lordie
is this a sign?
Look who I found on the ground while
cleaning up the beds?
little miss loved that witch
last summer
I thought she took it home



It was 63 out this afternoon
but oh so windy
Every wind chime
and bell and gong
was going off
My tree's jewelry
swinging in the gusts
Oh it was Divine

But I found out...I'm not getting any younger

despite the yoga

the hand weights

the (ugh) walking

This was work!

...cutting away volunteer bushes

and old growth

Why this gourd birdhouse

was new...just purchased in the fall

at a craft fair....rotten Happy Jack

I saw little bits of green poking out all over!

and Mother Nature never fails

to stop me in my tracks

with her artistry

It was a good good day

in the garden..

OH....and a spider ran across my fingers

and I heard a crow...caw cawing

We don't get crows...

it was a sign

Gardening is what we gardeners like to do:
digging, fussing with our plants, weeding, deadheading...
all the soothing creative labor that goes into
maintaining our personal Edens...
-Page Dickey




oh! sunshine today....
new clippers in hand
familiar old gloves
and a smile on my face..
see ya

Wouldn't you know it?
Today, when the sun is actually shining
I have so much work to do inside
that I will only permit myself to cast a glance out my kitchen window
shadows in the garden
you have to love them
Lately that's how I feel
like a shadow on a fence
full of mystery, even to myself

I need to get this work done ...so tomorrow
when it is supposed to be 58!
I can get out there
in my Open Bar of Joy
and clean up a bit
soon....it will be opening day
-joy-

mums the word

I shall hold on to life

stirring as it is

in the debris of winter

fall's last hurrah that's

succumbed to the earth

to return again....

as little bits of green

miracles

Oh March
how I wish you were July
I would pinch the cheeks of your Anna belles
and lift your bee balm beauties unto my lap
I would sit in the shade and have quiet conversation
with the ferns and hostas
enjoy robins singing on the roof,
...splashing in the baths
Oh March, I wish you were July

Let's just say that we coexist
I was hoping that letting this old dead white pine
to remain in the garden, would bring about more woodpeckers
not hawks
This one is always trying to crash into the Open Bar of Joy
I think he is not afraid of me anymore
my arm waving, my shooing
He waits until I walk right under the tree
before he takes wing
But today I am actually happy to see him
It's warm , and the garden is muddy and messy
He is majestic sitting there
Why when I was a kid growing up in the city
we never saw birds like him
and now he's a frequent fly over
Harry Hawk....goodmorning

He slobbers up my windows
waits for me to notice him
looks for human weakness  kindness
keeps his dignity
by stepping back
while I place out a dish
of warm chicken on this cold day
This puss at my door is healing balm
...what is right about some things
...the magic of return
...the miracle of survival

Not bad
for a winter day

and again,
just when spring was almost within my
imagination
it snowed
A dreary, gray white-skied day
This is not good for the garden wench
Why, I was just about to get out my red garden clogs
woe is me

This one




and this one

were doing this....

look closely

...see the hula going on?

no offense, Connie

but they were running and chasing

and flipping

and she (I presume)

was chattering her uncompliance

but he ( the one on top- I presume, but heck,

the way the world is going now..you never know what the animal kingdome has

adapted to)  missionary may be out?!

but I digress

just know that love was in the air in my garden

here

and here

and Oh....look who was peeping away

pecking away on my white oak

a female hairy woodpecker

...my flowers of the garden, right now
joy!

I found this little artist's card tucked in a garden book
that I was traveling in
Oh, how I need sunshine and flowers
right now
But I must wait until it is time
when it happens all by itself
without help from me
Faithful
is the garden
I went to Home Depot yesterday
and bought myself some new garden tools
Cheered me up
infected me with anticipation
for more flowers
And I gathered up all my seed packets
Held them in my hands like a royal flush

Sharp-shinned hawk

Whoohoo!
A sharp-shinned hawk
in my garden
and right outside my window
as I walked inside the kitchen after being in Galena all weekend
and of course I couldn't find my camera
and when I did he raised his wings
and I just shot before he lifted off.
I did a bird count in Galena
but who knew I'd come home to see this fella
....at least he didn't carry off one of my precious squirrels
....Happy Jack...you won the lottery today and don't know it
joy

I dreamed of the garden last night
Must be the books and garden blogs I have been obsessed with lately
planning and dreaming
dreaming and planning
Just looking at old pictures of past gardens
...for we all know the garden is never the same...
My heart beats faster
just thinking of new plantings
in my rain garden...!! oh a rain garden!
yes
and the new trellis I am going to have for my clematis
and the new birdhouses, and feeders
and the new patio.....after the deck is taken down
oh my
so many dreams
I cannot wait until my
Open Bar of Joy"s
gate is open
hours  6am-9pm
!!joy!!

drops

It rained.
The morning light shining through drops hanging on the tips of branches
brought me joy.
The ground was muddy
and the air a bit chilly,
but the season of spring
was warming up her vocal cords.
I will have daisies again this year
I saw them greening up their crown.
Daisies to some are easy plants to grow,
but I somehow never had any luck with them.
Last summer I bought large plants
and put them near the oak hydrangeas
and they have come back...
joy

I have big plans for revamping the garden this year, 

now if only the body holds out

or I get knowledgeable help

I have a wet area in the garden

maybe I will stop fighting it and make a rain garden

sedges already grow there

ah...the daisies

ah..the light
It's what got me out this morning
and soon the drops will be gone
but I was there
to see them

February morning in the garden

When it happens to you....it is magic

the faithful return of the daffodils

..the morning sun warming their green

This fellow greets me every time I walk in the garden

always smiling...rain or shine or snow

as does the real sun

faithful

I love moss...

have I told you that I love moss?

I always get a chuckle when I walk in the morning and see

who was there overnight ..walking in the garden

and I thought I didn't have any rabbits..huh!

ah..a spirit rock..that I missed

poor fella had to spend the winter in the cold

I have to admit that I will miss the bare branches of the white oak

Don't tell him..but he's getting a trimming this year

Do you stop and feel joy 

when you happen upon footprints in the snow?

man and rabbit.....as it is in life this day

we travel paths others have traveled

all the time

think of this when you step

who has been here before me

whose spirit passed this way?

Oh lordie, I just found this squirrel nest this morning

buggers!

tucked  way up high in the white pine

I'll be watching it for little ears

pachysandra...even winter yields to it

I heard chattering

oh someone, sitting on the neighbor's playhouse

right below the nest that I just discovered

hee hee

oh , glorious morning light

hello Lord

The garden
a place of communion this morning

Handsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I was speaking to my husband about miracles
could tests be wrong....could Handsome still be alive

praise be
at least one happened
It has been almost a year since I saw this fella
and he wasn't looking too well at the time
and low and behold
he appeared at my back door this afternoon

oh ye of little faith

It is sunny today, but very cold
Snow fell yesterday, a pretty big flake snow
blanketing the garden
That is such a cliche way of saying that
but it's just how it looked
a big white blanket covering everything

Today, with the bright glorious sunlight
 the trees have lost their covering of white
but they cast wonderful shadows onto the snow

 my wards are out..looking for food
just like the kitties do inside.....every morning

It is a joy to look out of the window and see them
flitting and scurrying around
and if you look closely in the photo of the garden bench
you will see a dove hiding out on it
blending in  :)

But the real joy came this morning
in the light
 I know God said that he was love
but I think he held back
for us to discover him in other ways

I think
God is light

joy

They worked hard on getting this nest to stick

The nest has survived thus far through the winter

and  I am certain that there is something going on up there

oh woe....more squirrels

It must be the peanuts I hand out

But on these long winter days, I am truly grateful

for their antics

they keep me looking

they make me laugh when I find very little reason to

in my own private world of winter

here's hoping for spring

and all the promise and hope

for beginnings

again