juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: October 2011

Only God Can Make a Tree

A few years ago, this proud tree took a strong blow as it was trimmed

to accommodate power lines that never materialized.

Seasons have come and gone.

Undaunted, the tree weathers them.

Dignified and determined.

Today the sky turned a deep and undeniable blue

as if to draw attention to the remaining color

of this grand friend.

I think that I shall never see

a poem as lovely as a tree.

(I believe someone has already claimed those two lines.)

more october

The tree in foreground is almost bare--its leaves on ground in prior post...Very few walnuts this year. What's up with that?

Newly composed vignette on front porch

My husband wired this lamp yesterday -- one of a pair purchased at a garage sale.

In Autumn
by Winifred C. Marshall

They're coming down in showers,
The leaves all gold and red;
They're covering the little flowers,
And tucking them in bed.
They've spread a fairy carpet
All up and down the street;
And when we skip along to school,
They rustle 'neath our feet.

Late Bloomers

These recent garage sale purchases

join the late bloomers in our yard.

I couldn't resist taking the pictures.

I believe all the mums - and a few more than I've pictured here -
came from one plant.

(They do well here.)

They're rather straggly this year.

I need to learn how and when to trim them

to achieve a more rounded appearance.

Meanwhile, I'm just enjoying the multitude of these beautiful
Late Blooming Flowers!

Keeping it Real in October

Between rain and poison ivy, I haven't been active

in our flower beds the past few weeks.

So here they are--some of them at least--
in their "real" and rather natural condition.

I'm not sure I've ever shown this windchime.

It hangs in an evergreen tree next to the side entrance of our front porch.

It's sound is soft and light. Cheerful.

I FINALLY got the two huechera plants and the white mum planted yesterday.

It meant uprooting and dividing a rather large hosta...

which meant finding a place for the two divisions.

It is what it is.

There are weeds to pull and poison ivy to kill.

The weather is near perfect.

It is a joy to be out and about
and keeping it real in October.

Fall Festival at Victory Noll

Native grasses

filled the fields that lay east of the buildings on the Victory Noll Campus.

(Huntington, IN)

We enjoyed the wagon ride that carried us through the beauty of these grounds.

The number and variety of trees was amazing!

The tree below may have been one of my favorites...

We enjoyed walking many paths.

I couldn't resist taking photographs of the potted

plants and flowerbeds that stood at one of the entrances.

It REALLY was a near perfect Sunday afternoon!

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony. William Henry Channing 1810-1884

Irises come in many forms, shapes, colors and sizes and the sword-like foliage is attractive when the plant is not in bloom. The genus Iris is a large genus of bulbous and rhizomatous perennials.

The Iris was named after the goddess of the rainbow because of its many colors.
A flower on the Sphinx is considered to be an Iris, and another appears on a bas-relief of the 18th Egyptian dynasty.
Pliny also knew the Iris and praised its medicinal virtues.
The Iris was also a favourite flower of the Moslems, who took it to Spain after their conquest in the 8th century.

Bought at a local plant sale, Spring of 2009 Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium; syn. Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Pers., Pyrethrum parthenium Sm.) is a traditional medicinal herb which is found in many old gardens, and is also occasionally grown for ornament. The plant grows into a small bush up to around 18 inches high, with citrus-scented leaves and is covered by flowers reminiscent of daisies. It spreads rapidly, and they will cover a wide area after a few years. It is also commonly seen in the literature by its synonyms, Chrysanthemum parthenium (L.) Bernh. and Pyrethrum parthenium (L.) Sm.

I'D PICK MORE DAISIES
If I could live my life again
I'd be a little lazy
I'd stop this rushing to and fro
And stop and pick more daisies
Through all the lovely summer months
Though days be clear or hazy
No more to fret over tasks undone,
I'd stop to pick a daisy
Not so important what I did
This fact time now discloses
While running through life's garden green
I'd stop to smell the roses
If I could hold my little ones
The children in my care
I'd scold them less and love them more
With so much love to share
If I could pass this way again
Though folks might think I'm crazy
I'd work and worry less, but I'd
Take time to pick a daisy
The rush of life has passed me by
Now I have leisure hours
But time has taken such a toll
It's too late to pick the flowers.

Mildred F. Rowe

MEASURE YOUR HEALTH...by your sympathy with morning and spring. If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature, if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you--know that the morning and the spring of your life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse. (Thoreau)

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on the trees and flowers and clouds and stars." (Martin Luther)

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

The soul of a child is the loveliest flower
That grows in the garden of God
It's climb is from weakness to knowledge and power,
To the sky from the clay to the clod.
To beauty and sweetness it grows under care
Neglected, 'tis ragged and wild.
'Tis a plant that is tender, but wondrously rare,
The sweet wistfull soul of a child.

Be tender, O Gardener, and give it it's share
Of moisture, of warmth and of light,
And let it not lack for th painstaking care
To protect it from frost and from blight.
A glad day will come when it's bloom shall unfold,
It will seem that an angel has smiled,
Reflecting a beauty and sweetness untold
In the sensitive soul of a child.

...Author Unknown

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,
With flowers bright and fair;
And every one who seeks may pluck
A lovely cluster there.
Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine,
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths
For every searcher there.

Thy Word is like a starry host:
A thousand rays of light
Are seen to guard the traveler,
And make his pathway bright.
Thy Word is like an armory,
Where soldiers may repair,
And find, for life's long battle-day,
All needful weapons there.

Oh, may I love Thy precious Word,
May I explore the mine,
May I its fragrant flowers glen,
May light upon me shine!
Oh, may I find my armor there!
Thy Word my trusty sword,
I'll learn to fight with every foe
The battle of the Lord.

(Edwin Hodder, Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord)

juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN

Kids' Play

October - Parting Shots

Only God Can Make a Tree

more october

It's Begun!

Late Bloomers

Keeping it Real in October

Fall Festival at Victory Noll