The Hittys Out Amongst the Spring Blooms!
Hitty Holly, thrilled to be amongst the Corgyncombe snowdrops!
Hitty Holly was carved by Judy Brown and made of Holly wood. Her frock and pinafore were made by Gail Wilson.
"The early flowers have a special beauty - I always shake with
excitement when I find the first clump of snowdrops, fragile,
pearl-pure, bending their heads lightly toward the icy dark ground." -
Gladys Taber in "Stillmeadow Daybook"
April 12th was Susan Branch's birthday. Susan Branch is the author and illustrator of the lovely book "A Fine Romance, Falling in Love with
the England Countryside".
April 12th was also Gladys Taber's birthday. She was famous for writing
about her old house in the country that she called Stillmeadow. Her old
house reminds me of our old house in structure and also how it is
pleasantly set in the landscape. Gladys wrote about the seasons, birds,
flowers, cooking, her animals, and life in the country. I love seeing
Gladys Taber's house in Southbury, Connecticut.
Gladys Taber's Stillmeadow
Corgyncombe Cottage
My ancestors the Stanclift family lived in the 1700s very close to where
Gladys Taber lived in Connecticut. Gravestone carving was a tradition
in the Stanclift family through the generations, the first of our
Stanclifts to come to New England was a stone carver believed to have
come from Yorkshire, England.
Last weekend, when the weather was nice, Ima took a walk along Corgi
Creek at Corgyncombe to look for pussy willows. Ima smiles as she
touches the soft pussy willow. She will have to tell Nanny Nettie-Kin
where to find them, as Nanny Nettie-Kin wants to pick a bouquet.
"Spring has a special effect on us in the valley. The whole beautiful
world invites us out, and we have an urge to wander. The gentle,
rolling hills; the clear, winding brooks; the bright, rushing streams:
all are filled with the rhythm of life, and we move with it too." -
Gladys Taber in "Stillmeadow Calender"
Alas, after a few warm days the weather again turned drastically cold with wind, snow and ice.
Here is the same pussy willow bush in the April snow and cold.
Icy cold Corgi Creek in April!
We wish our Dear Readers a Joyful Resurrection Sunday!
In "First Graces"
illustrated by Tasha Tudor:
On Easter
Joyfully, this Easter day,
I kneel, a little child, to pray;
Jesus, who hath conquered death,
Teach me, with my every breath,
To praise and worship thee.
- Sharon Banigan
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