
Tea for Tuesday. Winter’s last Hurrah!
In one way, we are lucky here on the West Coast that we very rarely have a winter wonderland and our flowers come much sooner than anywhere else across the 49th parallel, but on the other hand, there’s all this rain!
I swear that some years it rains for most of the year.
So when the rain actually stops and the sun comes out between the clouds, no matter how brief it is, we usually find the sunniest spots to hang out in and stay there a while.
You really can’t blame us. π
This morning, C’s boyfriend Bryson texted from his hill-top university to tell her it’s snowing at his campus! What?
So in honour of our winter’s last hurrah, I chose to have tea in this sweet, little Royal Standard storybook cup.
I was inspired to pick it because it is the only cup I have with winter blooming flowers on it.
Don’t you love winter blooming flowers? I’m always so impatient for winter aconites and snowdrops and iris stylosa and crocuses.
Last year I lifted hundreds of snow drops from green spaces where people have dumped their garden waste and this year they are rewarding me with a beautiful display in the shade garden.
So I will have my tea in the sunshine while it lasts and look at my beautiful book of macro snow flake photography, by Libbrecht and Rasmussen, (how do people do such wonderful things like photographing snow flakes?), and say “good bye winter; hello spring.”
And then we will both get back to work.
In the sunniest rooms of the house.
Sharing with Terri and Martha and Sandy and Bernideen, and wishing you all a swift end to winter.
Beth
Those tulip are so pretty. Definitely brought me cheer!
Veronica
Hello Beth, thank you so much. I’m super glad they did. They’re such cheerful flowers, aren’t they? And so welcome and affordable this time of year. π
Martha's Favorites!
Hi Veronica: So love the tea cup you shared today. We are not getting any rain at all here. Wish you could send some our way. Sending hugs, Martha
Veronica
Hello dearest, sorry I’ve been so busy lately. I’ll make sure I do a little rain dance for California. Big hugs. π
artful affirmations
Hello Veronica, Your storybook tea cup is very sweet and appropriate for around here. We received quite a few inches in two storms last week. We never get that kind of snow here. So you cup is just in time. It is lovely that it shows the winter flowers. Your music paper art is so beautiful!
Hugs,
Terri
Veronica
Did you really Terri? Oh my gosh, what is going on with this weather all over the globe? Our part of England is so soggy we’ve had water in the dining room twice already and our poor cat is swimming more than walking. (But no harm done in the dining room thank goodness) Hope it’s all going to smarten up sooner than later. π
Bernideen's Tea Time Blog
What a beautiful post Veronica and I love your Kitty. Your snowdrops are fabulous as winter will be going on here for quite a long time – snow yes – snowdrops – no. Also, as always your beautiful home, teacup and daughter!
Veronica
Thank you so much Bernideen. Is it me or is this winter super long? Oh well, the snowdrops in your neck of the woods will be that much more welcome. π
KentFaver
Tulips in sunshine – awesome!
Veronica
So very true! That’s how they ended up in the kitchen! π
dawnsrays
Those TULIPS! wow~ they make their own sunshine, I believe.
That is a precious tea cup and I can not believe you are blessed with anything that is budding and blooming yet! I am dying to find anything that resembles life in my garden right now. I think I have spotted some bud nubs on the wild honeysuckle but I really don’t want to confirm it yet. I don’t want to jinx it, you know.
Those macros of snowflakes! ah, what a great camera and lens they must have.
As always I adore your birdies on the written page. If I sent you a page with my mothers handwriting, do you think you could draw a male cardinal on it for me? She loved cardinals and hummingbirds but I always associate cardinals with her.
Happy T to you!!
~Dawn
Veronica
Oh god! (Gulp) I get so scared about requests! π― What if the ink of your mother’s writing bleeds? What if I ruin your mother’s paper? What if you hate it!?!?! What if you end up hating me!!!!
But then you’re my friend….
…
…
OK send it up and I’ll draw a big, red, shiny cardinal, (having only glimpsed one once). I’ll be brave if you’ll be brave.
Big hugs
x
dawnsrays
Thank you π
I realized after I published my question it might have been rude and off putting. And a little more than presumptuous BUT I really love your birds so that all went out the window —
Veronica
It’s all good…lol. π
Patty
Beautiful post and pictures. I’m afraid spring won’t be here in my neck of the woods just yet but my daughter and I will be traveling to Carlsbad CA next week to see our son and wife and little grandson. Can’t wait! We lived in Irvine and rancho Santa margarita back in 1994 and I miss the everblooming hibiscus and fruit trees in the yard. Love the bird on newsprint. So glad to have found you from GYB and look forward to reading more. Have a lovely day in the sunshine.
Veronica
Oh that will be so great Patty! I love visiting California. I love the plants too. We used to visit a friend in Hawaii and she would just walk out into her garden and come back with ripe avocados and lemons. How wonderful is that? I’m so glad we found each other too. I’m really enjoying getting to know you. Wasn’t the GYB a great hop? π
Lavender Cottage
The clump of snowdrops is beautiful, a true harbinger of spring here. Unfortunately we have so much snow this winter, they won’t be able to push through it.
Veronica
I know Judith, it’s been a long winter for you this year, hasn’t it? Hope the snow melts soon. π
debra@ frugal little bungalow
I have a friend blogger that lives in Washington state and she said that despite all the rain that they get, they rarely have mud as the soil is different there ( versus here PA / we are having a warmup, snow is melting, there will nothing but mud and mess…though first the ice layer under the snow has to melt π I wonder if your soil is like that in your location as well. I am assuming ours is mostly clay while hers in Wash. State would have a sandier base
Veronica
Debra, right now I’m just a bit higher than your friend, in Vancouver BC. But our home in Oxforshire UK does have a layer of clay in the soil and it very boggy. Here in Vancouver it’s a rock pile and mostly forest loam, acidic from the conifers and so just percolates right thru and runs down into the ocean. π
Sandi
Veronica, your snowdrops are so sweet! We’ll be seeing no pretty posies here for a while yet. I have no idea how many storms we’ve had this year; blizzards too. I’m so tired of snow!
Your choice of teacup this week is really pretty; love it! And I LOVE your birdies! Thank you for coming to tea and enjoy your week.
Blessings,
Sandi
Veronica
It’s such a weird weather year, isn’t it? Thank you so much Sandi and I hope you get snowdrops really soon. π
Sarav
Veronica, I love that you rescued the snowdrops! I grabbed some bromeliads that my neighbor had put out for green trash day (asked first, just to make sure) and now they’re loving their new home decorating the edge of my pond. I love that about gardening–sharing plants with each other π Your kitties look absolutely stunning on the new floor! Thank you so much for your wonderful email xoxo
Veronica
Oh that’s great Sara! Sharing plants is the way to go for sure. Thank you so much for being there for me. π
daryledelstein
oh i love the birds sketches i love the orange tulips .. i want so badly for it to warm up here and stay warmed up .. we’re due another arctic blast next week but for now its lovely, sunshine and in the 40s!
Veronica
Oh no Daryl π Hope the arctic blast goes away as fast as it comes. Last night C called me to the living room window and it was snowing! If I didn;t take the photo, I wouldn’t have believed it.