... in a beautful peagreen boat

I
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,'
O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

II
Pussy said to the Owl,
'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?
'They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.

III
'Dear pig, are you
willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?'
Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

Today was such a beautiful day that we took ourselves down to Mount Stewart early for the jazz in the gardens - took a very pleasant picnic and chilled out. As well as we were able to chill out on such a hot afternoon.

Jackie Flavelle at Mount Stewart

As mentioned previously, a short video of Jackie Flavelle and his group playing at Mount Stewart on Sunday 27th April 2008.

The Common (or not so common) Primrose

Yesterday was the start of the jazz season at Mountstewart - and what fabulous weather we had for it, the sun shone all day. Dr Em and myself were sitting enjoying the music and the sun until after 6.00 last night. Hope the rest of the season will be just as good. (fingers crossed).

On the way in to the gardens I spotted this bunch of primroses (primevères) and stopped to take a pic - because it has been years since I saw a bunch. I can remember my father taking my sister and myself for a walk in nearby Glencairn on a spring sunday to pick some primroses and bluebells. Everybody did it - and that's why the common primrose is not so common any longer.

Of course once I got into the gardens I discovered more primroses round the base of this tree -

so they are not so uncommon in MountStewart. In the background you can see everybody enjoying the music of Jackie Flavelle and his group. (More of which, later)

According to wikipedia : Primula vulgaris (syn. P. acaulis (L.) Hill) is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe (from the Faroe Islands and Norway south to Portugal, and east to Germany, Ukraine, the Crimea, and the Balkans), northwest Africa (Algeria), and southwest Asia (Turkey east to Iran). The common name is Primrose, or occasionally Common Primrose or English Primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species also called primroses.

It flowers in early spring, one of the earliest spring flowers in much of Europe, and in appropriate conditions, can cover the ground in open woods.

In more populated areas it has sometimes suffered from over-collection and theft so that few natural displays of primroses in abundance can now be found. To prevent excessive damage to the species, picking of primroses or the removal of primrose plants from the wild is illegal in many countries, e.g. the UK (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Section 13, part 1b).

Oh, and I see that adada has a similar post today - another wee bit of flower power. I don't know if she realises that dandelions are also known as pee (or wet) the beds here and in France. As she says 'simple things always make me smile' (c:

Strangford Lough

I know this one is a bit late - but better late than never. On sunday we made another trip to Mount Stewart for the autumn fair and on the way couldn't help but notice the large numbers of (what I at first thought were) ducks swimming in the lough but, on investigating further, found them to be Brent Geese. It seems that three quarters of the world population of Brent Geese winter in the lough. According to the BBC 'Up to 15,000 pale-bellied brent-geese make the 3,000 kilometre journey from Polar Bear Pass in north-east Canada each autumn to feed on the lough's succulent eel-grass' but I have heard it reported that they are expecting 29,000 to arrive this winter. More here about Brent Geese.