The voice of the turtledove

As I had a free afternoon today, I'd agreed to meet a friend for lunch. I stood around the school car park waiting for her to turn up, and eventually rang, to find that she couldn't make it after all. So I went back to nursery to carry on a conversation with my manager, then called CleanSteve to see if he fancied a trip up the valley to see the snowdrops at the Rococo Garden in Painswick. He was only too happy to leave the dishwasher installation process (diabolical diagrams and no words, like IKEA furniture assembly instructions) and pack his lenses.

The snowdrops are famed for their profusion and unusual varieties, so the gardens were bustling with visitors. The sun chose to shine on our heads, and illuminate the winter garden. The head gardener was leading a guided walk and talk, but we decided to do our own thing, which mainly involved lying down trying to get a good angle on a snowdrop or aconite! I did not succeed in that mission, but was once again entranced by the stained-glass windows in the Red House. I blipped another of these last October. https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/4829639
The quotations etched on the windows are in Latin, from the Song of Solomon. The quality of light pouring through the orange and yellow-stained windows was striking today, and the quotation apt for this season:
"Flowers appear on the earth, ,and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land".

We didn't stay long, because Steve wasn't up to much walking, and I was cold. But we have membership of the Historic Houses Association, so it's one of the places we can visit time and again. We shall return!