Sunday 23 May 2010

I'm back!





































Hello to you all - sorry about the gap in publication, but I have been on holiday. Tuscany is beautiful at any time of year but in May it is probably at its best, when all the wild flowers are busy getting their flowering and going to seed over before the really hot weather sets in. There was a preponderance of yellow flowers of all kinds but the real show-stoppers were the ubiquitous red poppies which popped up all over the place and made a real statement.
It has been a lovely break, with a super group of people. We stayed in nice hotels, ate good food and saw some lovely places as you can see from today's photographs. No country seems to display its food in a more artistic way than Italy - their fruit shops and their ham and cheese shops are almost works of art.
It is, of necessity, a short blog today. You will understand why when I tell you that we left the island of Elba at eight o'clock yesterday morning, travelled to the mainland by ferry and then
(mainly because of BA strike action) travelled across to Bologna for a flight to Gatwick. We arrived in Gatwick at 8.30pm and were then brought home by taxi, arriving at the farm at 3am this morning.
Here on the farm there has been a distinct lack of rain. The grass in the fields we need for silage has not grown at all and is beginning to look very droughty. Our neighbouring farmer has already rung up today and asked the farmer to dig out the beck to let a little more water through as his water source for the cattle to drink is fast drying up.
In the hedgerows the may blossom is in bud but not yet in flower - its flowering is one of the highlights of my year, so am poised with my camera to record it for you. In the meantime the various indigenous crab apple trees are in full blossom, the buttercups are beginning to show yellow in the meadows and in another day or two the lane will be edged with cow parsley.
By tomorrow we hope to be more or less back to normal. I shall pop over now and see what tomorrow's poetry bus has to offer.
It is lovely to be back. Thank you so much to those of you who sent me e mails to enquire if I was alright and why I was not blogging. I do appreciate your concern. As far as my back goes - the walking on the holiday has done it no harm and may well have strengthened it a little. See you all tomorrow when my blog will - hopefully - return to normal. In the meantime enjoy the photographs.
Probably the highlight of the whole holiday for me was seeing the Pierro della Francesca frescoes
in the basilica in Arrezzo - the clarity and freshness of the colours, the 'modern' look of work which is six hundred years old, the magic of actually standing in the building rather than looking at photographs - wonderful - shall do a blog on it all one day soon.

24 comments:

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Oh goody! You're back!
I cannot wait to see all the posts that shall spring from this marvelous trip!
Edward and I have missed you.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Welcome back! Glad you had such a nice trip!

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Hi Welcome back. I love Tuscany too but it is also hard to beat the Uk in May!

Robin Mac said...

So glad to see you back, I have missed you. What a wonderful holiday you have had, so glad to know your back stood up to the test. Cheers, Robin

Maggi said...

So glad you are back. Judging by the photos the trip was a good one. Glad that your back behaved well.

Granny Sue said...

Missed you! The photos a teat--I look forward to more.

Two sons on your side of the pond this week, golfing in Scotland.

Granny Sue said...

Missed you! The photos a teat--I look forward to more.

Two sons on your side of the pond this week, golfing in Scotland.

Penny said...

Glad you are back and had such a great time.

Totalfeckineejit said...

Are the 'Pierro della Francesca frescoes'a new flavour of Cornetto? I do hope so. And I'm not being funny here or anything but if anyone else built a building as badly as that tower in Pisseda they'd be the laughing stock of Europe.
Lovely to have you back. You've been missed.

Anonymous said...

Glad to have you posting again, Weaver. Love the photos. My better half's dad came from Isola d'Elba. We holiday there in September and will pursue family history.

Hildred said...

So pleased to have you back Weaver, - and glad that you had such a wonderful holiday.

When you speak of the artistry of the food displays in Italy I remember taking pictures of the marvelous meat counters in Harrods - especially the lamb. We were very involved in marketing lamb at that stage in our lives.

Welcome back - great pictures....

Bovey Belle said...

I'm glad you're back and you had a lovely holiday. You must have crammed a lot of folks in that taxi to share the cost! Ye Gods - Gatwick to Yorkshire!!!

Jeannette StG said...

I hear Tuscany is beautiful! But also glad to have you back! Am looking forward to hear about your travel experiences!

Arija said...

Welcome back!
What a truly wonderful holiday you had with all that glorious food ... I am green with envy, particularly about seeing the frescoes in the flesh.

Kim Palmer said...

Glad you're back home safe and sound and you enjoyed your break away Pat! Gorgeous pics and I look forward to seeing more of your lovely trip to Italy. Souds like a horrendous trip home though. I can't believe you were able to sit, blog and make any sense at all after that!

Caroline Gill said...

Welcome back from la bella Italia! What a journey home...

Elizabeth said...

Sounds an amazing trip.
Yes, the food is a delight in Italy.
Looking forward to more posts when you have recovered a little from all your adventures.

Titus said...

Lovely to see you back Weaver, even though I am absolutely green with envy. What wonderful photographs - really looking forward to more.

thousandflower said...

I've missed you. What a wonderful trip. Looking forward to seeing more of Italy and Yorkshire.

Mac n' Janet said...

Glad you're back, missed your posts, Italy looks lovely, always eat WAY too much when we go there.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone. Don't want to bore you with my holiday pics though. Just to say that I absolutely must do a blog on the Piero della Francasca frescoes - honestly they are magic.

Acornmoon said...

Oh, so that is where you have been, lucky lucky you!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Beautiful. Florence. The markets. I'd love to go back, for a long while. Welcome back to your beautiful farm.

DCAja said...

very nice!
rana