Life is what happens while you are busy fortifying the circle, Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds, two Australians worth knowing and a new film from Cedric Klapisch
You know the old saying. Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
Note: The photo above is not my circle, it is inspiration.
I had fortified the new circle against the deer. Motion sensors, lights, and every offensive scent product available for purchase. I felt reasonably confident. And then I woke up to find they had visited the back patio instead. They had lingered around the fountain first, apparently, and played with my vintage glass fishing floats by knocking them off into the water. Then they sauntered up to the patio and ate my prize hydrangea. This is the hydrangea I have been nursing back to health since they ate it to nubs four years ago, it’s right next to the door!. Then they gave the ferns a haircut. The geraniums were dessert.
If I did not laugh I would have cried. I keep thinking about what a farmer must feel like when wild pigs eat four acres overnight. Gardening teaches patience. It teaches humility. And apparently in my case it has not yet finished teaching, because I am either too stubborn to learn the lessons or the deer keep finding new ones for me.
I will be sad if I wake one morning to find my new circle reduced to little scrubby stumps. Let us not think about that. Kim, Juliet and I have lots to share this week. Let’s meander.
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Wanderlust
This week I found Sudeley Castle in the Cotswolds and I have watched it twice already. It is a slow wander through ten spectacular gardens set against the backdrop of a medieval castle and the rolling Cotswold Hills, filmed with natural sound only, no music, so all you hear is birdsong and a gentle breeze. The gardens date to the 15th century and were restored in the Victorian era by Emma Dent, who created the magnificent double-planted yew hedges that frame the Queen’s Garden. More recently distinguished gardeners have worked alongside Elizabeth, Lady Ashcombe to maintain and reimagine them through the changing seasons. It is peaceful and beautiful and exactly the kind of video that makes you feel the world is still full of extraordinary places. If you love English gardens and the Cotswolds, this one is for you.
House Tour
Photographer Douglas Friedman’s Long Island home, redesigned with interior designer Steven Gambrel, is one of those homes you want to move into immediately. A dramatic dark kitchen, collectible contemporary art, cozy lime-washed bedrooms. Every room blends warmth, luxury and personality in a way that feels personal rather than styled. And outside, friend, Martha Stewart designed the gardens, filled with roses, hydrangeas and boxwoods. Architectural Digest gave it the full tour and it deserves every minute.
Two Women Worth Knowing
When Instagram trolls attacked actress and director Rachel Ward for letting herself go, it became a cultural moment. Rachel, who was once voted one of the most beautiful women in the world, laughed it off and used the attention to talk about what actually matters to her: regenerative farming on the family’s cattle station in northern New South Wales. She has found purpose, connection and a deep sense of belonging in the land she has chosen. I found her inspiring and I think you will too.
And Heli Murray, 55, whose motto is feel the fear and do it anyway. A birth doula, endurance athlete, lifeguard, therapist and apnea instructor, she has navigated motherhood, divorce, menopause and grandmotherhood with the ocean as her sanctuary throughout. She describes herself as a middle-aged beach bum with two Masters degrees.
At the Cinema
Colours of Time, the new film from Cedric Klapisch, is at the top of my list. Four cousins inherit an abandoned house in rural Normandy and discover a mysterious family history connected to their ancestor Adele, who in 1895 left her hometown to find her mother in Paris. She arrives in a city on the cusp of everything: the rise of photography, the birth of Impressionist painting, the beginning of the modern world. The two timelines of 1895 and 2024 weave together until they collide, leaving everyone changed. Coming soon.
Before you go, tell me: have the deer found your garden yet this year? What is their favorite thing to eat? Flowers? Veggies? And what are your plans for the weekend?
Don’t forget to visit Juliet at Make Mine a Spritzer and Kim at Northern California Style — we always have lots to share.
If you enjoyed this post, I would love it if you shared it. You can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterestand X — I would love to have you along.
Have a wonderful weekend, friends. Be safe.
You might also enjoy:
Weekend Meanderings No. 111 | Memorial Day, a Rotted Tree and a Circle Reborn
Savoring Summer After 50 (Even When Summer Is Not Your Favorite Season)
On My Radar
Gardening sure is hard work when deer are in the picture. Living in an apartment now, but years ago had trouble with deer and a bear! Used – believe it or not – coyote urine ( yes, you can get it at the garden shops) and that worked, but with coyotes now in suburbia it may attract them. No way to win! Our downstairs neighbors have several bird feeders…and a raccoon that comes each night. This morning we saw there feeder off of the pole and in the landscaped area behind our homes. You just can’t win!
Since moving to Florida and a pair of bad knees, my gardening days are over. I lived in a town so deer were not a problem when I was up north so I had a glorious garden. As I am originally from Pennsylvania, our state flower “the mountain laurel” is allegedly one of the few plants deer don’t eat. Good luck! By the way, I’ve seen the movie “Colours of Time” on a flight from Singapore in January. It’s charming. Have you seen “The Taste of Things” with Juliette Binoche.? Highly recommend it.
I actually had good luck with bird netting. I stretched it over those green garden stakes the length of the bed, ground to top with a bit over so they couldn’t reach. I also stretched it across where they crossed so it disturbed them. I zip tied it to the stakes and could move them around when I needed. You could just lay it over and they would only get the smaller pieces. I couldn’t really see it from my windows. Jd
Have you searched “natural ways to repel deer”? You probably have. We used to put a salt lick near the hay field. The deer came closer and closer to our house. One day a friend mentioned that maybe they were too close as we have sets of sliding doors that face the field. That was the end of deer watching.
Hello Elizabeth,
Thank you for a lovely post. I will so enjoy watching those videos you choose such marvelous things.Happy weekend!