Friday, September 30, 2011

city farmer


I have always kept this blog about my garden
...a very hard thing to do
How much can one write about the same space
day after day
That is the joy actually..looking
observing,listening,touching, smelling

But I spent the day with my grandson , Finn
and I spotted this growing on his block in the city

Oh I know the heart of that person who set those seeds
and stood back and hoped
bless the city farmer
who can't help himself
the urge to grow so strong
The seeds were cast too late
these will never bare corn
But it is a beacon of hope in a city
sometimes too bleak for many
I hope passersby
partook in its harvest of joy

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Blue grace


Yep, she's passing through like a bat out of you know where
shaking the trees until they give in and let go their precious leaves



But there is beauty in the lass
she paints a mean picture
as she shilly shallys through the garden



and when the guy upstairs dips his brush in blue paint
and spreads it across this autumn sky
I just about drop to my knees
bathed in grace



Wednesday, September 28, 2011



Goldenrod..solidago
so pretty waving in the garden
this time of year
I have learned that goldenrod was a
seasonal indicator plant for the native American tribe Omaha
While on their summer buffalo hunt  :(
it served as a floral calendar... when they saw it
they knew that back home their corn was beginning to ripen

They also used the plant to make a tea to treat heart ailments
and a topical treatment for muscle cramps
and a pain killer for bee stings

Sort of gives you a new respect for this common weed garden plant

yellow goldenrod
the summer hunt is over
a new season stings

Monday, September 26, 2011


Gloomy skies and wet earth greet me on my walk this morning
There is a chill in the air
Last night I noticed how quickly it got dark...where have I been
that I haven't noticed this before?

Soon there will be time for inside things 
of the heart that need contemplating
before a roaring fire or over a hot bowl of soup
or sipping a good glass of wine

Autumn and winter are seasons set forth for quiet growth
and a time to romance ones self
I too, have set seeds like 
the white oak 
Her acorns look almost human like...the tree's destiny clipped to a leaf
that will soon fall to the earth in a blaze of yellow,then
lay dormant in the bitter cold
 under protective snow
waiting for warm days
to awaken it to life


Saturday, September 24, 2011


The leaves of the evening primrose
are turning red
and I love it
a cheeriness in a garden that is packing up
letting go
preparing the way
I think I'll wear red today
too

Friday, September 23, 2011


little petal fists
sometimes we hold tight too long
we die unopened




Thursday, September 22, 2011

 






a late fall flower
her white gown against their green
bless the late bloomer

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

last summer walk through the garden with the wee one



I LOVE THESE ASTERS
  DUG FROM A ROADSIDE YEARS AGO
 BROUGHT TO THIS HOUSE
ALMOST 16 YEARS AGO
...THEY HAVE GOTTEN EVEN
 BY JUMPING ALL OVER THE GARDEN
SPREADING THEIR JOYOUS COLOR OF PURPLE
WITH SUNNY YELLOW CENTERS
...anything but the Brier patch
I whisper as I pass by





Ah,Stafford, you newbie to the garden this year
you have done a splendid job of watching over all
your wise look ....of course you're riding on an owl
your face cheers me with its whimsical gaze

Now you must direct the symphony of the leaves
use your fishing pole, my lord


Finn
He has inherited the gene!
a future gardener...a tree hugger
a bug hunter
a rock collector
How can I ever thank Him
for such a gift
to such a wench as I?


I hate to brag...but this autumn joy clematis
is mine


woo me some more
Dear Darby Autumn


Have you ever stepped in chocolate mint?
Finn did...and said m-m-m-m
:)


Oh...and the Finn is a bird watcher, too
pointing to the bushes or trees when he heard them sing or chirp

POOR BOO
HE HAD TO DO HIS BIRDWATCHING FROM INSIDE



the season ages
he claps my hand while walking
autumn holding spring


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

structure


She's almost naked now,
her shaply figure quickly becoming undressed.
But like me, she is not afraid to be naked,
to stand as a beautiful creation
of God.
For it is what we are made of, not what covers us
this is our structure.
In the end, as we head into the season of winter,
let us stand proudly in our gardens.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011



The wench has been busy lately
and the garden shows it
but I think it is all right
things are letting go
all on their own






Do you remember last year when in fit of tidiness
I cut the stem of my newly planted Autumn Joy Clematis?
How I cried....wailed.....that I committed murder
and just when it was about to open its flowers?
Well,it has come back!
...remind me to get an arbor or trellis for it next year!




Can you see his ears?
He's hiding in the weed patch
a favorite place...I see him often
as he rushes behind the mugos
for safety..today I guess I snuck up on him
...he froze...and I spoke to him
but he doesn't understand anything but RUN
I guess his mom taught him that

At a bbq on Saturday the host
who had a fabulous garden
told me he shoots rabbits that get near his prize dahlias
my heart broke

the world will always be filled with such
but not in my Open Bar of Joy


Monday, September 12, 2011



the horsechesnut tree
dropping pieces of herself
while setting tight buds


The turning of season
I quarrel with it
aware that it interferes with
acceptance
It's the robins
they have gone
mostly gone
they no longer sing to the rising sun  while on my rooftop
or sing me to sleepiness and slumber in the evening
they too have seen the signs
They go elsewhere
where they can sing and feast
I must do likewise
only mine is a journey to inside setting of buds



Sunday, September 11, 2011

This morning
above me
high in the sky
flew a red jet
I remember the day
10 years ago
that all planes were grounded
and I stood with my neighbors
in disbelief

The remembering of this was eerie
the numbness
the heartsickness
the fear

But today, I saw
 a red jet fly overhead
and morning glories that had opened
unaware

Saturday, September 10, 2011


The asters are blooming
how I love them
but they signal that time marches on
soon it will be getting darker much sooner and it will be much colder
and the light in the garden will change
But it's all right

I'm ready, in fact, I wait for it.
Ever since the fox came to me
then died near me
Life in the garden has taken on a different tone

The robins are less frequent now...they sing no more
the goldfinches are looking less yellow

I think of my fox and how he chose to die here
His passing... has affected me in the garden
I can see his bones under the deck
a blanket of sadness I have to admit has colored everything
even when I thought it didn't
A reminder how connected we all are
and how death is part of the living experience
now autumn
The season has come to my garden to die
I will watch over it like I did the poor old fox
I will honor its passing
I will go inside
inside

Thursday, September 8, 2011

My husband had to go to a retirement party tonight
so I had to handle this fella all by myself
The poor possum was not looking to peppy
So I placed the net handle down the window well
and went inside and opened the window....carefully
The critter was very still
I turned the net toward his body which was huddled in the corner
then  took a long duster and prodded him into the net.....hoop tee do!
Quickly I raised the guy all the way up to the top and let the net go
and so he ran...........

there's a million stories in the naked city
...and this has been one of them                                   :)

Oh my.
Look who fell down into the window well by the lillies
poor little fella
I tried to get him out like I did the muskrat babylast year... with a fishing net....
but this fella played dead
wouldn't move
I put a ladder down there
then went downstairs and opened the window
to see if he'd awake....nope
I slipped in a bowl of water and an apple
oh, and I covered hm with a dark cloth
so he thinks he's hiding and not so exposed
Am I nuts or what?
I think Himself is going to have to help me on this caper
poor little creature
I hope he makes it

Oh the drama of a garden


Wednesday, September 7, 2011


This is one of those things in the garden that makes me stop 
every time I pass it
The lamb lying down with the lion
Takes trust

As I get older....soon to be 61
I often think
Is this my last garden
Is this my last time of 
seeing it 
smelling it
touching it
tasting it
of loving it?

Yet, I don't worry about it

I trust.

Friday, September 2, 2011


I do love my dodads
Today I spent a bit of time in the garden with Finn
and his Mom
Finn took my hose and went a watering
including himself....grandpa came home for lunch
and joined in the fun...Finn got grandpa's shoe wet
My daughter just sat on the deck watching it all
with a smile...sunlight on her face....
Then she said...mom I love your wind chimes
Which ones? I asked.....Grandpa rolled his eyes
Finn just laughed aiming the hose at his feet
All of them..... she answered
I just love that girl

Thursday, September 1, 2011


This is entering the garden on the dark side

shade...I rather love shade

love the plants in early spring that like shade
growing under other plants that are still asleep
Oh this wench feels the pull of certain season change
although today it is to be in the high 90's
oh dear...I think I'll sit right here
and have a glass of cold water with a slice of lemon
and do some sketching today
I sketch..did you know that?
maybe I'll sketch that spider web from yesterday
oh, but that would be sitting in the bright sunlight
no,I'll find something here... right where I am
and that is the secret, isn't it
right here, where we are