Friday 4 December 2015

Winter

"Come said the wind to
the leaves one day,
Come over the meadows 
and we will play.
Put on your dresses
scarlet and gold,
For summer is gone
and the days grow cold."
A Children's Song 1880 


"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."
Edith Sitwell 
"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."
John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley: In Search of America
Under a blue winter sky today I found lots of green shoots making their way through the ground in our garden
"What day is it?"
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favourite day," said Pooh.
A.A. Milne

48 comments:

  1. Dear Rosemary, Green shoots in your garden? That can't be. Love this post and all of your artistry with PicMonkey. Most of all I love the little poems you have chosen. A perfect way to start a new day.

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    1. Thank you Gina - we both enjoy playing with PicMonkey, in fact it was you who introduced it to me.
      Yes, some of the shoots are well through the ground, and I was surprised to see that my exotic Dracunulus Vulgaris shoots were at least 15cms high.

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  2. Hello Rosemary, You have achieved some remarkable effects with these pictures. The crisp weather has even arrived over here, and I was thinking of putting on a pot of soup later.
    --Jim

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    1. Hello Jim - Glad that you enjoyed these images. We have also enjoyed a big bowl of steaming soup tonight.

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  3. You are good at not only photographing but also editing photos, Rosemary. Fabulous designs and nice quotes! Today’s highest temperature was 8 degrees C, the coldest of this season here in Nara.

    Yoko

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    1. Thank you Yoko - I made these images using PicMonkey - it is a free creative site that you can use and as you have probably gathered I do enjoy experimenting sometimes.

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  4. Well said, I, a former lover of of summer, love winter, even the dark days.

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    1. There are plenty of compensations to be enjoyed during the winter. Would we enjoy summer so much without winter?

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  5. Loved reading these quotes, especially the one of John Steinbeck. Travels with Charley is, was one of my favorite booiks. And what about these green shoots, is n´t it strange. I have daffodils coming above the ground, it´s really to warm for the time of year.

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    1. Hello Janneke - I can remember when I was a child that the beginning of November was usually really cold and warm gloves, boots, scarves and thick coats were required. It doesn't seem to be like that anymore, and obviously the plants seem to think the same.

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  6. What a lovely collection of quotes, I do like quotes, I especially like the first one and I do like the illustrations too! Xxx

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    1. Thank you Lynn - winter is not so bad is it?

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  7. Stumbled across your blog via Peter the Outlaw Gardener. So glad I did!

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    1. Thank you for visiting Anna - do call by again

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  8. A lovely combination of words and pictures as usual Rosemary.
    I will go and have a look at PicMonkey.

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    1. Hope you enjoy visiting PicMonkey if you need any help let me know

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  9. Wonderful post today Rosemary. I especially like the Pooh and Piglet exchange; I must remember it when I am puzzling over which the day of the week I am inhabiting.

    Ms Soup

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  10. Very creative! I didn't know you could make such pretty images with PicMonkey. Is it one of the free edits? I also like the quotes especially the A.A. Milne one. Green shoots are appearing in our garden. I presume it's because of the mild weather.

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    1. Yes, I only use the free things on PicMonkey - it takes a bit of time experimenting with the effects to discover them all. I am happy to help you if you are interested.

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    2. Thank you Rosemary for the offer to help. I have used Picmonkey to create collages in the past. The collages have looked good, but my broadband seems very slow when using the programme. What with eyesight problems I'm slow on the computer these days anyway. I think I will stick to editing with the familiar programme on Picasa 3 when necessary. However, I enjoy seeing what others create. I enjoy your wonderful photos that you share with us too.

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    3. It is strange how different the broadband speeds are in the country - ours seems to be quite quick as far as I am concerned although people living nearby and doing business on their computers seem to think that it is slow.
      I have decided to do a post to show how to create these images as several people have queried them.

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  11. Something different Rosemary.
    Did you make them?

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  12. Fantastic! Really lovely post and yes, it´s a lovely day today!
    Take care Rosemary...
    Titti

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  13. That first verse is beautiful and that last one has given me inspiration to make today my favorite. Great post.

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    1. Yes, I too like that quote - it makes you realise just important each and every day is to us.

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  14. Love those illustrations and quotes - not sure how they are achieved but they are very effective.

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    1. Several people have said the same Elaine so I will do a post showing how they are done for those who are interested

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  15. Beautiful! I like winter (for a reasonable while) - it is a season to be able to "sort" things and events, to think them through, a season to be grateful and to think of others, too.

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  16. What a lovely post and some great quotes . Love the last one :-) Wish you a nice weekend.

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    1. Thank you Jane - it reminds us of how special each and every day is.

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  17. Beautiful words and images, especially from Winnie the Pooh! xx

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  18. I love your nature-inspired creations, Rosemary, it shows a whole new artistic side of you :) Lovely of you to end with Pooh and Piglet, they bring out the softest side of life.

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    1. Stay tuned Rosemary, I am going to do a post on how to create your own.

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  19. How lovely post. I love these images, they are really wonderful. And the poems ate also nice.
    Have a happy weekend.

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    1. Thank you Orvokki - they are done using PicMonkey and I will show you soon how they are done

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  20. That is the way to think about winter - and your images are perfect. I hadn't noticed that quote in Pooh before. Isn't he nice! :D

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    1. I love that quote Jenny - so simple and yet so meangingful for us all

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  21. Just catching up on the blogs, after a busy week, Rosemary, and so pleased I dropped in. The quotes are so perfect for the season. I particularly love the Steinbeck quote - it has been years and years since I read Travels with Charley - perhaps I should revisit! Dear old Pooh, always brings a smile :)

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    1. Pooh's messages are so simple but meaningful.

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  22. You take the most fabulous photographs - am envious of the quality you get on your posts...

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    1. The only photo of mine on this post is the little bit of blue sky, but thank you for your kind comment. I will show you soon how you can make your own images like this very soon.

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“You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you - you have to go to them sometimes”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh