Tuesday 30 April 2013

Kiss the Book on Facebook!


This is just a quick little post, as I've been setting up a page on facebook. Juggling photographs seems to take forever!
I hope that this link below works and if you are a user of facebook, please come along and have a look.



https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Kiss-the-Book/205051982868914?fref=ts


I plan to post about new stock, taking photographs and describing the exciting things I find.
Have a happy Tuesday everybody!

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Artisan Spring Fair




Hooray! Spring is here and with it comes the first of this year's fairs for the Artisans.
This Sunday, April 28th we will all be gathering at the South Newton and Wishford Village Hall
(Just outside Salisbury, Wiltshire on the A36 two miles north of Wilton)

I will have raided my shelves in the love shack-




And hope to make my table tempting!

There are over a dozen stall holders and the fair will run from 11.00am to 4.00pm with FREE ENTRY and a large free car park nearby.
There will be an exciting mix of stalls with fine vintage and ephemera, alongside the handmade and inspirational.
You can find textiles, knit ware, linens, jewellery,paintings, glass and china, photography, home wares and more..



There will be refreshments and delicious homemade cakes available throughout the day.

Oh yes, I ought to mention... I'm bringing along a few books....




To find out more details please follow this link

Friday 12 April 2013

A sad start to the day




Just as Spring is creeping in and all is beginning to bloom, in a quick, cruel moment the other side of Nature is shown to me.
Last night a fox visited our terrace gardens. My neighbours hens have all gone and my three ladies were wiped out too. He took and ate the youngest and then, with that senseless side of fox nature, bit the heads of the other two and left them. Perhaps he plans to come back and eat them later and maybe there is his family to feed but I am left hen-less and feel bereft indeed.
I'm very fond of my chickens and watching their simple, vigorous enjoyment of scratching, eating and dust-bathing in the sun never failed to give pleasure.
So, to mark their passing, I thought I'd post a few photographs, to make me smile as I remember them.

This is Madame Pompadour guarding her chicks and settling down for the night in their tree-



A closeup of our little grey hen at about a week old




The two ladies in the garden last year-




And this winter, in the tree despite the snow-





Marie Antoinette


And finally, as is fitting, the last photo of the most beautiful eggs that they laid



I will have some more hens, but I shall leave it a while, especially as Mr Fox may still be sniffing around.

Thursday 4 April 2013

In Pursuit of Spring

Thaw

Over land speckled with snow half-thawed




The speculating rooks at their nests cawed





And saw from elm-tops, delicate as flower of grass





What we below could not see, Winter pass






This perfect short poem by my favourite poet Edward Thomas, seems to capture that subtle shift from one season to another.



Warm days, with the sun on our shoulders, buds bursting and the trees blossoming are on their way!