Happy Mother's Day

It's a beautiful day here at the cottage and the coffee is good. I'm making Mother's Day French Toast in a little while. I've already given my mom her (chocolate) presents. I'm going to weed her garden and work outside today. Enjoy your mom if you have one and being one if you are.

Handmade cards ©Alisa Nordholt-Dean via Flickr

Very Old Library in Prague

I dearly love large antiquarian books with vellum bindings. ©Sandy with her coffee

I See The Sun

This morning we have blue skies and sun after yesterday's rain. The thunder and lightning in the dark of night with the howling wind and rain pelting on the roof was quite something as I watched a movie in bed. What a difference a day makes - have a great Sunday. The photo is of the Dutch countryside: The long way home ©daniel bosma

Bluebell Woods | England

Loughborough, Leicestershire, England ~ So beautiful!  

Bluebell Woods 

Beautiful Peacock, Flowers, Sculpture and Architecture (Polish Palace)

Peacock showing off in front of the 17th century Łazienki Palace (The Palace on the Water) in Warsaw Poland. Beautiful Peacock, Flowers, Sculpture and Architecture

The Little Prince Pillowcase + Rubber Stamp Set

Just look at this adorable hand-embroidered pillowcase by Claudia Marchán. She made it for her nephew who lives in France. Translation: "Sweet dreams little prince WiWi"

Hand-made presents really are the best, aren't they?

I found someone who made this hand-carved set of rubber stamps from line drawings in the book 'Le Petit Prince" -- I don't know if they are for sale or not. Finding out is up to you. Please let me know if the answer is yes.

Strange Footprints in New Snow at The Cottage

I just returned from a walk with Webster and saw some footprints that look like perfect arrows all over my property. Wild turkey? I can't say for sure but they look as if they were made with a rolling branding iron. I thought at first a hunter was sending secret messages to another hunter but there are no human footprints anywhere except mine. They are left in a single line by each animal with foot dragging lines inbetween each perfect arrow. 

A single bird (or alien) leaves a print like this.

Lots of them in one spot. Help me please if you know what bird leaves such a distinct impression in the snow. Whatever it was it came very close to the house. Should I be scared? :-) These are my photos taken today.

Never mind. I just found out they are Pheasant tracks. I'm so excited. I've never seen a pheasant on my land before. See more on Google Images.

image by ©wikesgerald

Petunias Make the Best Hats

Mitza in the garden.

Just a quick post to make you smile. I'll never look at petunias again without thinking of animals wearing them as hats. [image by ©Dragan*]

The Little Prince Drawings on Automobile

I so love Le Petit Prince drawings on this little French automobile. ©Muddy LaBoue Le Petit Prince, published in 1943, is French aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s most famous novella.

A Carpet of Spring Flowering Bulbs

Planting all of these bulbs must have been a labor of love. What a delightful reward each year it must be as these bulbs divide and the carpet gets thicker and thicker. ©Véronique Coutié It is dark, gloomy and raining pretty hard here at the cottage. This image really brightened my day and hopefully yours too.

Fontainebleau Castle Reflections

Fontainebleau Castle Reflections, Seine-et-Marne, France (Southeast of Paris) ©David Giral This beautiful HDR photograph was made using three different exposures.

Stone Cottage with Lilacs

I found a delightful (English?) stone cottage with a beautiful garden and a blooming lilac to get you through the early March doldrums when everything is so unattractive. Spring is literally right around the corner. photo ©John Goad

Morning Dew on Spider's Web

Misty Morning Dew ~ A heavily laden spider's web in the long grass at Croome Court, Worcestershire in The Cotswolds. Now that is just beautiful! ©flash of light 

St. Andrews Church in the Cotswolds Village of Naunton

St. Andrews church in the cotswold village of Naunton, in the Windrush valley, Gloucestershire, England. ©flash of light

Don't Stray From The Beautiful Path!

Here is another fabulous photo I love. The light at the end of this canopy is beautiful, isn't it? Don't Stray From The Path! by WullieS

Travel Poster: Siena - Tuscany

A wonderful early travel poster circa 1910 promoting Italian tourism from the print collection of The Boston Public Library. Subject: Tuscany - Siena.

Two Perfect Swans

This is one of the most beautiful photos of swans I have ever seen. ©Anna Frimodig via Flickr

Alpaca Cable Knit Mittens

Alpaca Clepsydra Snow "This person re-knit her Clepsydra pattern in neutral Berroco Ultra Alpaca yarns - Steal Cut Oats and Winter White plus she made a matching hat." Pattern coming soon.

I have no idea what all of that means but I love this mitten and hat set. You'll have to keep checking her Flickr page for the pattern.

Cutest Kitten Ever ~ Really!

This little kitten's name is Sinatra. That sounds like a boy cat's name but I'm declaring her to be a girl. What do you think of her? Isn't she adorable? Photograph by Dreek Leeds via Flickr. Happy Friday!

Gourdon's Garden - Provence, France

Gourdon's Garden - Provence - France

The Castle of Gourdon is close by Saint Paul de Vence - Provence, on the top of mountain. Its gardens were designed by Le Notre, Louix XIV's gardener who also did Versailles park. The picture shows the very precise hard work done by the gardeners, resulting in the geometrical shapes of the trees and golf like lawn, AND the view of the impressive canyon below the garden. When taking the shot, I deliberately chose to frame it in those two parts (garden and canyon with the white wall being the middle line). The two gardeners, feeling the heat of the summer season, add a human touch to the picture.

Provence in general, St Paul de Vence and Gourdon in particular are great places to visit and photograph. photo and text by Pierre Metivier