Wordless Wednesday...

Brand new 11...

Last week one of my nieces, Hannah, turned 11.

So on our beautiful spring Sunday, after viewing pink lilies,

I took her out to St Mary's church in Metchosin to see the white lilies.

I have brought this place to blog land before and at this time of year

it's a  temptation much too hard to resist and I must show you all again...

In amongst the sleeping souls, the carpet goes on and on...

We took time to read about the ones who've gone on and talked about 'Aunt Tracy' and

how much she would love it here...

When I can, I like to spend one on one time with my nieces and nephews.

It's quite the production to have them all together and this way I can

find out what they're up to and how their lives are getting on.

We went inside the little church to have a look at a fibre arts show and

to marvel at the beauty inside...

I love sun coming through leaded glass windows!

Another wander around the lilies and then off for lunch...

I love that even though Hannah is 'getting older', she still wants to run around like a 'little kid'.

This precious time between dolls and boys.

I gave her a little box of questions for slumber parties with ones like

"who's your celebrity crush" and

"if you had one wish for the world, what would it be?"

It was a lot of fun and we learned a few things about each other while we ate our calzones.

Next it was on to another tiny present...

These little fairy slippers are sold in our shop but you can
also find them on Etsy.
Nell makes these all by hand and they are PRECIOUS!!

I figured she has plenty of time for 'grown-up' stuff and the longer she can enjoy the

magical world of pink and sparkles...all the better.
Next we wandered down to Lazy Goat Land, a little petting farm behind the cafe...

They too are were enjoying the balmy spring day, looking froward to summer naps...

And what could be better to round off the day than ice cream

and a drive through the gorgeous Metchosin country side...

So life begins for a brand new 11 year old.

Song for Friday...just for the beauty of it

Yesterday morning it was warm and springlike and I had the doors and windows open

to let the house take a deep breath...exhale winter...inhale spring!

I had on the classical station of CBC and then this song played...

  have a listen...

I believe this to be one of the most beautiful songs ever written and never tire of

listening to it. The movie, "The Mission", from where it was featured is

a powerful one as well.

Enjoy these new days of this new season...take a deep breath in

and have a lovely weekend all!

Lovely labour of lily love...

On Sunday morning I was invited over to the lovely Anne Boquist's house.

Norene and I walked down the road to see her lovely patch of lilies.

Not just any lilies, but native woodland fawn lilies.

And not just any woodland fawn lilies but

PINK woodland fawn lilies!

I've only ever seen the odd one of these in the woods so

when we got to Anne's....WOW!

...probably thousands of them...

She's been nurturing these babies for 20 years now and rightly should be proud.

Anne keeps the weeds and the bigger shrubs in check along the creek...

The effort has paid off in spades...mind the pun...

It's like a fairy wonderland here and I could have just sat here for ages...

It takes 7 years for these lovelies to flower from seed...

In amongst the glory of the lilies was some Indian hellebore,

 striking in it's broad, textured leaves...

Little pale, purple woodland anemones share the dappled forest...

A friend of Anne's, since passed away, who used to come see the lilies every year,

is remembered by the little angel.

Truly a magical morning...a good way to start Earth Day!

Clean whites on the line...

 magnolias dancing in the breeze...

 Welcoming warm spring sky...

 the frittilaria showing off her checkered hoods...

 I had visited Anne's house for the first time in the fall

so it was such a treat to see it at this time of year...

 Anne and David are getting ready to move out of the big house

 and into this rebuilt 1930's cottage they've been working on for years...

 Such an inspiring place to visit.

Now I must get rested so I can get to work on my garden!

If you want to see tales of my visit last fall, have a look here...

Song for Friday...so long Levon

Yesterday we lost another great in the world of music.

Levon Helm died of cancer at 71.

He was one of the co founders of The Band.

I grew up listening to these guys (they were one of my dads favorite bands),

  kept listening to them as an adult and

passed on my love for their music to my daughter who listens to them still.

Classics like "The Weight", "I Shall Be Released", "the Night They Drove Old Dixie Down"

were standards throughout my life at parties, on mixed tapes, on the road and many

late nights listening to records.

One of my all time favorite movies is "The Last Waltz" released in 1978 by Martin Scorsese,

a film about The Bands last concert with a lineup that you wouldn't believe.

Everyone came out for this 7 hour concert including Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell,

Neil Young, Van Morrison, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan and many others.

 If you've never seen this film...WATCH IT.

It is one of the best music documentaries you'll ever see.

I never tired of watching Levon play and sing and must admit, I had

a crush on him after seeing the film in the theatre!

Levon was also an accomplished actor and starred in many films including

"Coal Miners Daughter", "A Dolls House" and "The Right Stuff".

He had one of those great, gravelly, Southern drawls.

This message was posted on the net by his wife and daughter 2 days ago...

Thank you fans and music lovers who have made his life so filled with joy and celebration… he has loved nothing more than to play, to fill the room up with music, lay down the back beat, and make the people dance! He did it every time he took the stage…

We appreciate all the love and support and concern.

From his daughter Amy, and wife Sandy”

So I say a quiet goodbye to Levon...thanks for all the soulful, beautiful music.
 I leave you with a classic from the film.

here...

Have a lovely weekend and play a little of The Band.