Spring shrubs enjoying the sunshine

Today was cold but oh so very sunny and many bushes and trees were filled, or filling, with colour. I love when the sun shines through the leaves of the flowering currants providing a glorious contrast in colour from the pink flowers.

Elsewhere I've been delighted by the flowers on the Winter flowering Honeysuckles - Lonicera Fragrantissima, which have been flowering since early December and this month have been providing a much used early nectar source for some huge bumble bees in the garden.

It's funny how in October 12C means jumpers on, and in March it means jumpers off. Beautiful sunny weather and no cold wind! It's hard to believe that this time last year we were under snow that lasted right through April so we could barely see the snowdrops or crocuses. Not so this year, they are abundant and basking in Spring sunshine. They hovered as 'drops' from mid Jan through Feb and then when the warmth came they all opened up in crisp white perfection, just like the clouds.

Edinburgh Christmas lights 2013

Sunset with Robin

Sunset 14th November Autumn into WInter

It's been great to see the return of some lovely sunsets this week after a period of cloud and rain. Tonight was a real pleasure to watch, it looked lovely in all directions and changed from pale pastels to quite intense shades of pink and purple in the North...

And fast changing oranges and yellows with hints of purples in the South West (which became very fiery near the end before softening off at the end as the street lights came on. The trees have lost nearly all their leaves now but as long as some are still clinging on my head thinks it is Autumn, but dropping temperatures and early sunsets are telling a more Wintery story (this took place over 12 minutes from 5.17pm)

Pink and Purple May flowers & foliage

Hard to get the colours right on screen, the Azalea is pink but the others are all a tad more lilac or purple than they look here. Azalea 'Girard's Hotshot', Hebe, Wallflower Erysimum Bowles Mauve and 3 shots of Tulip Attilla which I was amazed survived the wet winter as it's in clay soil.

50 minutes of Sunset

Such a lovely changing sunset on the 6th, I went from window to window taking photos in all directions, this is just a very small sample of the changes it went through. So beautiful. As you can see I've given up with writing under photo's as the new Blogger layout makes it such an unbelievable faff. Life is to short to waste time formatting each post and I've forgotten all the html I used to know.

update - I'be decided that since it won't let me write then it has to be all about the image, so i should make them bigger. Old posts with smaller images will still show at their full size when clicked (applies mainly to posts after 2009, prior to that I was making them tiny so my blog allowance wouldn't run out too fast). I hope you like the change.

The photos are set out by direction rather than in the order they were taken. Photo 2 was so bright it lit up inside the house, it was so intense. I wish I had made a video of the transition between the 1st two photos, i think it only took 5 mins to change, would have looked nifty speeded up.

1-3   Looking North and North East
4-7   Looking South West
8-10 Looking West

A good day

So happy to finally get a bit of sunshine between the clouds and be well enough to get out and enjoy it this morning with a simple blueberry breakfast and some frivolous silvery toenail painting - got to reflect every last drop of sunshine now that we have some. It's my way of pretending I've had a summer holiday. I'm not a pink cardigan sort of person, but i never say no to free cashmere hand-me-downs!

Still got some blueberries ripening on the bushes...



The Clematis/Hops is finally old enough to reach along the fence and then cross over onto the shed, creating a nice floral bower over the secret path between the sheds - which has become even more secret after this years rain made the bamboo grow like crazy...





The Clematis even creeps round in the other direction onto the back side of the shed (yes, in a 3rd shade of bluey green). I hope next year I will have some energy for gardening and can train it properly across the shed wall, I just had it tangled over a small nail this year so it was a bit bedraggled...




I just adore that clematis and grow have it growing on the East fence paired with Goldenrod, Evening Primrose and Eupatorium/Eutrochium...




Finally after 2 years without we got hold of some organic corn. The garden is in shade by late afternoon but I was determined to eat it outside anyway since there was still a lovely warm breeze. Who needs sun when you have a freshly boiled cob on your plate...

A few mid August sunsets

Sunset on 18th August

As I was taking the sunset at the top over a 20 minute period I heard a distant bang and realised that in the distance the fireworks could be see going of at Edinburgh Castle. They usually start once it's dark but on a Saturday they do 2 shows so the first one is early when there is still plenty of light in the sky. I was so beautiful. The 3rd photo is a detail of the clouds over the trees as it intensified.


August 13 2012

August 16 2012

Possibly 17 August 2012

A few early August sunsets

Sunset today (above), last week (middle), and after sunset (bottom).
It's been so nice to have a break from the rain and get some washing dried outside.