Natural inspiration - and I solve a Nursery Cryme

It's been ages since I wrote anything about the  Kings Weston Estate, but  a lot's happened there in the past months. The house, which is in private ownership, had to be sold last year and we anxiously awaited what would happen.

The good news is it's been bought by a local business man who wants to live there and use it for events. The house is being renovated, and it's wonderful to see all the stonework being cleaned, literally, to golden.The new owner is working closely with Kings Weston Action Group (KWAG),  for which I'm a volunteer . Last Saturday, thanks to  us getting a HLF Lottery Grant we hosted the annual Bristol Bioblitz, which kicks off Bristol's yearly Festival of Nature. This is a 24 hour period when loads of naturalists converge on a chosen site to find and record as many species as possible! There were also fun nature activities for families and school events. KWAG are now planning nature walks for people to come along and learn about the natural heritage of the estate, which I'm really excited about.

We've been doing lots of conservation work and as a result the wild flowers are really benefiting. The number and variety have really gone up this year.As we finally got some sunshine this week, I thought I'd share their beauty with you.

 The bluebells are spreading their colour and perfume through the woods.

 Arum lilies are poking through the leaf litter ( sorry for the poor focus - it was incredibly windy!)

 Viper's Bugloss showing off its stunning blue flowers.

 Masses of cowslips cover the hillside.  I was  especially thrilled to find these -   I love, love, love cowslips, they remind me of when I was little and we lived next to a field choc full of them every spring! I've always loved this  quote from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'

The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats, spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In their freckles live our savours.
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

I'm so glad to see any improvement which helps our poor bee population, things for them are so very bad at the moment. Despite two beautiful warm days here on Monday and Tuesday it's now back to wind and rain again. Our garden birds are feeding as if it were still winter. The old saying 'Ne'r cast a clout, till May be out' is certainly true this year!

Meanwhile, on the stitchery front I finished another project (I'm really pleased with it and - it involved piping. Whoo hoo! I can't show you yet though, 'cos it's for something special). I have though, at long last 'framed' my poor Miss Muffet, who's been hanging around for ever waiting for something to happen to her  -  so this week she takes her place in the now famous (well, it seems to have become my 'showing place' ) renovated Wicker Chair!

It was very satisfying to give this design a proper home at last, and I really liked the way she turned out. I added a couple of buttons on the back to finish her off nicely!

Hope your weekend is warm, bright - and full of flowers.x