"The earth laughs in flowers.." Ralph Waldo Emerson
After an unusually long winter, we have been blessed with a longer spring than usual. Our usual Italian leap into the heat of summer has taken a moment - like us - to stop and smell the flowers, to drink in the cool of morning and evening, and watch the quiet unfurling of leaf and flower. Nurturing the gentle awakenings of bees drawn to the scent and nectar of wild flowers I am thrilled by the welcome prospect of their honey-making. May our busy buzzing friends find the safe
May devotions
May is the month of dedication to Mary in the Catholic tradition, and I find myself glancing upwards to admire some of the 1200 tabernacles to be found decorating the walls and buildings lining the cobbled streets of Florence. Sometimes primitive, sometimes exquisitely beautiful, all are are a testament to the once fervent religious nature and atmosphere of the town. They are a constant reminder that although the origins of the city are pre-Christian, Florence was dedicated t
