Pocketfuls of Happiness

The first half of May (my favourite month) saw me confined to a dark room trying not to move my head, as a vestibular migraine completely incapacitated me for 2 weeks (a whole new realm of hell, let me tell you). At some point during this period, I listened to Richard E Grant talking about his late wife Joan, and how – in the later stages of her illness – she had challenged him, after her death, to find a pocketful of happiness every day.  

The phrase stayed with me for the remainder of May, as I gradually got back to normal activities and to taking photos again. These are my pocketfuls of happiness from the past few weeks: 

Discovering that we had tawny owls nesting for the first time in a box in our garden. 

And then seeing their chicks venturing out into the big wild world. 

The froth of cow parsley at the end of the garden, where I spent a couple of hours one afternoon sitting quietly and watching insects buzz and listening to birds sing. 

This hispi cabbage that I grew! 

The first homegrown broad beans of the year (and it’s shaping up to be a great year for them) which we ate blanched with some asparagus tips and a lemon-sharp and herb-heavy dressing. 

These are Benton irises, which were decimated by slugs last year (their first in my garden.) This year they successfully flowered and were just joyful. 

Homegrown roses in the kitchen. 

This landscape. 

The floral exuberance of the Pembrokeshire coast path at this time of year. 

Here’s to more pocketfuls of happiness! 

Helen