photohunt

Some definitions of free: Not bound – at liberty – not under arbitrary government – not strict or bound by rules – not literal – unimpeded – unconstrained.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull when he discovers the technique of flying:

How much more there is now to living! Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to life! We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!

Jonathan sighs:

“Why is it,” Jonathan puzzled, “that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he’d just spend a little time practicing? Why should that be so hard?” *

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

The Flock

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

*Quotes  from Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

42 Comments CherryPie on Jul 9th 2010

100photos2

Poppies in Splendour

12 Comments CherryPie on Jul 9th 2010

This pretty fountain with water cascading out of it’s leaf tips  is by Marion Smith.

Looking Inward

Looking Outward

The Statue Fountain

26 Comments CherryPie on Jul 8th 2010

…and beyond.

The potager is filled with vegetables, herbs and flowers that can be cut for the house. This part of the garden is laid out symmetrically into blocks:

Runner beans and sweet peas are planted along the edges of the wide paths which provide a cool root run.  Herbs are planted in the corners along with standard roses, bay trees, box pyramids and ballerina apple trees which give the garden form during winter and spring. We can try out new vegetables and planting plans with different combinations and edgings as long as we follow the overall four year rotation plan.  When early crops and vegetables are finished the beds are planted up with wallflower plants for growing on, salad crops and oriental vegetables so there is hardly ever an empty bed and always plenty to eat! *

The Potager

The Greenhouse

Gatehouse View

Garden View

*From the making of a new Elizabethan garden by Susan Cunliffe-Lister

10 Comments CherryPie on Jul 7th 2010

Although I have been reading plenty of books and have several on the go it has been a long time since I did a book review.  I thought it was about time I changed that.

Synopsis (from the book cover):

Two beautiful women.  One mysterious man.  Separated by culture, class and war.

In the heat and bustle of 1950s Hong Kong, newlywed Claire Pendleton is changing from an uptight English wallflower to a beautiful, graceful bloom.  Then she meets Will, driver to wealthy Chinese couple the Chens, when she takes the job of piano teacher to their daughter.  His enigmatic presence enthrals and excites her.

A decade earlier, with war looming, Eurasian beauty Trudy Liang casts her own spell of fascination.  A social butterfly, she is a thing of mystery – and intrigue.  She knows everyone worth knowing in Hong Kong – Chinese and foreign, good and bad, rich and poor.  Including a newly arrived young Englishman – the magnetic Will Truesdale…

Review:

The novel is set in Hong Kong at the time of the Japanese invasion.  As well as being a love story it is also a historical novel.  The story switches backwards and forwards between two periods of time, 1941-42 and 1952-53.  The book describes what it was like at that time and how the invasion affected the lives of the people who lived there before, during and after the invasion.

The characters are well drawn and in some cases intriguing.  I found the story compelling it was difficult to put the book down.  It one of those books where just have to keep reading one more page.  The story line keeps you guessing right up until the end so I haven’t gone into the plot in too much detail so it doesn’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read the book.

16 Comments CherryPie on Jul 6th 2010

…from Burton Agnes Hall.

I hope you enjoy the separate garden rooms in Burton Agnes garden :-)

The Game & the Garden

The King & the Queen

16 Comments CherryPie on Jul 5th 2010

Happiness  depends upon ourselves.

Aristotle

10 Comments CherryPie on Jul 4th 2010

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