A Happy Miscellany

Time for Quiet and Time to Play

 

The first blooms on the Cecil Brunner rose bush made their appearance this weekend

I begin most of my mornings with a big cup of creamy French roast coffee, while I'm curled up on the sofa that sits in a room with two big windows that look out onto the garden and into the park across the street.  I sit there quietly, most mornings, with just Miss Luna to keep me company.  I've always loved quiet in the mornings, and I used to get up very early when my son was small, just so I could have some time to myself to think my own thoughts, listen to and watch the birds explore the garden, and just be for a bit before the day became about all the things that most days do.  I suppose in a way, this start to the day is my version of meditation.  It brings me more peace than I can put words to, and without it, I'm not quite as graceful within my life as I like to be.   Lately, the mornings have been quite lovely, seen through the filter of the softly diffused light that often seems to accompany warmer spring days, and the garden has been full of birds singing their sweet songs.  Out one window I see the pink flowers of a clematis blooming and the lilac colored rhododendron, and out the other I am greeted with a view of 100 year old elm and maple trees, the white hawthorne in bloom and yellow roses blossoming on the front arbor.  I see lavender accompanied by honeysuckle and irises, grandma's poppies and a carpet of white candy tuft....and overhead is a bright blue sky.   I am quite fortunate I know, to be able to start my days in such a way.

I haven't just been daydreaming or working in my garden these days though.  I've been busy trying to make a few things too.  ATC's for my blog friend Helen, are on my worktable.  I've just set aside my Lost and Found project for Liisa again, and I've been working on my book for the collaboration that my friend Beth and I are working on for spring.  I'm happy with the way all the projects are turning out, but I have to admit that I've struggled with all three.  The smallness of the ATC's has been really hard for me, as I tend to be a detail sort of a person.  The largeness of the project for Liisa too, because I've been timid about working really large, and the book, because I have too many ideas for it, and feel like I've been taking too much time finishing it, and getting it sent off to Beth, who is very good at completing projects quickly.  At least compared to me.  She has been very patient though, so I thought maybe I'd start giving her a glimpse of some of the pages, so she can start thinking about what she wants to do. 

Starting with this one.  It is a page that sits towards the middle of the book, and I really like it.  Mostly, because it is simpler, and the background is an interesting and fun to read old article on growing a garden from seeds and "slips" from a neighbor friend.

The basket page sits next to this one.  I like the way the two pages look together, and I like them because they aren't complicated.  They look like something a lady may have created at her kitchen table.  On a rainy day, after her chores were done.  The rain is keeping her from her garden, but she's still thinking about it.  The laundry''s all folded.  There's vegetable soup simmering on the stove top, and bread baking in the oven.  She has a bit of time to herself to daydream, to cut and to paste.  A bit like children do.  We all need to make time for quiet and to play.  I am fortunate I know, to have time for a bit of both.

....'til next time in Merryville.

Another Walk in the Garden

 

We have lots of lavender blooming out by the front walk

It sure has been a pretty day today.  The warm sunny days we've enjoyed the last few days have caused many more flowers to make their spring debut and a walk around the garden is a real treat, and the smells that join us along the way are truly lovely.  We still have lilacs, and the hawthorne smells so pretty right now.  I love the scent of lavender, so I've planted a lot of it under the roses by the front walk, so others can enjoy it too.

 

Let's go this way!

The first poppy of the season made its appearance today.  I always feel sentimental when I see them.  They came out of my husband's grandmother's garden.  Our beloved Grandma Elsie.  She loved to garden and did so for most of her very long life, living to be over 100 years old.  She was a delightful, and very kind person, and I think of her every time I look at these flowers.  She would love to know that they are still blooming every spring, I think.

 

I love rhodies, don't you?

The rhododendron in the front garden is blooming too.  It's one of the old fashioned simpler ones in the more traditional lilac color.  Every NW garden should have at least one rhody in it, I think.  In some of our older neighborhoods you will see rhododendrons as tall as some of the great big old victorian houses.  Mostly in this color, or in a bright pink.  They sure are a sight to be seen every May.

 

A garden just wouldn't be the same without the birds to keep us company

We mustn't forget to look up on our walk.  Look there, at the neighbor's birdhouse.  It sits just over the front fence, and if you listen closely, you will hear baby birds chirping away in there.  Look!  It looks like it is feeding time!

 

What a bit of serendipity!

I love the way this rose looks against the colors of the trees.  It is especially lovely in the early evening light, don't you think?

 

Hops sure do grow fast!

I love the contrast that this pretty golden hops vine brings to the garden.  It just lights up the whole garden I think.  I have to keep an eye on it though, or it'll try to take over the entire garden.

Well, that's all the time I have for the garden today.  I hope you enjoyed our walk, and are enjoying a lovely weekend too.

Take care....'til next time in Merryville!

"What if?"

 

The pink dogwood, French lilacs, and the hawthorne trees are blooming in the front garden

Good day to you all, dear friends and readers.  I hope that you've all been enjoying this May day wherever you are, and no matter the weather.  We've had a bit of what has felt like early summer, spring, and a little bit of winter too, this week.  A couple of evenings ago we had very dramatic thunder and lightning, accompanied by black clouds, rain and some wind, but today it is sunny and very springlike.  My garden is a bit confused, I think.  Some things are blooming early, and some things are late, making everyday's walk around the garden a surprise. 

 

The goldfinches have returned!  Little flashes of yellow are everywhere these days, but I've yet to catch one this year, with my camera.  They move pretty fast, and rarely are still for very long.  Unlike this sweet little creature that I showed you a couple of years ago.  Remember him?  He ran into one of the front windows, and had to rest for a bit in the wicker chair on the front porch, 'til he recovered.

Goldfinches aren't the only bits of gold in our garden these days.  We have Golden Spirea too.

 

Soon the front arbor will welcome us home with the scent of Golden Showers roses.

  

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day!

 

Bits of my garden are a bit woodland like.  I love ferns, moss and the many shades of green to be seen.  One of my gardening hopes this year, is to plant more ferns.  I like for my garden to transport me away to a more country like feeling, and so I tend to keep it just a bit overgrown,  with more than just brightly colored flowers to keep me company.

 

Being blue can be ok, as long as you're open about it, and continue to grow.

This fine fellow belongs to my son.  He fell in love with him when he was a little boy, and asked for him for his birthday.  One day, he'll go to live in my son's garden, but until then, he gathers patina along with his carrots and sits beneath the holly and rhododendrons here at our home.  I think he is a fine example of thinking outside the usual gifts for children, and will be something that my son will appreciate over a lifetime.  Every now and then, I move him to the front steps.  For special occasions, and then, I tie a bow around his neck, or maybe give him a couple of balloons to hold.  He puts a smile on everyone's face!

Speaking of special occasions, my son turned 22 a few days ago. He'll be home this weekend to celebrate.  He's been very busy lately, with midterms and large papers due at school, and didn't have much of a traditional celebration on the actual day.  Just a quick dinner out, with friends.  He did have a special day though.  He may have saved a man's life.  On his way to school.  He saw a car oddly parked in the street, and noticed that the driver didn't look "quite right".  My son asked another man at the bus stop how long the car had been stopped there like that, and was told about five minutes or so.  People drove around the car, and walked on by, but my son felt that he should check to make sure that the man was ok, or volunteer to park his car for him, so he walked over to the car.  Now, this is where the mom inside of me both cringes, and feels pride and love for the man that my son has become.  I'm grateful that he followed his heart, and checked on the man.  Grateful that he didn't think that the man could be harmful, or that it was someone else's responsibility to check, or to help, but I couldn't help but wonder, "what if".  Well, to make a long story short, the man was in diabetic shock, and my son had to call for help.  After arguing with a dispatcher over whether the man truly needed help or not, and insisting that she send EMT's along with the police for a few minutes, help finally did arrive, just as the man passed out.  I hope he is ok.  My son thinks that he will be, but he said the EMT's were working hard on him, as they left for the emergency room.  I keep thinking, "What if?"

It's graduation time for lots of young people right now.  I see so manyof them these days, feeling pressured to "make something of their lives".   Usually making something of themselves is equated with jobs, money, and material things.   They are expected to know what they want to "do" for the rest of their days, when they don't even know what all is out there, or ahead of them.  A life is about so much more.  Don't you think?  I think it's pretty important to know who to "be".  In this moment, right now.  Seems our boy is figuring things out just fine.  I know, he's a young man now, but he'll always be "our boy".  My sweetpea.  Love you babe.

Love to all of you....'til next time in Merryville.

P.S.  I've added a new comment format to my blog, that allows replies to comments, so from now on, I'll be answering questions and replying to comments in the comment section, when I can.  Readers can reply to me, or to each other there, as well.  Hopefully, this will make managing comments easier, and lead to conversation on our blogs, rather than just show and tell.  I like the thought of that, don't you?

Thank you for dropping by.  I appreciate your visits, very much.