How does one describe an ordinary day filled with the little stuff of life in a way that will both entertain and invigorate. As you know my promises are that every Kitchens Garden blog will be about Yesterday, it will be the unvarnished truth (no shining up) and it will be on my own little farm (unless we are travelling).
These have been the Rules since I began this blog over four years ago. These exact same rules. They are not negotiable.
And often nothing much out of the ordinary happens on a farm. Some animals get fatter. Some must stay slim. Some are gestating (hopefully) and some are just lying about thinking about nothing very much at all. These ordinary days are so filled with loveliness.
I was able to garden my way along the border of a flower garden today. This is bliss for me. I love to grow beautiful deep beds of flowers and bushes and trees, moving back up the tiers, planting and pruning for a summers worth of colour. I love the beauty of my flower beds as much as the practicality of the vegetable gardens.
So now that we are sliding into Autumn and Winter, the waiting seasons, you will experience with me the Waiting. The Quiet. The Sameness of every day life on a little wanna-be Sustainable and wanna-be Self Sufficient farm. The pure gentle day of taking dead wood out of trees and trimming back hydrangeas and staking out the spots for the new daffodils. Feeding the pigs, collecting eggs and leading the cow in for milking. Nothing much but Everything.
The little stuff of life. It is the most important. I say: have fun dealing with the little stuff. Let the big stuff be for a while. “Look after the Pennies and the Pounds will look after you. ” Told to me by an old man on Holloway Road in London – after I dropped my change on the floor and he helped me pick it up by pushing the pennies forward with his walking stick. I think this saying works well with Life as well as Finances. (Of course this does not include the pounds I have put on eating Hugo’s crepes!)
I hope you have a lovely day,
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
55 responses to “The Little Stuff”
I’ll have to go out now and look for that man on Holloway Road 😉
‘Morning Celi, this sunset picture is worth a million!! Deserves a calendar or book cover!! Or make some of your fabulous shots into prints and sell them and that will more than profit the farmy!!! Sad to to the last of the summer help to leave but they left us with some good memories! Glad Hugo is still your right hand man!!
Naughty Hugo … he said his crepes aren’t fattening 🙂 Laura
Like the animals you need the little extra filling to wear as a winter warmer! I was going to mention the ‘save the pennies’ quote, it can apply to all areas of our lives. I adore the sunset through the trees, though my body at times begins to shiver inwardly at the thought of the colourless short days ahead, at least this year my my eyes work well and needlework can fill the time.
Beautiful peppers. A day without a pig in the kitchen is a good thing. Have another crepe and celebrate! Happy Friday.
I’m with you Kim! Kick up your heels Celi, have another crepe and continue to celebrate life!!! 🙂
Life is full of lovely little things. That final picture is truly magical.
Can you give me any hints about pruning hydrangeas? There is one outside my kitchen wndow and we soon won’t be able to see out for the overgrowth. Jock refuses to cut it back until the Spring, but it’s winter when you need every blink of light available. My ex once cut several hydrangea bushes to the ground, never to be seen again. So what is thehappy medium?
You can chop them back at any time of year, and they’ll come back. I’d recommend that you prune in the late autumn, and cut back to the first bud joint on each branch, they need that to sprout back from. It’s never failed to work for me when I lived in temperate zones. Can’t grow them well here, they like a bit of winter chill.
Thank you, Kate. He who must be obeyed shall be “instructed”
The happy medium is the one who seemingly has an 800 number to the next world. Love, Gayle in sunny Sacramento, California
It isgood to know that you can still recall what you did yesterday..I have great difficulty and need to relate to a certain incident, otherwise all days are the same, one just follows the other. Yesterday wetook Charliedog to the vets and he had 4 teeth out, now he is gummy….. It is good that you have a slow time as you always seem to berushing hither and tither so having time to stop and fiddle in your garden is as it should be…love to all
Oef! If you call that sunset one of “the little stuff of life”, then I would say you are sadly mistaken. That is a glorious view, shot, timing — whatever! Some days are more eventful than others, that’s true, but the reason you have such a loyal Fellowship is because you Do both entertain and invigorate us regardless of the happenings. And, for that, I am very grateful. Thank you! You, too, have a lovely day, quiet or otherwise. ~ Mame 🙂
Thank you for the beauty of the Little Things: the gleam of those chillies and red peppers, the gloss on the turkey feathers, the marvellous texture of Poppy’s hairy coat, and finally, that outstanding sunset. As my mother used to say: “De lieve Heer is in het detail”…
Who knew that Hugo Le Lecteur d’étiquettes would be the one to make Celi fat!
The jalapenos look so sweet! (and hot) I love the little things too!! Love the pictures!!
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love this post, for the words and the images. Beautiful and introspective and so true.
Oh my friend. Your pictures and thoughts bring me so much happiness here at the Hotel Thompson. I live through you on your farm with your piggies and other anipals. Have a great day and weekend! XOXO – Bacon
This is a lovely post… prose and photos both. I think my real appreciation of the little things started in my late 40’s. I believe it is that comparison to youth and the years of running a muck and wearing ourselves out on possibly what society thinks is so darned important to be a success in this world, that we realize true success is in the understanding of simplicity and discovering the little things are really the big things that bring us home to who we are. I love being where I am in life now. And who would think those little crepes could be such a BIG deal? Ha ha!!
Those are my very favourite days too. A day that involves housework, donkey time, and meals … is a diamond day.
So much love and beauty.