern.  I love it when these little fronds start to unwhirl.

The fern looked perfect next to the healthy pond.

The residents looked very happy to have this new addition to shade them on the sunnier days ahead.

The flowers and the garden were such a welcome respite to look at in the rain.  The wet stuff was certainly falling with vengeance, but everything looked so fresh and new in spite of this.

 And so, at the end of the catching up and a delicious cream cake, it was time to say goodbye to the Birthday Dad!  Happy Birthday!!!!! xxxx

 Thank you so much for your comments on my Wordless Wednesday post.  I have been a tad busy this last week at work so haven't been able to catch up properly, but I will eventually.  Welcome too to some new followers, you are so kind to have visited and followed.

Hopefully next week I will have some photos to share with you on York (a work trip but the camera will be coming along too).

Have a wonderful weekend and week... well, when the sun comes out anyway!

Take care.

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This week I am sharing with:

Fishtail Cottage 2014 Garden Party
Saturday Show Off

Wordless Wednesday - Flaming June??

Since taking this shot on a glorious sunny day, it hasn't stopped raining!!

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Sharing with:

Wordless Wednesday - Xmas Dolly

Wordless Wednesday - Claire Justine

Wordless Wednesday - Curious as a Cathy

Wordless Wednesday 

Singing Cockles and Mussels Alive Alive Oh

For those of you lovely people that have been reading my blog for a while, you will know I am not the biggest fan of Summer.  Give me Autumn and Winter any day, however the incessant rain and dreariness on days out and about has even made me a little down in the dumps.  The jousting from last Monday was marred a little with the dark clouds ever looming above our heads (however, on the positive side it did add to the atmosphere around the dark knight!).  So, with the promise of a DRY day and a happy Friday off, we all packed up the car and went for a drive to the seaside... Hunstanton (also lovingly known as Sunny Hunny).  The sun was a little shy to make an appearance but I couldn't resist and capture the bold colours against the bluey steel sky and sea.

Hunstanton took such an awful beating from the winter storms this year and this shows with the famous candy striped cliffs.

However, it was lovely to see that they had dusted themselves off and have made sure that the visitors to the town were not disappointed.  There were obvious signs to warn people not to be too close to the cliff edge and the prominent cracks in the rocks made this quite easy to understand.

But, the birds are still nesting, so all is safe for now.

The tide was going out so no waves going over the breakers.

And this boat was keeping dry today.

The clouds were dotted above us, sometimes clearing to show off this beautiful old seaside town.

And then, occasionally, the cloud bank would bubble up and cast dark shadows.

The eclectic mix of dress on the crowds of people made me smile.  Believe me, it was not warm when the sun went behind the clouds and the wind was quite chilly, but there were strapless dresses, shorts, winter coats, waterproofs - you name it, it was being worn (or not).

Can you spot her?... Mumsy?  The left of the above photo with her stripy crochet bag.  She is showing just how windy it was!  

But let's see what we can see...

With the wind blowing across the North Sea/The Wash, kite flying was a must and this little girl was giggling while her kite danced and swayed above her head.

There's nothing like a paddle in the sea, or even a little sit down, although a tad chilly.

And how about this commute to work?  The tyres on the bike certainly meant business!

I love taking shots like this one where I imagine what they are doing.  Is he building a moat? Is he looking for buried treasure?  I decided that he must be digging for some sort of shell fish, a chef perhaps catching something for the menu that evening.

Mr Teen was thrilled to bits to find this little treasure.  

Unfortunately there wasn't a pearl inside, but I loved the different layers and textures of this oyster shell.  Some layers took on the texture of snake skin and with the different creatures that were making their home within the layers, it was fascinating to look at.  A true treasure.

So that was the cockles oyster and now for the mussels...

Memories of last Monday's paella are filling my mind!  But then the droning noise of a heavy vehicle filled the air and Whizzy pulled up her bow to set off down the beach.  Both Whizzy and Wiley, The Wash Monsters are amphibian vehicles (I have put some details on these here).  Wiley was used as a landing craft for the troops during the Vietnam War.

As they paired up to take some people to see the seals, it was great to see them working so well after all these years, both on land...

 and at sea...

At our feet though was a the biggest surprise...

This little lady had decided to rest amongst the dry sea weed while all this was going around her.

But, it was time to hit the 2p machines in the arcades.  I took this picture shaking, sweating and extremely elated!

I had just spent a stupid amount of money in 2p's to inundate this machine to get a favourite of mine.  I had pleaded with the owner of the arcade to let me just buy it, but no, he smiled at me knowing I would spend far more in getting more 2p's.  Luckily another £2 later, I won it (if you can call it winning after spending too much!).  Here she is... Molly!

One day I will own the real thing but until then Molly is going to come along with Mumsy and me on any little trips out and about.  Stop giggling!

And so, it was time to head off home and leave the seaweed behind.

And Hubby, no you can't bring that the rock back home!

I hope the sun is shining for you, always remember to bring something warm and waterproof with you though.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Take care.

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