Woolpit, Suffolk

The January blahs. I haven't been inspired to post anything blogwise for a few days. The weather is cold, the sky is grey, and there is a sprinkling of snow on the ground. Only a sprinkling, thank heavens, we missed the big snow that hit Washington, and New York, and the East coast.

So my winter mind is going back to last summer's European trip. Instead of heading back to Canada with the choral group at the end of the concert tour, my friend and I flew to England to stay with my cousin for a week. And the sun was shining. Some of that summer sunshine is preserved in these photos.

Valerian valeriana officinalis has been known as a medicinal herb since the time of ancient Greece and Rome. It has been used as a remedy for insomnia, cough, convulsions, plague, and those that are "bruised with falls".

Rosa canina, commonly known as the dog-rose. The fruit, known as rose hips, are full of Vitamin C and are used to make rose hip syrup,

 

 Red corn poppies. Papaver rhoeas. They are everywhere in the fields in June. Usually referred to by the farmers as a weed, but I love them. They mean England to me.

My cousin's house... part of it dating from the 1700s, then an addition in the 1800s, and another addition in the 1900s.

Purple Clematis and red climbing roses decorating the old wash house wall.... love the green mossy look to the gate.

A well cared for shrubbery in the village. Monty Python would be proud!
(If you don't get the reference, Google Monty Python + Shrubbery)

The village square viewed from  the window of the teashop where we stopped for morning coffee and "elevenses".