When I get short of ideas for blog posts and I reckon everyone is fed up with seeing my car boot finds then I look at my bookshelves.
The Flower Fairy Books of Cicely Mary Barker haven't had an outing for ages.
This is the picture I took a couple of weeks ago of the very early pear blossom on one of my new small trees. The flowers on this are now going over but there are still no sign of any on the other pear tree.
This is the illustration from the book Flower Fairies of the Trees
The Song Of The Pear Blossom Fairy
Sing, sing, sing you blackbirds!
Sing you beautiful thrush!
It's Spring, Spring, Spring; so sing, sing sing,
From dawn till the stars say hush.
See, See, See the blossom
On the Pear Tree shining white!
It will fall like snow, but the pears will grow
For people and birds' delight.
Build, build, build, you chaffinch;
Build you robin and wren,
A safe warm nest where your eggs may rest;
Then sit, sit, sit little hen!
There are no nests anywhere in my garden - there's not enough cover and only the flowering cherry, the ceanothus and the two magnolias are more than 3 years old and none provide any sort of nest building properties...............and there's a cat next door who likes to visit.
I have got a new nest box to go up when I get a hand from Brother in Law perhaps in time for a second clutch but I do know a robin has a nest nearby as its often on the olive tree out the front with something in it's beak and it flies off over the big yew hedge somewhere.
Back Tomorrow
Sue
I do like the Flower Fairies illustrations - not always so sure about the verses.
ReplyDeleteLike Joy says below - the illustrations are timeless but I think the poems are of their time!
DeleteI loved the flower fairy books when I was a little girl. LIke Jabblog, it was the illustrations that attracted me so very much. They are timeless. xx
ReplyDeleteI'm very late to flower fairy books - as in aged 60+!
DeleteI had a beautiful little ceramic tile picturing the Almond Blossom fairy. I have passed it on to my granddaughter.
ReplyDeleteGranddaughter Willow has the willow fairy picture on her bedroom wall
DeleteEven the pear blossom has been late this year. The crab apples are just about in full bloom, the apples are showing the merest hint of pink and I am still waiting patiently for my new greengage to blossom. Meanwhile the blackthorn and hawthorn are flowering simultaneously which doesn’t often happen. I moved cowslips yesterday to under the apple trees and realised for the first time that their scent is beautiful so I picked a few for a posy along with purple anemone (their petals are like silk) and some small creamy white narcissi called Elka which has a delicate scent. I now have my mum’s flower fairy book from the 1930s with her name and address in Honeypot Lane written neatly in ink on the fly leaf. Sarah in Sussex
ReplyDeleteWe never think of Suffolk being so much further north than Sussex but judging by the things you have flowering we are way behind. A good year for cowslips and dandelions this year
DeleteI never get tired of your finds at car boot sales. For me, it's inexhaustibly interesting. But you may get tired of writing them up and want a change. Any chance of outings to churches coming up?
ReplyDeleteThe last three I've visited have all been locked - there have been a spate of thefts so many are locking again - very sad
DeleteOh, I love to see your boot sale bargains, Sue! What a sweet picture of the pear blossom fairy! I have an empty bird's nest in my lilac bush but no one has moved in yet this year!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like seeing the boot sale finds - sometimes feels like all I do is spend at boot sales! but they are usually money savers
DeleteThat is a very cute fairy!
ReplyDeleteHer books are full of these lovely illustrations - each one a bit different
DeleteYour pear tree looks great and is full of flowers. I hope you get lots of fruit. My pear trees are also in flower. Like you, I've not seen any nests on my property. The wild turkeys are reproducing and yesterday I saw 12 chicks following their Mum. There was also a large red fox passing through. Not many of the chicks will survive with the fox and hawks living nearby. Sadly, the Mallard ducks seem to have disappeared. Wildlife keeps us guessing.
ReplyDeleteI'm not expecting much fruit as it's such a young tree and the weather always seems wrong - this year too cold for insects
DeleteYour pear blossom is beautiful. I like the flower fairies themselves, but I'm another one who isn't keen on the verses that go with them.
ReplyDeleteYou could always do a blog post about your bookshelves ... it's a LONG time since we have seen them. Have you counted your books recently after selling so many on Ziffit?
A bookshelf post - now there's an idea!
DeleteHaven't had a count for ages - they come and they go!
When being a book illustrator was a skilled job. That one is very much of its period.
ReplyDeleteI think adults appreciate the drawings more than children now - they are more used to cartoon type creatures
DeleteAs much as I like the neighbouring cats they do affect how many birds build nests in our garden. We did have a robin who chose to squeeze through a hole in the shed door and build a nest on a pile of old gloves.
ReplyDeleteInfluenced by your posts I found an older copy of Autumn Flower Fairies last fall. Must look for spring or perhaps summer. Where I live is very coastal and harsh, high winds, few trees, so I cherish the few non-migratory songbirds I see, and love watching even the lowly little sparrows make their nest each year.
ReplyDelete