starting the digging~carefully around the daffodils
making space for the lavender 
poor swampy~after a huge round trip yesterday to the hospital and then dentist he was sent off with antibiotics for an infection and told he will need surgery to remove the offending teeth~the infection is under a crown and obviously needs to be better before anything else is done.
the good news is our dentist has opened a new surgery in poole, which will cut our journey time considerably, so we have registered already and fingers crossed this will mean he can have his surgery at poole hospital.
spring has sprung here in my corner of the new forest and in the hanging baskets either side of my front door the hearts ease are flowering and along the flower bds that were there when we moved in, what looks like a carpet of assorted daffodils~which i think are called jonquils in america, a name i much prefer~are due to flower within the next week.
despite it being alittle chilly all of the windows are open and the birds are singing like mad~all kinds of bird song is drifting through the window where i am sat. i have had a week of not feeling too good at all and so the sunshine and blue sky today is really lifting me.
we have our yearly h van rally and the 2cv national coming up which we both love attending. as our vans are a rarity, to have about 25 in one place together for any length of time is great fun~along with assorted 2cv's, 2cv vans and dyans~and it is always a great weekend, generally with a very french flavour to it and its so great to meet up with friends old and new who share the obsession that is the h~van!
this year is the first year for about three years we will be returning to our favourite 'campsite' at worth matravers~i say campsite, its only open for about 6 weeks a year and is a single hilly field, perched high above swanage bay looking across to the western edge of the isle of wight and the needles
we found the site by accident one hot summer when we wanted to escape from the heat and crowds of bournemouth, where we were living at the time. a drive through the sandbanks~famous for its concentration of millionaires houses and a short ride on the swanage chain ferry
would deliver us to the isle of purbeck and a short drive through shell bay, studland and swanage would bring us to worth matravers and a tiny farm with a tiny sign inviting us to camp.
we feel in love instantly~you drive down a narrow, rutted lane, manouver through a gate and find yourself in what could be the hilliest, bumpiest, most un-campsite looking campsite ever~with a small toilet and shower building tucked down by the farmhouse and a few water stands~find a fairly level place to park up, making sure that the best view on waking in the morning would be of the view down to swanage bay and across the sea. and so peaceful~far enough away from the little used minor road that led towards corfe and its famous castle a few miles away~the only noise is that of the sheep in the next field, probably wondering why they have been tufed out of their field~for that is what the site is for the rest of the year~a sheep field!
in the morning a small van comes round, honking its old fashioned car horn to announce its arrival, bringing supplies of bread, croissants, bacon and newspapers for those not wanting to leave the peace of the site, but who are running low on supplies.
we have spent many, many nights here and one time ventured to dancing ledge to swim~where many years ago a sea water pool was hewn from the rock
because getting there involves a walk of several miles and then some minor rock climbling to get down its quite deserted and swimming in the pool is an experience indeed.
so now you know why the thought of this years trip~or i should say trips~ are making me smile!
pippin on the back on the AA van just before new year~swmapy had to take out the engine and gearbox out for major repairs~we thought we wouldnt need to call out the AA again...
well now, how many days since my last post? a good few and the above books the reason
so last week, with swampys help, i made a scale plan of its footprint and i am now busy going through my gardening books and making plans.
bret was saying in his new post how he feels spring is at the doorstep~well yes i can feel it here in my corner of the new forest. the other day i stood on my doorstep and had a good sniff of the air, the freezing weather of the week before had passed, and i could almost smell the spring coming. the smell in the air was so different than i had been detecting, it really felt like the tide of the land had turned and spring really is at our heels.
so i thought it was high time to start making plans~looking out of the windows that face our back garden the view is awful and that is promting enough!
these photos were taken last august, the week we moved in~we have cut back the ivy and mown what grass there was and swampy has now decided he is going to dig the whole lot over as the bald patches are still bald.
* land, sea & sky*
i am expecting some of my newer readers to wonder why on earth a pagan would choose to go to an old christian church at imbolc?
