Monday, Monday







The last of today's sunshine reflecting on the sea of Mounts Bay with Perranuthnoe church in the foreground









Monday Monday and the winter creeps on, unfolding gently into the spring rather like a steady drip that suddenly becomes a torrent. First the Daffodils start to force their way up from the ground perfectly formed to push through the cold clinging earth to the week rays of the winter sun. Then the ferns grow more verdant in the warm crevices and valleys and then the garden starts to beckon - just a few minute here and there as the birds start to sing in serious competition around the garden. And suddenly the sun reflection on the water of Mounts Bay really should be photographed before we go inside for the evening............and so I walked up to the top of the farm and I did tonight........Monday Monday and nearer to spring!



St Micheal's Mount in the dusk

From dawn until dusk



The moon was still awake this morning over Mounts Bay







Strangely the Moon was still sailing over Mounts bay this morning when we went out to feed the horses with the sky flushed pink with the reflection of the dawn. The horses were pleased to be out so early with the frost still on the grass and the young colts soon turned to their favourite wrestling game of "tug your friends headcollar"



Magic is growing into a fine young man and can never resist a camera





The sunset from our garden - that's Perranuthnoe's church  against the sea

With our morning jobs completer we crept back indoors to cook Breakfast fro our first B&B guest of the year and later much later we had time to enjoy the sunset over Mounts Bay as we finished work for the day the horses once again tucked up in their stables for the night................and i wish i could fathom how this new improved dashboard works - it's very entertaining watching the pictures jump about - I think I liked the old one - please can i have it back???!

Sun on the window

The sun hit the old stones that surround our windows today capturing their ancient heart for a few moments in its warm embrace and reminding me of the fast approaching spring. Already the daffodils are growing strongly around the garden their strong green shoots thrusting out of the warming soil with the promise of the vibrant yellow flowers to dance in the wind and defy the elements.

The stone was found under on of our banks probably a rick stone but beautiful

The spring gardens in Cornwall are always wonderful - I've got an eye to exploring a new one this year that i heard about from one of my guests - Tremenheer Sculpture Garden - just above Gulval - different I think to the glorious gardens of Trengwaiton and Trewiddon but a breath of fresh air with its Mediterranean approach. And one day i might even make the trek to explore St Micheal's Mount's wonderful gardens clinging to the exposed rock face tantalisingly within sight of our windows but never in reach of time.....! Incidentally i found a great site when looking up the web addresses fro my links (hope they work for you!) Try the Gardenvisitcom when planning your holiday.

Toffee considering his options

Our little family of animals continues in their usual way from day to day Toffee had a particularly nasty shock when he came in for his super tonight to discover someone had given him a new feed bowl - it was obviously concealing a nasty mo9nster in the bottom but he has it under surveillance for the time being!

January tales

A lone surfer making his way across Perranuthnoe beach

The sea birds wheeled high overhead as i opened the front door this morning, their haunting cry mixing with the sound of the sea from the beach below the village.

January has not been kind to us this year with moisture laden air sweeping in from the sea and roaring lines of white horse filling the bay to break in uneasy foam on the shore.

Olly Cats New years Eve celebration were brought up short after he ventured out to the Dining room back door for his evening constitutional only to be found on the front door step two minutes later pressed against the  front door, the air thick with cordite around him. And so he retired to bed! Our guest did rather better watching a spectacular display around Mounts Bay from the Blue room, with two other adventurous souls taking a bottle of champagne out on the the front lawn to celebrate under the stars with the bay in front of them. It must have been romantic - alas i slept through the whole thing rather like Olly!

With the house empty once more we caught the prevailing flu and the next couple of weeks have slipped away blogless until now. Olly retired to a spot between the Dining room curtain and the back door and shredded the recycling with earnest determination - it must have taken him for ever to reduce the heap of newspapers to a comfortable consistency to make the purrfect bed to sleep away the winter. Occasionally a small tsami of shredded paper escapes and drift across the floor but in general he should not be disturbed until the spring.

The winter storms also brought a black cat - cold frail and hungry he gratefully set up home in the barn on a pile of horse rugs and accepted large quantities of cat food - which is why i took a photo of Perranuthnoe Beach - of course.........about as obvious as Ollie's need to shred an entire heap of newspaper you might say! Well local intelligence reported two missing black cats from the village one of which had a poster with a phone number just above the beach and so whilst i was there looking for the aforementioned poster i took o photo of the valiant surfer trudging off determinedly to find the sea but no poster to be found.
But slowly people have come to see the cat and each one say "No - that is not my cat" and the cat receives them graciously from his self appointed throne before settling back to sleep with half an eye on his cat saucer nicely positions within reach! A small survivor of the storm looking for a kind home.

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!