Sunday, February 25, 2024

Quiet Rain on Sunday Afternoon

 


Outside my window: Rain blew against the windows much of the night and into today. Trees still toss outside and the rain is a fine mist that comes and goes. Patches of yellow daffodils dot the brown garden, bright and cheery on a dull-sky day. Those patches increase every year as I plant a few more bulbs each spring. I really must take a photo to see just where those clumps will appear, for in the autumn planting season there is no sign of them at all.


I am thinking about books. My friend Brenda put up a post sharing some of her favourite books on a variety of topics and encouraged her readers to create their own lists. I'll likely put up a post later this week. I shudder to think of a life without books. 

One of my favourite things is a quiet Sunday afternoon, like today. I feel no compunction to accomplish anything. As a child, Sundays were for church in the morning followed by a lovely dinner often shared with company. Sometimes I would invite a friend to spend the afternoon and we would play quietly with paper dolls, colouring, or creating something. We couldn't be too boisterous. After a simple supper we would return to church for the evening service and my friend would go home with her family. 

Morning church is still a part of our weekly routine that I very much enjoy and look forward to. However, the custom of inviting people for dinner has disappeared, unless we invite family. After I had children I wondered who on earth thought that a 7 pm service on a Sunday evening was a good idea. Keeping little ones up past their bedtime made for a terrible Monday. I'm very glad that evening services have also gone by the wayside. 


In my garden the peonies are beginning to push up from the ground. It's amazing to think of the potential in those small red buds. Soon elegantly ruffled pink and white peonies will nod in the sunshine. Such a delight to anticipate. 


Now the creamy white Hellebores bloom and a hint of the dark pink variety are seen in the background. I love the way they bloom on and on until the days are sunny and warm. 


It makes me smile to watch the birds at the feeder and suet block. There is a Downy Woodpecker couple who come regularly, never at the same time, he with his red head-patch, and she without. Do they have a nest nearby? I wonder. A Chestnut-backed Chickadee contorts to get the best position for feeding. 


I am finding beauty in the papery dried tulip petals from a bunch I had last week. I let them dry in the vase knowing that a work of natural art would result. And so it did. 

In the kitchen I'm planning to make Mary Berry's Chicken and Herb Casserole, found on Jan's blog. Alongside I'll make rice to soak up all the lovely sauce, and some broccoli and cauliflower, along with a salad. 

I am reading a lot of non-fiction these days. Memoirs, mostly as I plug along with my own attempt. 

Thank you for reading along today. It's time for me to start some dinner preparations. 

Have a beautiful week. 

17 comments:

  1. A joyful post, Lorrie. Thank you. I want to come back again and click on some of the links you gave us. I LOVE dried tulip petal art, and that pic you took is gorgeous. Your hellebores are exquisite. Today we have had snow falling and wind blowing all day. So no signs of spring here. But we're hibernating, so that's good. Wishing you a beautiful week.

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  2. We had blustery wet weather well into the afternoon and I chose not to go walking.
    Your hellebores are beautiful!
    Have a great week.

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  3. Such beautiful flower photos, Lorrie! Your tranquil post is perfect for a serene morning.
    Flowers in February! Once more I think living here (in Eastern Finland) is wasting one's life. :) A week ago, we had about one metre of snow. Now high temperatures have made the snowpack thinner but it will take weeks, perhaps more than two months, before it melts.
    Some days ago we have seen a documentary film about a Rocky Mountaineer train journey starting from Vancouver. So beautiful! (But rather expensive. :))
    Have a lovely week ahead!

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  4. Here we had a storm called Louis these days, one more and pouring rain all the time! We can’t go out in the garden for the moment so we work in the house instead.
    We are expecting the birth of our second grandson very soon my DIL’smother arrived in Dubai to help. She is retired now and will stay there a month, then I should go.
    You flowers pictures are very nice. I also have lots of birds on our feeders during the day.
    I wish you a nice week.

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  5. How I love Hellebores. Your little white one has beautiful markings. I find that mine self seed and wonder what colour the new ones will be. I'm glad you have had gentle rain, we have had torrential rain! Driving back from my daughter's yesterday I had to pull in at one point to avoid pools of water on the road. Today there is sun!

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  6. I love your spring already. Thank you for sharing!

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  7. I love your blooms and so delightful that it's spring already! I copied that recipe of Jan's too -- was it as good as it sounded, because it sounded great!

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  8. So lovely to see some colorful blooms here. It's so encouraging to see Spring growth popping up here and there. We hadn't had evening services on Sundays for years but when we moved to Colville the church we attend does hold evening services or connection groups on Sunday evenings. Our evening service starts at 6 and is over at 7.

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  9. Lovely photos.
    It has been windy here in Vermont. Today I took a good look at the ground to see if any green is popping throught. None so far.

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  10. Love the colours of your pretty flowers!

    I'm also a fan of a quiet Sunday afternoon. Looking forward to your list of books!

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    1. Sometimes I have trouble leaving comments on blogs. When this happens, I use the Name/URL option, so my Google profile photo doesn't show up. But now it looks like I can comment again using my Google account. Go figure!

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  11. Marilyn M.3:31 PM

    Your photos of flowers with raindrops is so very pretty. I love the Sunday's as you describe. And yes, books are so special and just add a nice dimension to life. Then just watching nature outside our window is wonderful too.

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  12. I always enjoy your calming posts, Lorrie, and filled with lovely words and photos. I’ve tried and tried to get woodpeckers to my feeders, but no luck. I do get chickadees, which are one of my favorites, cardinals, house finches, wrens, juncos, bluejays and doves. I hope you have a wonderful week !

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  13. A lovely cheery post. Just what I needed to start my day. Lovely photos as always too. Hope you have a good week. B x

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  14. Your garden is ahead of ours. No daffodils blooming here yet, although we have been excitedly watching them for weeks and some are almost there! Ron and I had recently talked about Sunday evening church services when we were young, and even when we were a young married couple with babies. Service started at 7:30 and our midweek service started at 8:00!

    Happy nearly-Spring to you!

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  15. So wonderful to see the blooms you are already enjoying! Ours have a while yet before we see them. I remember church on Sunday evenings, Wednesdays too. Yes, so hard for those who have to get up early for school! We often had friends/company over for Sunday dinner too - like you, now it is mostly family at our Sunday dinner table. Enjoyed your thoughts, have a blessed day :)

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  16. A beautiful Sunday, your photographs a joy to see.
    Many thanks for the link to the Mary Berry Recipe and the low carb diabetic blog :)

    Enjoy these last days of February.

    All the best Jan

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Thank you for your comment. I read and value each one, cherishing the connections we can make although far apart. Usually, I visit your blog in return, although if you ask a question I try to contact you directly.

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