Happy Christmas from all at Ednovean Farm

Can we wish you all a very Happy Christmas, may that parking place appear,

 may the shops not have sold out and the crowds travelling in the right directions

 and Charles, Ollie cat and i will be waiting in Cornwall hoping to welcome you to see us again in 2011

Winters shortest day at Ednovean Farm

It was a super day here in west Cornwall today a balmy five degrees compared with the rest of the country and do you not what? i was grateful for it, enjoying riding Dani along the Cornish lanes in the warm winter sunshine. But today was the shortest day and so couldn't go unrecorded and the sunset seemed to be the best tribute to the year. The top picture was taken from our garden at Ednovean Farm of course, looking down over the village and the view on the Mount was on a brief trip down to Marazion where the Mount lay serene in the tranquil Bay.

A winter reflection

Such a fabulous day in West Cornwall today with a clear light and warming winter sun. But with the weather forecasters predicting gloom an doom yet again, backed by some pretty impressive weather maps, I was dispatched to take Danni out for a l o n g ride this morning and so we set of towards the flooded quarries and tangled woods of Millpool. Admiring the suns caress on the tangled mossy green tree branches overhead, as Danni paddled through the little streams that cross the track and the deep reflective waters either side of the path. I always wonder how they managed to drive a bus through here in "days-gone-by or so they say but for a horse it's perfect away from the busy traffic cocooned in an ancient world. There was still some ice in places, deep in the woods in sharp contrast to the midges dancing near the streams. Such moments away from the bustling world but today we had a mission - today was the day to buy the Christmas tree and so Danni tucked up in his stable with a comforting haynet and Charles complaining as usual about Christmas trees, we set off to Penzance to sort amongst the pre wrapped objects and trying to guess which ones have even branches and which ones do not..........! Eventually i was seduced by a slightly ragged tree but with its own real fir cones - who could resist?

And what better way to drive home than around the edge of the bay along the road that threads passed the Marazion marshes with the RSPB reserve beside the sand dunes that suddenly open to give glorious glimpses of St Micheal's Mount.






The lovely muted colours and textures of the winter landscape



the sky reflected in the waters

the two swans that i often glance across at as i drive passed

The fabulous reed beds and .....yes .....definitely a bird!

a fabulous winters day in Cornwall reflected int he ancient brooding landscape

the depth of the shadows under the trees



another bird there - maybe i should have photographed the bird watcher with the most impressive camera I've seen for a long time instead!

and to my right.............an empty beach save for a couple and their dog

The beach today at Marazion if you click the picture to enlarge it though you should be able to make out the amphibious vehicle making its way to the Mount...........and leaning against the side of the barn - a prickly Christmas tree just waiting under the winter sky. Good night!

Owls and things

Firstly thank you to Carole Drake a professional garden photographer for this shot of the courtyard which she kindly sent to me after her 5.00a.m. photo shoot at Ednovean farm this summer.

It has been a strange gloomy day today sullen and unmoving as the year slides gently to its end. The sunset photo that I taken just looked boring to me and so I decided to remember the happy days of Summer - those endlessly long days and abundant hedgerows that feed the wildlife and haunt our dreams (well actually i have nightmares that Breakfast is late but that is by the by!)

We had a reminder today of the wildlife's struggle at this time of year when a small owl landed at Charles feet in Danilons stable this morning, thin and too weak to fly up again. I think we saw him the other night when we came home at dusk and spotted a small brown owl sitting on the five bar gate as comfortably as a tabby cat. I didn't get out of the car for several long minutes as we enjoyed the rare privilege of the close proximity to the wild creature. But today it was a sad little bird that Charles showed to me wrapped in his puffa coat and cossetted in a laundry basket (I've got lots naturally)

With ten stables to muck out our day was already full but luckily, A friend from the the village came to our rescue and drove the bird to Mousehole Bird Hospital where he was described as a small brown owl, a day time feeder and settled in with some milk and newly defrosted mice. If all goes well we may be able to release him again on the farm so fingers crossed for his recovery, this small frail casualty of winter.

I spent my spare time this week putting together the final manuscript for a Kindle book The Silver Stallion from Spain but there was one problem - strange horizontal lines that had appeared in the text and stubbornly refused all efforts to delete them. A few enquiries aound the village led to Kay of Wellyracks who diagnosed the problem as errant frames - I've no idea how they got there but was very pleased to get rid of them!

The upload prove fairly "Christine" proof - I only hope I ticked the right boxes and people can actually read the script. Its about an hours read for children nine to ninety best enjoyed by a warm fire with a box of tissues and a mug of cocoa!

A living Christmas card

Looking back across the lawn to the house

And so the winter approaches.............no I'm only joking it has been exceptional weather this year in the UK never more so than here in the usually balmy Cornwall. We had a tantalising glimpse of "normal" weather here this weekend and shed the woolly hats and gloves before waking up to our very own, now familiar Christmas card. So come with me now on a visit to the gardens you may have enjoyed in the heat of the summer and explore again the corners now alive with the birds and rabbits that the sheltering hedges embrace.



The formal parterre dusted with frost that is the heart of the courtyard



No takers for that sun lounger this morning I'm afraid



One of our woollier paths that lead back to the more formal areas - the rabbits are on duty here to trim the grass



That serpentine bank again built with the last (Well nearly) of the heaps of stone from our barn renovation twenty years ago - I think we have managed to recycle most of the house now!



I loved the light on our very own standing stone/discarded gate post with Perranuthnoe village and the sea beyond the spring bulbs will come up here very soon now

The raised seat in the Italian garden usually a few degrees warmer in here but today well........

Whilst the Olive trees are already surrounded by newly emerging Irises behind that garden

Back towards the house and the little formal garden below the courtyard of the Apricot room - just seen tucked in the top corner

Our poor date palms teh other side of teh "home" courtyard - can frost really be that thick???




and left in the camera from November but such a beautiful morning looking out across Mounts Bay from our front door that i didn't want to waste it. So today, this is Ednovean Farm, a living Christmas card and we even have a great Robin who has won picking rights in the stables from the other birds and fills the old barn with his sweet song as we work. At least not for us the bustle of the shops, the icy pavements, the traffic jams as we beattle about with our wheelbarrows and take extra hay out to the fields before breaking the ice on the water troughs..........mind you they have central heating in shops!!

A few green shoots of a thaw

There are a few more green shoots of the thaw showing today but Ollie is steadfastly maintaining his vigil in the Laundry basket - in fact he has now been there for four days only coming out for the briefest of constitutionals and the essential bowl of Pussy-cat food. Rather worryingly he has just gone outside without uttering the immortal words "I may be some time" to be sure but out of character none the less. i must conclude that a) the weather has got warmer or b) it will be a darned sight worse in a few hours.............




I took another walk across the top of the farm today and stopped to take a photo of the footpath that our guests take to walk to the village before climbing higher for that intriguing shot of Marazion - it makes you realise how close everything is to visit in Cornwall




Marazion in the corner of Mounts Bay from Ednovean Farm




and of course ST Micheal's Mount again - just because i love it

and Ollie - I'll watch very carefully for his next prediction!

Business as usual in Cornwall

You may be worried that the gateway to Cornwall is blocked but this is a delightful little news piece has just relesed by Cornwall Tourist Board - hope it calms your fears........West Cornwall is waiting!!

Mount's Bay this morning

A view through the garden gateway at Ednovean Farm towards St Micheal's Mount

We are still in the grip of the "ice age" here in Cornwall with the clear skies overnight bringing freezing conditions but this morning I couldn't resist climbing to the top of the farm again to to look at the snow over Mounts Bay. The high moors to the right of the picture have the best covering teetering out towards Land's End but a magical patchwork of white never the less




Our young horses picking the blackberries this morning at Ednovean Farm


A view from the top fields at Ednovean Farm

and Magic of course who knows everything (or at least he's working on it!)

we woke up to snow

When Ollie cat delivered his customary 6.30 am wake up call this morning I did not expect to open the door to snow and I wondered even if Ollie did. However he boldly set off into the twilight only to return twenty minutes later as a giant orange puff ball his fur spangled with snow flakes and so the snow continued all morning. With Ollie's mission in life completed he retired to the laundry basket for the rest of the day leaving us to slither and slide about with numb fingers and even number feet feeding the horses and turning them into the paddocks for their morning constitutionals as we toiled over their vacated stables for the day. Well it's a cat's life here at Ednovean Farm!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Sophie is nearly six months old now seen here standing at the top of Ednovean farm with Penzance across the Bay beyond her

Our horses exploring the new white world




It all started so well with the sunset reflected in the Blue room's french doors last night

alas by the morning the Parterre had a little winter magic

and the cobbled path to the garden was iced with snow

Echiums can be surprisingly resistant..........(I hope!)

and the date palms have seen it all before

The garden room at the bottom of the courtyard

It all started so well with a nearly stunning sunset best seen reflected in the Blue room doors and progressed to a chilly night but we had no inkling somehow that we would wake up to snow this morning. The weather men keep intoning the wettest, the warmest, the coldest and then adding the magical term seventeen years...................Meanwhile, Ollie Cat has taken up residence in the Laundry basket and will not be coming out unless he has some guest to entertain!

Do you remember when...........

Do you remember that warm day in the sun on a beach in Cornwall as you look out of the window today - the softness of the sand as it trickled through your toes the gentle lull of the waves as they gently caressed the beach, the warmth of the sun on your face......................

Ah well - I noticed the first spring bulbs emerging in the garden yesterday as the last of the autumn leaves still clung to the trees but today well today winter tightened her spell but not for long ............"no not for long" said Ollie as he snuggled deeper into the laundry basket after a cursory glance outside. "No not for long" said Danni as he stretched out to snore the morning away. "No not for long i thought and remembered my picnic on the beach as i slithered to and fro with my heavy wheelbarrow...........ah well!

promises

The air was full of promises when i opened the front door this morning and there just behind St Micheal's Mount was a fantastic rainbow - not a bad way to start the day!

The sun was just creeping above the hedgerows as the young horses went off to graze for the day

and casting tendrils of light across the garden as Cornwall woke up to her daily life

with tractors hard at work already in the fields of neighbouring farms beyond the Italian Garden so if you buy a Cornish Cauliflower tomorrow in the supermarket who knows ...................

Magic could have watched it being cut in the dew of first light and sent from Cornwall with love