From a Tuscan Hillside: Springtime in Chianti

Friday, April 15, 2016

Springtime in Chianti

A Glorious April

Sparkling, sun-filled with light breezes and clear skies. This April we have been blessed with fine weather, early and abundant flowering and mild to warm weather.
More rain would not have been amiss (whatever happened to April showers?) but it seems churlish to complain.

We must just savour the bounty.
And now the roses are in bud...

2 comments:

ArgentumApril 18, 2016 at 5:10 AM
What a beautiful and bountiful springtime flowering. A lovely collection of primavera bloomings
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PubliusMay 12, 2016 at 4:12 PM
"Springtime in Chianti";what a very beautifully presented display of Nature's Springtime floral beauty."The smiling Spring comes in rejoicing
And surly Winter grimly flies",
as Rabbie Burns so aptly put it.

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Situated on a hillside, Le Ripe in Chianti has an orchard with heritage fruit trees, an organic vegetable garden, a row of 18 olives, wild figs, wild grapes, dozens of lavender bushes, a medieval hortus conclusus,a shrubbery, English roses and drifts of bulbs, all requiring labour and love but giving much pleasure in return.

The farm buildings, once home, stable, sty and byre, now renovated, host our friends and family. The cottage, a former barn, and two apartments in the main building, once stable and stall, are rented to guests who come by the week or longer. For more information on staying at Le Ripe, see our rental website.

A MesSy FaMily having MaSses of FUn

These are the navenchas (adventures) of the Savage family: Sadie Savage, her Sensitive New Age Grandma Angie, her parental units Delia and Phil and her snotty-nosed, squabbling twin brothers Peas and Mash, who get into some a-m-a-zing scrapes, plus last but not least: Toddy the bounding Irish wolfhound and Splendour the splendid cat.
From chocolate cake disasters to Komodo dragons and liquorice allsorts, pogo sticks to paragliding cats, a night at the opera to ice-cream bashing, the Savages are good value for money: there is chaos and confusion for everyone in SaVAgE DAyS.

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The diary of an Australian Milkmaid, 1882-1889

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Em is passionate but trapped in a provincial world with little stimulus and less scope for advancement. Her diary recounts her family’s story, her daily life but also her dilemmas and dreams and eventually her ‘getting of wisdom’.

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Lily of Lonestorm is another whimsical Tall Tale for readers from age six. Lily's courageous search for her parents unfolds on her island in the Windy Western Ocean and on board the miraculous Seraphina, a ship with Special Potentiality. In the company of a most unusual band of pirates, a surly goat, some bad-tempered fowl and her best friend, rascally Rags, Lily braves Adventures on the high seas and explores uncharted territories, never losing Hope, Wonder and her love of Home.

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In addition, the novel contains a literary treasure hunt: over 160 quotations from Shakespeare's works have been put in the mouths of its characters. The reader is invited to spot the quotations and identify their sources which are to be found at the end of the book.