white heath asters
engulf the garden chair
I dreamt last night
of the garden going wild
me sitting and cheering it on
but I awoke to a dusting of snow
and whispered to myself
soon,soon you will dance under green
sing in floral chaos
pray in light across blooms

Sometimes it's hard to let go
 I looked up to the Horse chestnut branches
and whispered to it,"let go that last leaf" -- morning light flanking its swelling buds
Let go ....it's over
you have survived
..we have survived
it's easy from here on
and then I  hugged it
..the tree..just in case
 Because an old gardener that I once knew
 told me that trees need a spring
whack on their trunks to get the sap moving
but I am non violent
So I hugged

Every garden needs a patio,

or two,

a place to sit,

and sit and sit.

A pleasure given to us.

At the start of my day,

after my walk through the garden

looking for joy,

I sit here in the front of the house

and watch the sun rise,

listen to the birds sing their morning songs

of territory or love.

Sometimes a neighbor will pass by,

"Nice morning" they say.

And it is, if you sit a while,

and sit some more,

taking it all in

...this day of your life

-beginning

Cardinal

You have been a blessing to me,
your scarlet feathers against white.
I have watched you from the window
clutching a branch until the blizzard's wind
swept you away for the night to I don't know where.
But, you faithfully return knowing that I will put out seed,
and not knowing, it is my survival at hand, too

When you turn and enter the open garden you are greeted by this sign
and many other things hanging on the arbor
But today I want to focus on this word...love

When God was lonely He made a garden.
I understand.

My Garden
Like a lover you know me
In little ways you
thrill me
please me
surprise me
nuture me
teach me
the mysteries of life
that come from
your bounty and struggle
But we are partners
in this dance of survival
and love
is the music

footprints in the snow

I peered out from the bedroom window
amazed at the footprints in the snow
so many visitors to my Open Bar of Joy
I have been busying myself with garden books
and old garden magazines, dreaming
of what will come
and making plans to change a few things
...truly the garden is telling me to change a few things
"we don't like it here, there's now too much shade"
Oh I love this stirring of spring, and dare I say summer
inside of me
hope on the horizon of my being

Handsome came in

Oh, the life of a feral cat
a hard life
full of injury,hunger,abuse by humans,cold
and no human love or a comfy chair
But I do try to provide this one,Handsome..with 3 squares and a heated house and water bowl
He meows like a broken wringer washing machine..and runs when I open the door
even after all these years of our relationship
In the summer he enjoys the shade I provide and the many opportunities of birdwatching
he is as much a part of My Open Bar of Joy as the lilies
Yesterday I locked Boo (my 9month kitty) I locked him up in the laundry room
and opened the patio door
and who should step inside with one paw and look around...smelling the food I left just inside the door-Handsome
He nervously ate looking around like he was pulling off a heist
I spoke to him from behind the counter...he meowed
then quickly scooted out the door
It was the best he could do
gosh I love that old cat
and..Boo was finally let out of the laundry room

And just a note to say thank you to Everyday Goddess for choosing one of my posts as her post of the week
thus giving me a bright sun to show on my blog
Sometimes I think I write with no one seeing, but it really doesn't change the joy of writing it
for joy is the fuel that I live on..thank you Goddess.. visit her and the other posts of the week at:
http://www.goddesswrite.com/

I like squirrels

Call me daffy, but I love to watch squirrels, and so does my
little cat, Boo. He spends hours jockeying for a spot ,in the sunlight,
by the patio door, to watch his buddies brave the elements
just to get seeds.....
I gave them peanuts the other day..and darn if I didn't see the
furry thing dash across the snow,then begin digging furiously in the snow
until only his ears appeared.....he was burying his peanut....is that nuts or what?
He almost buried himself. It was 10 degrees out

But that is the charm of these little beasts....free spirits of the garden
who go about their business ignoring me until I get too close
but showing up at my window with hopefulness in their eyes for a handout
Sure they dig up my pots on the deck
sure they eat my tulip tree flowers
sure they knock over the birdbath EVERY day
sure they dig up the ground stashing things like seeds and nuts
But they plant trees, too...did you know most oak trees started growing
because of some nutty squirrel doing what he is driven to do?
Why you might even say he's a fellow gardener ..hee hee
They bring me joy
and that is enough, isn't it?
and besides.....they are wild animals
whose habitat happens to be my garden
coexist, I say

see.

wondering about robins

It's quite beautiful today
blue skies,bright sunshine
the air so cold it is refreshing
as it passess through my nostrils
warmed up by joy as it enters my lungs
that take it all in
and I give thanks for such a day

The robins are everywhere,big fat rolly polly ones
This early morning they were dipping in this dirty
heated birdbath....and happy to be doing so
I have heard a few chirps out of them, but no songs
as of yet...and I have been listening
Do robins sing in winter?..I wonder
So today I am going to hit the internet and find out

I do know that they have many songs

...could it be that they can teach me how to sing
in winter?

Ah, the metal trellis growing in my garden
It's beauty, at this time of year,
is as welcomed as the red tulip in Spring
maybe more,
for it is an oasis in the desert
of winter

 

Dove sitting on branch

The Horsechestnut stands naked

Stilllife this morning

Made of metal
it still is a flower to me
for beauty is in the seeing
and seeing is in the beauty
of being

There is always beauty
to be found,
like these purple
coneflower heads,
covered in white,
waiting for a snow
butterfly to come along

just white

It's over now
quiet and beauty have returned
as have the birds seeking what is left
in the feeders
That thunder snow was something
and the howling wind and snow pelting the windows
all night was most awakening
I love a good storm
and we had one
Handsome made it to my door yesterday
walking in snow so deep I thought he'd get lost
but he found his way here,ate
and moved on to who knows where
that is one tough cat

empty

I braved the walk outside to fill the feeders.
It is really starting to get windy and the snow is beginning,
so I hurriedly filled them after finding half of them down on the ground opened up.
Hmmm...I wonder who did that?
I made sure Handsome's heater was on and working and that his water bowl was plugged in ,too
but I have not seen him for about 4 days. ... I will make sure food is out for him ,too
I only hope the snow is not too heavy and that it will not damage the trees or bushes
but if it does...what can you do? This is winter in his prime
his glorious lap around the landscape.....

Not what I was hoping for

So far, we have been lucky in the snow department...but for me it has still been too much. But now they are saying we may get 18-30 inches of snow by Wednesday with 50mph winds. I have been dreaming of tulips and daffodils and trilliums and Jacks....Oh dear...can I hold onto hope a bit longer?
This is good for me....learning to accept and find joy and beauty in what is...
for it is what is and I must live it as it comes
and it is my heart and spirit's job to hold onto that hope
and to embrace the beauty of the day given
My poor wards...I must get out and have enough seed and peanuts and catfood
for all of them..for this is going to challenge the best of them
and those Robins.....

My Boo loves to birdwatch

With all the traffic outside by the Hawthornes
Boo has insisted on a front row seat.
yesterday, he was chased around the house all day by my little grandson,Finn
who giggled everytime he whacked Boo in the head with the feather stick.
So, I guess I can open the shutters and let the poor fella have a good look
Have you ever heard a cat give the killing sound....? I was shocked when I heard little Boo,
my hand raised little Boo do this. I guess he is growing up to be a male cat.
Enjoy your look out the window....for that's all you'll get.
No cat killing going on in my garden....by my kitty.
I walked around the yard this morning... looking for some joy,
and found none...at least any worth taking photos of,
for you see..I have to stretch my imagination to see joy on
such a dreary day....and most of it is the same.....making it less joyful.
But I do hold joy in my heart with the birds and the squirrels, and yes the hawk
as I see him fly over
.....as I see the buds swelling a bit more on the Horsechesnut tree (I'm certain!)

Today, I am making "throw in what you have" chicken noodle soup
and cracking open a new book
all this while Boo is lost in the moment at the window

***

Starlings

They land in the oak tree en mass,and are very noisy,almost giddy.
In summer they are this way too,when I cast out bits of old bread.
When they arrive, everything else gets pushed out.
Their scout must have seen the robins or the squirrels in the Hawthorne trees
and went back to report this new source of food.
I don't mind these clowns of the bird world, they too bring me joy
watching them fight each other in the branches, the berries falling on the ground
for an attentive squirrel to find.
I am so happy that I don't let the landscaper cut my Hawthorne's..despite his protests that
they need it. 
No, my wards need the food source and you would trim them when they are flowering..for that is your way...and when you do that..there are no berries.
I may not be..no I AM not ...the best gardener around
but I have the best
Open Bar of Joy
around these here parts
!
!
!!!!

Finding Joy in winter

Some call you pest,
nuisance,rat
I call you Joy this morning
...running with your pals,feasting
on the Hawthorne berries
your mouth holding onto one
like gold

OMG

Just after I was moaning about dreary,arctic winter
Look who flew in
18 robins!!!!!
I am beside myself....and I don't know how to use this new camera
I am flustered...can you tell!?!?
Oh JOY JOY JOY
down in my heart
Those hawthorne berrries are doing what they are supposed to do
Oh joy!

winter day longing

Soon my love, soon

Do you look through your garden photos, like I do
on such Arctic winter days
when the sun is hidden behind whiteness
and the temperature is near zero?
I do....and it does warm my heart
and stir love in my heart for the garden
waiting just below winter

almost discarded orchid

Can you see it?
Hiding in the geranium pot?
blooming?
After it fell out of its pot in the summer after a storm
and because it was so withered I just
stuck it into the geranium pot
and then because the geraniums were so pretty
late fall...I brought them in...orchid and all?
Do you see it?
blooming!

tonight it will be cold

Eat up my little wards
it's dropping down to 10 degrees tonight
wind chill-35
eat up

Mugo pines

From the family room window
I saw the Chickadee hiding
in the mugo pines and I remembered
the late spring day that I decided to cut
these mugos down.
As I was ready to put cutters to branch
I saw movement and stopped,
spread some branches and saw
a tiny nest just below the top needles.

From the nearby climbing rose trellis,
 I saw a Purple finch balancing on metal
watching the danger that was near by its young.
The finch doesn't know that I am the one that leaves
food in the feeders for them,
or that I plant perrenials for seed,
or that I am vigiliant about keeping Hawk away.
It only knew that I had found its nest and babies
and it was helpless to do anything
but try to distract me.
Needless to say the mugo was spared

Now, on this winter day I am happy
to see that it provides shelter
for Chickadees, too,
away from the eyes of hungry Henry Hawk.