juneSCENE IN OUR GARDEN: winter

Showing posts with label winter. Show all posts

Bed Rest

"Bed Rest" occurred to me as a great title for a blog post

one day while backing out of the driveway.

This morning I remembered the idea

(again while backing out of the driveway, I believe).

The upper 60 degree temperatures today

were the impetus to be sure these photos got taken!

Thanks to my husband,

we have now documented

the status of our flower beds at rest.

Clearly, our gardening skills are not up to par with

REAL gardeners!

And clearly we ran out of steam

before autumn chores were complete.

By Day & By Night

By day...

by night!

There is no season we fail to be charmed/interigued by this yard and its flower beds.

Yesterday was no exception.

Face Toward Spring

Very little happening here.

Sometimes my life feels about as blank as the pages of the little book

I bought in which to create music.

Hours outside my home are spent either in the Special Care Unit

where my mother resides

or on the road getting there.

The Scene in our Garden is bleak.

It vacillates between the enchanting beauty of new-fallen snow

and its disturbed, dreary aftermath.

Our cars' shines are quickly dulled by the disgusting residue of slush.

As you can see, my enthusiasm for winter peaked LONG ago,

and while at home, I read. Mostly old books.

Many of them books of the seasons.

1 February 2015

our lilac bush and

other scenes from our back door.

White

Thankful I had nowhere I needed to go early this morning...

I could just sit inside and admire the beauty from my recliner.

Most of the autumn lawn and flower bed cleanup and maintenance are done.

It's a good feeling.

November 17, 2014.

March 12

Some of the fastest-falling,

wettest and wind-driven snow

of this long winter season...

All about the Sky

A recent morning moon...

and the sunset this evening...

Until the dirty snow piles melt,

it's all about the sky!

Happy ♥ Day

First, I heard her. That unmistakeable, persistent cheep.

I went to get my phone (camera)

and walked slowly to the window.

(Any movement, and she flies!)

Do you see her?

Top, left hand quadrant.

I moved. She flew.

Minutes later...

Oh, Happy ♥ Day!

I'm SO ready to get outdoors--

just not ready to negotiate the snow banks quite yet.

He's getting REALLY good at this!

Sunday Snow

These three angles were about my only options for photographs

from our back door...

There appears to be no end to this snow.

An Eye Feast

Warmer weather today makes me thankful

I "captured" these scenes with my cell phone's camera...

A drive to nearby Winona Lake to fetch some books

took us up this incredibly beautiful lane.

A feast for the eyes!

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