brown study

collection of small brown objects
Well, it’s not the study itself that’s brown, but many of the small objects on the shelf are. Some are natural, others man-made; some were gifts, while others were picked up around the garden and elsewhere.
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heads, hair, hats

Blue-rinsed and perm-headed
hydrangea matrons
eavesdrop our conversation.

blue hydrangea
As we breakfasted on a café terrace the other day, the great heavy mops of hydrangeas nodded gently at us like elderly women listening in and approving our plans for the day.

At least, that was my first thought.
Continue reading “heads, hair, hats”

a new dawn

Perhaps it’s just me, but the headline below (on the BBC website the other day) conjured some bizarre images.

BBC headline: DNA project 'to make UK world leader'

As I wondered what a “UK world leader” would be like and whose dna the scientists would mix and match, there was one name that kept recurring.

Fortunately, the somewhat depressing image of the UK taking over the world with Churchill at the helm was brightened by a mental soundtrack of Tim Curry singing “I can make you a man.”

(For those who want to know the real story of the UK’s genetic research project, it’s here. As for me, I think I’ll go and re-watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show.)

dazzle

It’s a grey day outside my window, so to brighten it up, here’s a photo taken a few days ago in South Wales on a small patch of land that had been seeded specifically to encourage pollinators:

cornflower

On reflection, since cornflower is a natural herb used to brighten grey hair, I’ve just realised this is far more appropriate than I had intended.

(And the post title was chosen as a subliminal reminder of the old “blue whitener” detergent ads.)

the language of flowers

pansies

outside the florist’s,
the bright chatter
of pansies.

 
Which is strange, really, as the word “pansy” derives from the French pensée – “thought”. It would be logical to expect them to do more thinking than talking, but they always look to me as if they are checking out the passers-by and gossiping enthusiastically.