After weeks of dry heat the rain came, a doe and her baby kept me company, the zucchini pile is calling and this week has a Federal estate in South Carolina, an English cottage garden and Thyme in the Cotswolds
After weeks of dry hot weather, we finally have rain. Everything in the circle and the yard was desperately in need of a good soaking, and the Japanese maple and dwarf evergreens have been browning on the tips. This morning a mist hung over the trees and a light rain fell, and I did exactly what you do when something that beautiful finally happens after a long wait: I walked out in it. Splashed in a puddle. Held my face up. The birds were softly chirping and a lone doe and her baby were my company. Patches, like her sisters Pisa and Paris, is not remotely interested in going out in any amount of rain, so she slept in. Sensible dog.
If the rain keeps up all day my plans are cancelled and I will be staying inside with a book and a pile of zucchini that has been sitting on the counter waiting for me to do something about it. I feel like baking. Speaking of baking, if it is too hot in your corner of the world, Sheri and I shared no-bake sweet treats this week in Sweet Treats for Your Sweet Tooth. Go have a look.
Kim, Juliet and I have lots to share. Let’s meander.
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Home Tours
Three this week that I think you will love.
Cedar Grove Estate in South Carolina is a Federal-style historic estate, and Brian Branton takes us through some of the most extraordinary architectural details I have seen in a home tour: a barrel-vaulted hallway and original hand-painted French wallpaper that has survived in remarkable condition. Outside, the restoration of the extensive gardens is underway, with distinct garden rooms being cultivated to reflect the property’s long history.
The English cottage garden is filled with flowers and vegetables. A small piece of land at the back of a cottage that sat as unused scrubland for hundreds of years. The owners spent years digging out buckets of old metal, broken glass, pottery shards and Victorian finds before it became what it is now. Neighbors told them it may have been used for sheep once, which they confirmed when they found bones. What replaced all of that is a garden full of beauty and quiet intention.
Thyme in the Cotswolds is somewhere I have always wanted to visit, and this tour is the next best thing. Caryn Hibbert was working as an obstetrician and gynecologist when she and her family took on the challenge of restoring a historic Cotswolds estate. Today the manor is layered with William Morris-influenced textiles, antiques, original wood paneling and pieces from her own lifestyle brand Bertioli, alongside kitchen gardens, cutting gardens and wildflower meadows where conservation and biodiversity shape every decision. The estate has a Saxon arch dating to before 1066. Nearly a thousand years of history in one place.
At the Cinema
Virginia Woolf’s Day and Night tells the story of Katharine Hilbery, a passionate astronomer who does everything she can to avoid romantic love and marriage. Set against the backdrop of London in 1910, it is funny and contemporary in tone for all its Edwardian setting, with a sharp eye on the tensions between women balancing ambition with expectation.
The Outing is set in the 1970s. A lonely divorcee named Nellie meets widower Frank on a coach trip to the seaside and, swept up by the possibility of something new, she begins to let her guard down. As the day unfolds, long-buried secrets surface and Nellie realises the past may not be as far behind her as she thought. Quiet and heartbreaking. Note: If you have trouble watching the film click the link.
A Small Thought for the Weekend
The Only Thing That Matters at the End is a short film featuring Michael Canfield, filmed in Tulbagh, South Africa. We do not always get to choose what happens to us, but we do have some say in what happens next, and in how much power we allow those moments to hold over us. Acceptance, he says, is not pretending everything is fine. It is taking a breath, letting go of the fight with what already is, and choosing how to respond from here. I have watched it twice. Pour yourself a coffee, this is worth every minute of your Saturday morning.
Before you go, tell me: did you get rain this week? And has anyone else stood outside in a light drizzle just to feel it? I cannot be the only one. Leave a note in the comments.
Don’t forget to visit Kim at Northern California Style and Juliet at Make Mine a Spritzer. We always have lots to share.
If you enjoyed this post, I would love it if you shared it. You can find me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.. I would love to have you along.
Have a wonderful weekend, friends.
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Weekend Meanderings No. 119 | A Doe in the Yard, Three Beautiful Homes and a Stranger Worth Knowing
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