We are havng beautiful butterfly weather.

This male orange tip obligingly waited while I went to fetch the camera.

I heard this poem on Radio 3 the other morning. I absolutely love the imagery, and have read it over and over. A new favourite!

...the scene in moonlight. I woke in the night and found the snow was thick above the tree line  (much of it has melted in lovely sunshine today). The sky was a rich blue and dark enough to be starry, the forest was black and the moon  shone on the brilliant band of snow. Dazzlingly beautiful.

I hope you have all been spared storm damage..

..feeling good. A few dry days, more birdsong, and this on my doorstep. And the uploading problem fixed itself!

Do you find yourself feeling more positive?

It's not often I see thIe beauty of the dawn,  but awake at  5 I noticed the first rays of the sun lighting up the yellow gate and I just had to go out and try and get a photograph.

Unfortunately I also got a big insect bite on my leg.  :-(

But I did get the best part of the day.,,

..and so beautiful.

I put on quilted coat, another scarf, woolly hat and gloves and stood out in the garden till my  eyes adjusted a bit to the dark. The moon had a bright halo, and to the left of it Orion stood out first. As I watched more and more stars seemed to switch on until the sky was brilliant with them. It's awe inspiring, isn't it - a frosty starry night!

Indoors  again before my nose froze, to a glowing fire and a late supper of ripe pear, feta cheese and walnuts and a little glass of wine.

The water is heating for a deep hot bath.

Happy..

for a superb exhibition of Medieval Sculptures. Here are some of my favourites.

St Helena and St Katharina were carved from limewood between 1490 and 1500 in Germany and still have some traces, over 500 years later, of the original paint.

St Helena (left) was the mother of Constantine the Great and travelled widely in the fourth century seeking holy relics and having churches built.  I wonder what travel was like then? She was thought to be in her 80's when she went to Jerusalem and the Holy Land. There is a St Helen's  church in York where Constantine was proclaimed emperor on the death of his father, and she was known in Cyprus too, and I have a special admiration for her. For some unaccountable reason I always get a little thrill when I  come across her.

It felt rather special to meet her this afternoon at the first exhibition I have been to for ages.

Here is St Anne teaching the young Virgin to read. She looks like a very severe teacher. Made about 1400 from oak with original paint and gilding, this comes from southern France. Imagine making the fabric of the headdress from solid oak.

St John the Evangelist is also German and carved from limewood around 1520. It was the beauty of the carving which struck me most in this one.

I wondered who made it all those years ago with such skill and attention,  even to the fingernails, and what their world was like.

 This beautiful exhibition took me out of myself for a couple of hours.

Details here.

Azalea lutea in this morning's sunshine.

While waiting for the bus

From the bus window

So tranquil

Supermarket sunflowers.
 
I sent this photograph to my sister, commenting that they are British grown. I wondered whereabouts in Britain they grew and was saying Not in Argyll.  I was dictating the message and predictive text wrote Naughty Naughty girl.

?!! 

She wondered why she was being told off by  her big sister...


Curious, I Googled and found this nice feature.

..and all's well!

Beauty sustains me.


Warm hugs everyone (virtual ones are still allowed).

..about this lovely project?

some beautiful things are happening in the world.

..we need to look after.

A perfect message for a new year from my perfect present - Charlie Mackery's The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.

On an evening walk I saw this  magical effect on the water when the waves were coming in in one direction and the surface ripples were going in the opposite direction - I hope you can see the effect in the photographs...We stood looking for ages.
.

Eat your heart out Bridget Riley (must see the exhibition in Edinburgh).

..waiting for the bus.

real flowers in the city street

..can be found in the simplest things..

This is the post I was about to publish when I heard of the fire.....

We fitted a lot in - sunrise at Trocadero (yesterday's post), sunset from the roof of our apartment block in Montparnasse (header photo) and Notre Dame at midnight - though not all in the same day, and with rests in the afternoons!

A few days in Paris were a tonic and a thrill.


I am reminded of the atmosphere in York in 1984 when the Minster was badly damaged by fire - there was a palpable hush over the whole city the following morning as people wordlessly acknowledged each other by making eye contact, and the only sound was that of a helicopter circling. The south trancept and the rose window are now fully and beautifully restored.

A grey and grieving day in Paris as one French commentator said, but mercifully there were no fatalities.

Norfolk grown tulips...what colour did you choose?

..and sunshine on sparkling snow. Beautiful.

My word for 2019.

I'm still trying to work out what I mean by it!

I know what I don't mean. For me it has nothing to do with wizards, fantasy and fairytales, legends and mythology. No casting of spells. No crystals. It's not even about magic.

It's more about wonder.

Wonder at real things in nature, like snow falling down, or a meadow of wild flowers, or just the way a shaft of sunlight strikes the water. Or at a live performance of dance or music by real people that is so good you are transported, or amazement at the skill of an artist or filmaker so dedicated and patient, the infectious giggles of two tiny children being a little cheeky and testing  their harassed father's patience on the ferry.....it is everywhere if I am open to it.

Even today in Glasgow - a really dirty grey day, crowds of busy shoppers returning Christmas presents that were wrong, that slightly aggressive atmosphere around serious bargain seekers, traffic fumes and noise as I waited at the bus stop in the gathering gloom when the fumes seemed smellier and the lights seemed harsher and I was getting tired of waiting. But much amplified above the hubbub floated the voice of a young street musician singing Hallelujah and it was suddenly beautiful - all of it. That someone would even do such a thing. That human beings sing in streets. A new atmosphere was created in that moment. Enchantment can send a delightful shiver up your spine!

Do you remember this?

I am going to love this word.

The parcel arrived this afternoon..

Bigger than I expected...

Very well packed! Will I really like it?

YES! I do.

And I quickly found the right place....
I can't stop looking at it.
And smiling.

Still Life With Iris by Elizabeth Blackadder.