Saturday, December 31, 2011

oooo! look at the pattern of ice in the garden dish
have you ever wondered ...why such details?
in everything?

humbling, it is

Friday, December 30, 2011

40, and still growing strong

Would you believe that this plant is over 40 years old?
My husband bought it for me in our first year of marriage
when we lived in a tiny furnished apartment....ah those were the good old days
We had a tiny little room in the back...that was always bathed in sunlight
and I loved plants...so quickly it became our plant room....oh the luxury of youth
I recall with sweetness the sweet potato that I stuck into a vase of water....and it grew all around the room
our Landlady was amazed......she couldn't grow or cook a thing
Me...green thumb in my DNA
I lugged those plants around to 5 houses throughout the years
and this is the only one left.....I had a mother in law tongue that I finished off two years ago....leaving her outside too long....oh woe
But, this asparagus fern is well and growing.....my daughters fight over who will get it
Hey, where do you think I'm going?
Once while visiting my son in Laguna Beach, California....I saw that they grew there abundantly
...in his neighborhood...thorns and all.....lovely seeing them growing that way
I often feel sad for plants imprisoned in pots....oh, I know I am a bit of a ditz this way
and cut flowers bother me too...once wrote a whole essay about that
anyway......I love this fern.....this lifelong companion..this reminder of the man who gave it to me
and the 41 years...today...that we enjoy

Thursday, December 29, 2011

The garden waits,
as do I, for winter to move in.
We have been teased by warmer than usual weather
and only a brushing of snow,once
and not on Christmas
I left my tray of goodies out on Christmas Eve for my wards
nuts,fat,greens,bread cubes,seeds,berries
my annual Christmas offering to them
In the morning everything was gone
last night I looked out to see a possum sniffing around the dry grasses
I have not forgiven him for killing my squirrel
But I don't know why it happened...maybe my squirrel was sick or injured
and he just happened upon him..sniffing around one night
It is a good thing to let it go...to be part of the garden
and let it go..let it be...let it happen
hard as this is for me to do..I, who want to control my environment sometimes
to become one with the garden...even now... as we wait for winter
some green still showing

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

dead vines on brick wall
shadows look like skeletons
winter soltice day

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

It is a dreary day today, gray skies, annoying drizzle
little bird or squirrel activity
and while walking along the muddy garden path
I realized it has really arrived
the time of no color
Humans ,I think,
aren't meant to go through this deprivation
it must have something to do with that darn angel
sent to guard the way in
For surely, this is punishment


Monday, December 19, 2011

Sometimes the garden seems like an assemblage
...a bit of this and that
layered upon layer
until you stand back and say
Oh my!...
even in the last days of autumn

Sunday, December 18, 2011

 I went inside
and had fun with the sun
outside

Saturday, December 17, 2011

All I could think of this morning
was the line from the movie,Oliver...."More please"
Like hungry orphans my resident wards
showed up early, sitting up and begging on the deck
not 9 of them(thinking of you Witch)...only 3 this time
I threw out a few peanuts and some low carb bread
they scampered quickly to grab what they could and headed to the safety of the branch
As you can see we had a dusting of snow
....a reminder that it begins:
winter

Friday, December 16, 2011


 
It's like seeing in black in white
...going into the garden
a bit of wheat color here
a shade or two of muted green
dried crumbles of leaves fading fast their autumn colors
Even the sky is white/gray
and the rain only sets the mood
like a cemetary
full of stories
unspoken

Sunday, December 11, 2011

I counted nine squirrels just a few feet from my deck
Must be the pumpkins

Now I ask you...is it fair for my squirrel wards
to pass the word?
I don't think so....
It reminded me of the time we had 4 cats
It wasn't bad until we saw them all lined up at the food bowls
yikes...that's a lot of kitty kat
As is 9 squirrels
but gee they are so cute
and my hubby is still in the hospital
what he doesn't see won't hurt him
.....and I won't tell him that I found the birdfeeder heater
either..
well..........the little guys have to drink
after all that pumpkin
cheer and joy

Monday, December 5, 2011

I have needed these little breaks......these walks in the garden
I need to look for joy....
Today it is chilly and the skies are a white gray
not my favorite kind of sky....I could use a heartache blue sky
but I am not the stage manager...so gray sky it is
the ground is wet and in some places muddy...with little footprints
from the grand kids a day or so ago when one of them tripped and knock a tooth loose
....an unexpected trip to the dentist followed
But this morning it is just me
I communed with the garden...quietly praying as I took each step
The garden...the ordinary garden...the ordinary
how I wish every day could be ordinary
But the garden reminds me that even in the depths and ending of autumn
heading into winter...there is life
a sudden discovery of a bloom...surrounded with dried up leaves
leaves...leaves that have released and accepted their fate
returning to the earth to become part of her

The squirrels ...6 of them!...are scurrying about
leaping and jumping.....they always bring a smile to my face
 They have found the pumpkins I put out a day ago
Maybe next spring I will have big yellow blossoms
springing up in secret places....maybe I'll have a pumpkin or two
oh joy...unexpected joy and anticipation
yes, I needed this walk
this ordeinary stroll through barreness
that wasn't really barren at all
but filled with joy