Linking up with Lou for a little Nature in the Home.
At the end of the garden is a gate, and through the gate is a lane. And down the lane there's nature. I went looking for green things, and I wasn't disappointed. This is the time of year when every time I go out I marvel anew at the sudden greenness of everything. I made up a little bunch of things, including a beautiful white lilac and some cow parsley, and popped it on the mantelpiece to enjoy.
Also waiting to be enjoyed is this wonderful book.
I'm especially looking forward to the culinary detail!
In the back of the book is this lovely map. This edition was published in 1942, and the flap at the back contains an advertisement for the BBC. It begins, "Men, women, and even children, risk imprisonment and death to hear broadcasts from London. They are the inhabitants of the occupied countries of Europe." Something I love about old copies of books is the sense of history they carry with them. I try and imagine who bought them, what the shop was like, the excitement they felt for the book, and where they read it. And then I can share the adventure with them. I can be immersed in the same story, in the same world. And I'm thinking that back in 1942 whoever read this book would have been happy to escape from reality for a while. Thank goodness for amazing writers, of which Arthur Ransome was most definitely one.
A beautiful display. I love seeing all this cow parsley everywhere, in hedgerows and in posies, it's so pretty. x
ReplyDeleteI love cow parsley as well; as you say, it's very pretty and a beautiful foil for the other brighter flowers.
DeleteMy lilac is at least a month late this year, though I'll forgive it as it smells heavenly. I adore old books, you can keep your Kindles, I just love the feeling of having a book in my hands with real pages to turn.
ReplyDeleteYes I'd take a real old book over a Kindle every time.
DeleteWhat a lovely post and the flowers look so pretty... I'm a book girl I still use the library and I always think who else has read the books ... Sarah x
ReplyDeleteThanks Sarah. I'm a big fan of libraries; I've always visited one (quite often more than one) wherever I've lived.
DeleteOh such beautiful flowers! And what a delightful post about Mr. Ransome. I have never read anything of his and your thoughts on his book are most inspiring! I love, love the title to the book. It makes me all sorts of curious. xo
ReplyDeleteI adored his books when I was little, and I want to reread them now. They really are fantastic adventures, he had a magic touch with words.
DeleteA most enjoyable post, and terrific pictures.
ReplyDeleteThere are some wonderful flowering lilacs on the allotment site boundary where I walk on sunny days hoping to see butterflies.
I don't remember that book but sure I must have read it as a child as we had all of his books on the shelf. Flighty xx
Thank you Flighty. There are lilacs on my way to school, they are indeed fantastic. Lucky you having all of Arthur Ransome's books. I adored escaping into his stories.
DeleteOo I'll have to keep a lookout for that book when I am foraging in charity bookshops I already have Swallows and Amazons which is a favourite. It is lovely to see the lanes full of cowparsley such a shame that it doesn't last longer.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame. This is my favourite time of year for countryside and flowers - all fresh green and stunning flowers.
DeleteBeautiful flowers! And I so know what you mean about books :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Annie.
DeleteI love old books (new ones too, but old ones most ;) The flowers are beautiful. I bet your home is very lovely.
ReplyDeleteI love second-hand bookshops; you never know what treasure you might find. Thank you for your kind comments, home is really rather ordinary, but always improved with flowers I think.
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