Manannan's Cloak again - -

Manannan Mac Lir spread his cloak thick over the island last night with a covering of thick fog! Doug and I went out last night to Erin Arts Centre to a PTA event. They were having a Cheese & Wine Evening with a showing of the film Stormbreaker, a lot of which had been filmed on the island and lots actually in Port Erin on our beach!! After the glory that had been ours in the day, it was quite a shock to step outside our door to find thick mist surrounding us. As we moved out of the lamplight at the top of our steps it became clear that this was really thick fog! We couldn’t see across the road! And it is always so silent – what is it about mist and fog that muffles sound? I did notice though that the sound of the foghorn was missing. Doug says it is because all boats are now fitted with GPS that it isn’t needed any longer so has ceased to be used (he’s probably right as he has lots of dealings with the
skippers in his work) – anyway I missed it – being a real traditionalist kind of girl I think it should still blow its warning!! It was actually quite spooky walking into the village, hearing the sea on the shore and being unable to see it! It is the first time since we moved here that I have been unable to see the lights across the harbour as I walked to the village! And it was so COLD.


Manannan’s Cloak is still wrapped around us this morning and the bare branches of the fuschia bushes are shimmering with droplets of water hanging from them like soft silver beads. And a cobweb necklace of the same soft silver beads, hanging from a rusty lantern - such a lovely combination of colours - another MUST scrap photo!! So glad that I spent yesterday in the garden - I tidied the pots and cleared the border, moved all the dead leaves that get blown down our steps and as a reward for all my hard work – I had a visit today from Jenny Wren! So tiny she is and so busy, she has bustled all over the cleared border this morning from one end to the other – catching garden pests I hope – and has given us a lot of pleasure watching her. I love having the little birds in the garden and we do have bird feeders hanging in our tree to encourage them, and am fortunate to have blue tits, coal tits, great tits, chaffinches, green finches, sparrows, a robin and of course the wren visiting us throughout the year. Living so near the Glen means we are very close to hundreds of nesting places, so the whirr & flutter of little wings is one of the sounds of my home – the Manx Glens are steep wooded valleys dropping down to the sea, usually with a stream tumbling down and are havens for wild life – very beautiful and each one unique in its character.Sometimes I feel as if my garden is just a small clearing within the glen, and am sure that the little birds feel that way as so many visit us. The small hamlet that makes up my bit of the village consists of just 4 homes, and we are the only inhabited building at the moment, making the area a real sanctuary for wildlife.

My winter garden has more colours in it than I thought and I love the shape and form plants create when all you can see are their skeletons.

I have blossoms beginning to appear - my primulas are showing some colour, my snowdrops of course, and the forsythia, so there is a feeling of new life everywhere. My big girl is visiting today as well, so what more can I ask for!!I even think the sun is trying to break through.