Spring garden plans 2015 {#HDYGG}

It's always amusing to look back at past Spring plans for the garden and realise the planned picket fence to keep the chooks off the veggie plots hasn't come to fruition and the boundary fence with the neighbour is still precariously being held up by tree trunks growing through it!
So onto 2015 and our Spring garden plans!
I'd still like that picket fence to divide off the end of the garden - especially now the husband and children have turned their attention to making an end of garden hangout complete with log seats, fire pit and twirly things in the tree!

The husband dug a fire pit a couple of weeks back and we have plans to cook and eat al fresco.

Log seats have been collected from a friend's wood yard and wood has been chopped.
We rescued this twisted Willow from near death years ago when it was found beneath a ravaging Laurel bush. It now stands, suitably decorated, in pride of place at the bottom of the garden ready to provide cover in the Summer months.

Elsewhere the daffodils remain fenced off for their own protection and are beginning to emerge from beneath the ground ready to brighten up the bottom of the garden - I now await signs of the tulips and alliums also planted here.

Closer to the house we have more pots atop the piano.
An iris and crocuses add to the colourful display already provided by the potted daffodils.

This is such a wonderful time of year.
A time to make plans and look ahead to those warm heady days of Summer!

 

x x x

Embrace happy

Last Saturday at Blog on Cymru I sat and listened to the lovely voice of Karin from Embrace Happy.
Her soft American twang spoke words of happiness and positivity with the emphasis on trying to embrace this more in our lives.
Her words and anecdotes got me thinking.
A lot.

We all want to be happy but how often do we let the mundane things and monotony of everyday life smother that?
How often do we get mad at the small things that are not worth the energy to get mad about?
How often do we grumble over the little things out of our control?

Let's flip it on its head and ask...

How often do we stop and take stock of the positive things in our lives?
How often do we stop and think yes, that makes me happy?
How often do we tell anyone that they make us happy?!

As I type this I feel quite the hypocrite.
As I type this I imagine my husband reading and nodding his head in amusement at my questions because I am the worst.
I snap, I shout, I moan, I grumble - a lot of the time over the most ridiculous petty things.

I'm not saying that this will stop overnight, genetics and hormones have a lot to answer for, but I am going to try and find the flip side.
I am going to try and pause.
And think...

Can I find a positive in this?

I am going to try by joining in with Karin's #3goodthings on Instagram.
I am going to take stock at the end of the day, or during one of those quiet moments in the day, and look for the happiness.
And embrace it.

 

x x x

Prop Photography with Capture by Lucy {Blog on Cymru}

Yesterday I left the country crossing the border to attend Blog on Cymru where I spent an informative and fun hour, in the company of Lucy {Capture by Lucy}, honing my photography skills through the use of props and backgrounds.

Following some guidance regarding staging in triangles, working with odd amounts of subjects - with two being the exception to the rule, the rules of thirds and aperture settings we were free to play with the props.

Backgrounds came from a wealth of boards, trays, paper and card stock and props were plentiful; postcards, letters, numbers, flowers, spoons, straws, bottles, cups. You name it I think Lucy probably has it somewhere.
There was no sunflower, however, but I thought about me and my blog for my #flatlay challenge  - the hashtag to use on Instagram for such styled photography.
I experimented with shooting on my DSLR in landscape as well as thinking about the square image required to fill the frame for Instagram.

I returned to the treasure trove and experimented with other props.

Back home today I had a look around for my own backgrounds and props. My wooden chopping board has been well used in the past for photography and I blew the dust from my 11 years old wedding roses. A quick rummage through the Blog On Cymru goody bag and I put the Bananagrams tiles to a different use.

Now I'm going to be making lists and keeping my eye open for other backgrounds; scrapbooking paper, tissue paper, wallpaper offcuts, tiles. The list is endless and not always obvious.

x x x

The B&W Photography Project no. 8

Brewery Wall

 

The old brewery at Lacock Abbey holds many surprises.

As the sun shone through the lead paned window, casting shadows on the walls, etchings from the past made themselves clear; names, dates, symbols to ward of witchcraft.

These walls hold history within them.

These walls hold history upon them.

 

 

x x x