Prairie Ironweed

a lovely plant of late summer

It looks so nice with goldenrod

too bad I yanked most of the goldenrod out

in a fit of clutter removal

Oh well...it will return for certain

Someone told me that Ironweed is in the aster family

imagine that....no wonder it blooms in late summer

It is a rather tall plant and the butterflies love it

I only wished that I had planted more of it

I may have to visit a farmers market or two

on the hunt for more of them

Oh garden , my garden

we have been through much this season

but you have always comforted me

and cheered me

and kept me busy

and stilled me

We both are getting ready for change

heartshaped leaf patterns
of coleus are a welcomed sight
in the hot summer garden
They bring a bit of excitment to the shady areas
I have to admit that this year has been a challenge for this wench
not in finding joy, but in enjoying it
too wet, too hot,too many bugs
I just found out that my neighbor trapped my squirrels and released them
in the woods....he said they were trying to get into his attic through the
attic fan......I understand this, but it makes me very sad
I love my squirrels, and they have claimed my yard as their home
I wonder if they will fight with the squirrels where he has released them...
I hope he is telling the truth...oh woe
I can hardly bare to think of loss...what with Handsome gone for so long
I cannot give up hope that he may return some morning
Life is a thread that connects me to all
even the squirrels of my yard and the feral cat, Handsome

I am almost ready to say
Autumn, I welcome your change

 
It's still hot this morning
but I sip my coffe in the shade of an umbrella
on the deck and watch the goldfinch at his favorite feeder
..a garden chandelier that I have re-purposed
I need to get some more mulch for my lilies
and I know that I will bring home a plant or two
while I'm there....I love garden centers
and there is always room for one more plant
sultry....the garden is sultry today
...a wench word of joy if you work it right


 

singing bell

This is a singing bell I brought home from Door County
It has the most spiritual sound when rung
a call to meditate
perfect for the garden patio
I just hope birds don't fall out of the trees
so peaceful is the sound

Sometimes an ordinary  coneflower
 does it
...brings joy

 It was a scorcher yesterday...102 degrees
The garden suffers under this kind of heat as do we.
I did my best to give relief of water to my flowers and fill the bird baths
after having moved them into a shady area
Nothing seemed to move much in the garden yesterday
but this morning it is 81 and that must seem like a day at the beach to my wards
For they are out flitting around and dipping in the birdbaths and squabbling over seeds
in the feeders...ah...they have come out to comfort me this morning
Praise God for the garden
And my family of squirrels is up to its old antics ... yes
Oh I didn't tell you about what happened the other day when a worker was in the yard
and a squirrel was jumping from one tree to another..and slipped off of the river birch branch
and landed on the shoulder of the man....yikes...I don't know who was more scared
thankfully no one got hurt....but we had a good  laugh
ah laughter.....
good medicine

Still no Handsome
I think my little furry ward
that I have cared for over 6 years
is gone...but I still open the drapes every morning looking for him
I need to hold onto hope

...maybe some wonderful older lady has taken him in
and he sleeps in comfort on a satin pillow
his meals made fresh by her loving hand
who knows...maybe she needed him more than I
and that is where he is
I like that.

late July heat

 Even in the shade, it is too hot
As I walked onto the deck with bare feet, I let out a loud ouch!
holy moly....could fry an egg on that wood
my poor tootsies
But I had to go out to fill the birdbaths
and ground baths...(for little creatures)
One robin sat on my windowsill...mouth open...looking very distressed
They are my wards after all... it is my duty to care for them
if they happen upon my garden...even in this heat

Yesterday the poor landscapers came to trim bushes (very late and over due I may add)
but it seems there is a shortage of laborers...even those who come here only in the summer
so these two fellas had to do it all
Today I went out early to do my walking
to sit...feel the heat..the sun
the tiny flutter of a leaf overhead
I loved the feel of the cool shaded grass between my toes
a bite of chocolate mint
dog days of summer
arf

 The cone flowers and daisies are blooming
and the day lillies and prairie flowers are spilling over the garden
as are the bell flowers, hostas, coreopsis ,bee balm,
joe pye weed,sage, and roses
This I have waited through a long bleak winter to see
and as I bath in all this joy
I look around for what is still to bloom
not much
obedient plant, cardinal flower,
and lead wort
Thank goodness for faithful annuals who give it their all
until frost
All of these friends I have depended on for moments
of joy, beauty and stillness
So fast, like life, this all is accomplished
 along my life's path
in the garden
We have achieved again this year,along with my garden wards,
a wild wonderful place of living

amen

thinking of you

  I took a walk in the garden
let it speak to me
God walks gardens, too.


And as I walked along my garden path thinking of you and loss,
I became aware of early fallen leaves.
Who knows why they fell off of the tulip poplar tree?
Maybe lack of water, too much heat..nudged off by this week's storm
But there they were on the flagstone path,
reminders to me that soon all the leaves will be given up
in their appointed time.

And just ahead of me on the path of fallen leaves
I spotted the nodding flowers of the Easter Lilly.
I planted the bulb...but I was not the one who made it bloom.
I think of you .

The garden...a cathedral of zen
let go...be
see what is before my path
take joy in the song of the robin
let my heart swell with the beauty of the blue shy
know that the apparently dead bulb
lived its destiny and bloomed
in the heat of this summer day
A glorious flower
as am I

stone path shows the way

fallen leaves on summer day

Easter lily seen

oak leaf hydrangea

 One of my favorite shrubs in the garden is the oak leaf hydrangea
I believe it is a native hydrangea
It has dramatic white blooms on it
that tend to turn pink as they age
 and then in the fall the leaves slowly begin turning the most magnificent colors of red
This year I noticed a lot of die back and began my work of pruning away the old dead woody branches
Its leaves are huge and beautiful and quickly let me know if I have neglected them
 This summer my garden has much to forgive me for..
 hopefully I am back on track...no interruptions..only time
 to live in the garden...to tend it, and me

zen in the garden

 I need to sit
empty
let go of my longing
hear birds
feel  breeze
smell flower
touch earth
see what is before me


I may be sitting a while

 I thought it auspicious that  lilies graced the head of Buddha
 Sometimes these things just happen
..opened eyes see..

 

It made me think of the lilies I saw when leaving the writing workshop

I saw lilies hugging tree

that's what these opened eyes saw

The garden is in full bloom...live in the moments

magic vehicle

 I went about deadheading this morning,and this simple act
took me away
as the fragrance of spent marigold flowers released in my hand
a powerful vehicle for time traveling
As the scent began to enter my brain as memory
fragrance of another kind filled my being
longing
longing for my grandpa and the days spent in his garden with him
a simple thing...who would think I would remember so powerfully this scent
that as an adult I seek out the dead flowers to rub between my fingers
to find him in the darkness of my closed eyes
for truly it has the magic to put me there

deadheading flowers

closed eyes I see him and me

magic vehicle

 Clematis flower
feet in darkness, head in light
how did you know this?

 Summer has officially begun
Now is the time to enter joy
for everything rises
blooms
and light...that element that awes my being
is at its best
the rising sun as it strikes across the lawn and awakening flowers and trees and bushes
and grasses
moving slowly above high in the sky
until that time when the robins sing at the top of the house
sunset is a lullaby through their beaks
straight into my heart
Today sunshine all day....80's
but it is a Finn day...so garden I sweep my hand across you like the sunlight
grow grow grow
joy

making and finding peace

 I can't seem to shake this tiredness since returning home
from writing workshop

It stopped raining so I took a walk in the garden
began pulling a weed here a weed there and before I knew it I was full steam into weeding
lost...so happily lost in thought of nothing and everything
Close by me was mama rabbit.....I know there is a papa somewhere...so many little ones
scurrying around. She got pretty close to me and started eating some of the weeds I had pulled...
to bad not the thistle...I wish they ate thistle....and goldenrod and nightshade...but they don't
In fact...I am here to tell you that little hare wench and her brood ate my new Cardinal flowers...and my newly planted Black-eyed Susans (since they ate all of them last year)
We looked each other in the eye...made peace and went about our tasks.....
Later in the morning I came inside for a drink of water. I heard chattering in the service berries
..low and behold....a branch of little miniature black capped chickadee babies....begging their parent for a seed or two...from my feeder....What a sight....thank you God....joy
What would I do without a garden to heal and comfort me?
...Two months...still no Handsome.....a broken heart I carry inside

vessel

 Again, more rain
in fact, a storm
My mind is not present this morning, but rather lost and wandering
about what I have to do and what can't be done because of so much rain
and I want to curse it.....bringing so many mosquitoes
that I can hardly stay in the garden even if I wanted to venture
into mud and more mud

Then I see the glass flower that has captured rainwater
I have seen butterflies drink from this very unreal flower
a resting station....a place to sip...
and then they are off... about their duty alighting on flowers
my path has led me to a moment

water held in glass

a butterfly takes a sip

vessels of moment

tulip poplar

 Rain greeted me the day after my return from Wisconsin
Everything looked so wild and unkempt, but so happy
This morning the sun shown brightly
I stepped outside and entered my Open Bar of Joy
Someone must have done a REALLY good job of filling the feeders
...all the seed is gone

The little wards of yellow and red and black and orange
wait in the trees
but they must wait some more
It is the first day of summer and I desire to enter this space of being
So long was the winter
so much longing inside of me
for this very day

I walk the garden..see what has arrived or poked its head through or wandered in
while I was gone....and I am struck by the story told to me from little on
that..God walked the garden...I see the footsteps in my mind's eye
and place my feet in them
....a sliver of happiness before me

I looked up and beheld....yes, that is the word...beheld
for it is full of awe..this sighting of the first tulip flower on the tulip Poplar tree
and already I feel the pull of autumn
But I tuck it away and see the moment and am happy


walk in the garden
tulip poplar's first blossom
I return with awe
 

gone writing

 This wench will be gone this week
living another dream
not hands in dirt
but hands in words
and story
May God ...and Stafford...
watch over it all
till I return

 The goldfinches have become accustomed to seed being there
in the candle cups of the chandelier hanging in the garden
Little yellow bickering buggers
they have even brought their young
to learn the way of the chandelier
Lately so much rain....rain...rain...and more rain
I think of fox under the deck
now only bones and teeth
I hope you are running free
on the other side
I will forever hold you in my being
 a messenger
I too am fox woman
one who walks on the edge of two worlds
...everything is blooming around you
and in me too

saudade

 Rummaging through the garage I found this
amaryllis plant wrapped in a plastic bag tied in a knot
that was placed on the shelf since January
no water, no light
When I opened the bag, the tip of the plant had a touch of green
so I planted it in a spare pot and look
what has happened.....
who knew?

 It rained all night
and this morning it continues to rain
...thunder and lighting
I ran out and filled the feeders
for the hungry goldfinches
that sat on my chandelier bird feeder waiting for me
and I even saw a robin dipping and splashing in the
birdbath...what gives with robins and bathing?..in a storm?
The above pictured candle holder was filled with water
..this season has been crazy
Oh and the mosquitoes....woe
this wench must be desirable
and sweet....they descended upon me
as I was doing my good deed...itch itch

..still no Handsome

 Oh , climbing rose
forgive me for trying to get rid of you a few years back
now you bloom even more
maybe your way of saying
with the thorns comes the blooms
focus on the blooms
glad..I let you climb
You add that certain color
at the right time
when all others are getting ready
or storing up nourishment for the next growing season
Soon you too will bow to the lilllies
and cone-flowers and Coreopsis and Black-eyed Susans
So go ahead show off
your place is secure
and thanks for the forgiveness

Is not the peony that bends to the ground
 bends to its fate
just as lovely and alluring
and filled with romance
as the lucky one that was spared the high winds and rain?
It is we who must bow
to love her

 One can never have enough bird bathes in ones garden
This one caught my fancy, but its bowl is glass
we'll see how long it takes before Mr. Squirrel
jumps in it and it flips off its base and breaks
I saw the goldfinches dipping their beaks in this morning
a joyful morning...so many baby birds running through the grass
and garden following their moms and pops
joy...I need more joy for these eyes
and the birds and bees and toads do this for me
...no Handsome still

I never went to college
I married young,
but I know I didn't miss a thing
when I can see glory in the late afternoon sun

nope, I didn't miss a thing

 The false indigo was in bloom this morning
underneath it as I walked by
two little bunnies flashed away into the brush
It is so good to see life in the garden and not death
sometimes there is too much death
lately, too much.
So this morning's walk, to see what's going on
in the garden, did me some healing good
ying and yang
dark and light
sweet and sour
life and death
When an environment is disturb
a space opens up for weeds to grow

oh how I know this

memorial weekend

  the wild buttercup
  showing up in the most unlikely places
free and hard to tame
but beautiful in its revealing
...like thoughts
that live in my internal garden
that pop through my carefully tended plot of life

doing what they must
to be seen

Remember this memorial weekend

  those who paid

the ultimate price

 while serving

their country

 Oh my...I knew they were in there
and I was so worried looking out the window at their house
rocking and blowing in the storm yesterday
and this morning it is 40 degrees outside
I reached up and stuck my camera by the entrance
and took a shot...ha! I got a picture of them
and they are peeping like hungry babies
I think they thought I was mom or dad
showing up with a bug or two
Boy, those parents work all day feeding this crew
It has been a miserable spring
But there have been a few glorious days
when the sun was shining and it was warm
You take them as they come...the good days

I have not seen Handsome for over a month
the last time I saw him he had an abscessed face
If I never see him again..my little wench heart will be broken
I love that rascally old cat

 The color green breathed life into this wench yesterday.
I had so much to do inside, but the call of joy won me over
and I spent the day pruning the deadwood out of the Dogwoods
and pulling out the last of the goldenrod which took over the garden last year
and yanking out as much of Deady nighshade that I could get my hands on
and for this I was rewarded with a tick in my hair
Yes, I said a tick..nasty little bug
I felt something crawling on my head and went right in to shake it off
into the sink..and was shocked to see
a tick fall into  my white sink
Oh lordie...and I just watched a special on PBS about Lyme disease and ticks
But I guess when you have skunks, coyotes,possums, racoons and a fox
bellying up to your Open Bar Of Joy
I guess you must expect them
I already wear gloves when I dig in the soil
Now I'll have to strip and shower when coming inside
hmm....not a bad idea for a wench.
..hee hee

 

The early morning garden never fails to
bring me to my knees in thankfulness
for all that grows.. not by my command
but because... only because

it is their destiny
I'm especially awed by morning light
it freshness lighting a new day
may I live it well
today
...live my destiny too 

 My dear husband calls such things
my clinking clanking clattering collections of caliginous junk
ah, but he's wrong
rather they are bright brilliant illuminated light lucid
radiant shining visible lucid loves of mine hanging from every tree
With the slightest breeze
with the early rays of morning light
or the dazzling rays of a perfect sunset
they set this wench's being alive
with joy
and I didn't have to go to OZ to get it
it's in my own backyard
now..to find some red garden clogs

 I have a good husband.
He knows my heart.
So when I discovered that my fox visitor
was dead
and I cried
cried hard
He let me have my sorrow
not a word of jest or mockery
or criticizing
just a big quiet hug

 The fox came to me old and weary
not like the handsome animal above
He stayed a week sleeping in Handsome's Igloo house

curled up on a blue and white knit afghan
like a happy pup

I know some of you are horrified
that he died under my deck
But I am honored that his journey ended here
he had nothing to fear from me
I saw him as a messenger
and I mourn for him
I will think of him
beautiful and running free

Oh the frustration of cold days in the spring
especially the mornings when I like most to be in the garden
But life is much like the garden
you must be patient and adaptable to survive its fickleness
Last night as I laid in bed listening to the radio
I heard  there was a possible frost warning
Now, I was all snug in the bed and this wench
wasn't about to run all over the garden covering things
lord of the garden...Stafford, please keep the frost away
shazam... he's good...no frost 
This morning I saw that the wild hyacinth is blooming
amongst the wild geraniums and sweet woodruff

and a bearded iris bathing in light

and oh light and reflection in the water...truly a joy

and our Illinois wild columbine

and Solomon seal and wild geraniums

and my prized yellow trillium

A friend of ours died suddenly this past week
and I thought, while walking in the garden this morning,
of all the things he worried about
...things that don't matter any more



footsteps flatten grass
birds eat at feeders
presence left behind

Stafford

 I was so happy working up a sweat
in the Open bar of Joy, weeding and pruning and planting
But the temperature has gone from 90 to 40
and it has rained for two days

I don't mind the rain really, it's pretty seeing all the green lushness
dripping and shining in the garden, the birdbaths staying full
The robins enjoying their baths in the showers
A delightful sight from my kitchen window
...and right outside my patio door
I can see my new gnome who is riding on an owl
while holding a fishing pole
He looks rather wise, yet playful..devilish actually
So I have named him Stafford.
..conductor of the garden
he's rather cute...don't you think?