We had our first snowflakes this morning
hardly noticeable
I put the pumpkins out for the squirrels
The ground is wet from yesterday's rain
It rained most of the day
while I stayed inside putting up the tree
I put a log in the fireplace, put on Christmas Carols
lit candles,baked cookies
But my eyes were always looking outward
through the glass...to the remaining leaves of Autumn
then to the one remaining flower huddling close to the brick wall
The garden is leaving..going underground
dropping its garments....what remains is exposure
enabling me to see the bones of the plants and trees
their structure
Soon it will look like a barren land
not a garden space of joy
But the wards will still come to cheer me each day
and some days I will suffer watching them suffer
bitter cold winds and deep snow
But I must remind myself that winter's blue skies are the best
and seeing my breath on such a day is a thrill
and some days it even feels warm
and winter beauty is a different kind of beauty
it is footprints in the snow...birds at feeders, squirrels with snow covered faces
and of course the stray or two who alway manage to find my door
where they are welcome
On Christmas Eve I put out a special tray for my wards filled with goodies for all
left over bits of nuts and fruit and bread,bits of ham and turkey
to thank them
 for all the joy they bring me
So today I will finish all the house decorating
then I'll take a walk,check out what berries still remain on the bushes

who will love the little sparrow...will no one write her eulogy?

The common sparrow

I give thanks for this cheerful bird

ordinary and messy in its nest building

but a tenacious caretaker of its young

And it is nests in my birdhouses

I love to pass by the nursery and hear the peeps

calling for mom or dad

...hungry mouths sometimes reaching their soft yellow beaks out

of the entry

When I stop and speak to them they pull in and mother usually

sits in a branch, mouth full of small moth...and waits

I speak to her too

Don't worry mom...I'm going..thank for nesting here

in my Open Bar of Joy

Sparrows are the birds I remember while growing up in Chicago

No vast gardens in my neighborhood

but the sparrows were always there for this little girl

sometimes dozens of them perching in a snowball bush

chirping so loudly that my grandfather complained

about the noise and the feather and other stuff mess that they left behind

But I loved their cheeriness

...part of my budding love for birds and all things of nature

And then there was the despised pigeon that roosted on the electric wires

in the alley....I loved their cooing in late afternoon sun

This I had to keep to myself....Grandma hated them

I don't hate anything

I now see these poor birds as the underclass of the bird world

brought here by humans.....trying to survive

yes, they are messy....but that must be their way...encased in their genes

and humans brought them here to this foreign environment

and learned to adapt

humans....always messing with things

I will never forget the time I saw one dead in a parking lot

and its mate kept poking it trying to stir it

it did it for an hour

We are all connected in this universe

surely, we must have empathy and concern for such suffering

even in a lowly bird

So this morning I was glad this sparrow

perched and looked at me and posed

 a prince to me

JOY

There is always wonder in the garden

even on the bleakest days

It's my attitude that must be adjusted

to allow me to open up

and see

hear

feel

smell

touch it

I wish you could hear the wind bell

so ethereal

I wish you could see the light

illuminating this glass star

or wish that you could smell the wet earth

one of the gardens best fragrances

It is getting colder each day...but on Thanksgiving it will be 58!

the Creator gives

I must open to receive

The little chickadee in the Alder tree

sings away....chick-a-dee-dee-dee

...better than Pavarotti

...my heart wide open

expanding

It was a delightful sunny,windy afternoon.

...whirling leaves, bending boughs

blustery bird wings

ahhh

and shadow...that glorious companion of light

This may be the best part of season change

the change in light

almost as if it is sent to distract us from the ordinary duties of the garden

Who cares about anything else while in the garden when slanted glorious rays of sun

are penetrating through the ordinary debris of summer?

Oh and the sky was so blue and the wind made itself known by its sound

I just stood and listened to its serenade

Okay, I'm in love...

I too will turn and face the sun

perch awhile, let my ruffled feathers settle down,

sit in the blue of the sky

Little red feathers...

 help me see the swelling bud

 just at the end of the branch

The maple shed her leaves
they gathered around her like a fallen gown
smitten instantly by autumn
true and utter love in his arms

Not just a tree rat,but a ward

 

I have been without a computer...oh woe

I hope someone has cared, for isn't that the fun of blogging?

The garden is almost put to sleep; we have had some glorious warm days

mingled in with the blasty windy days and chilly nights

This morning I spotted Boo staring out of the patio door

his body rigid ....hmmmm...means something

So I wandered over and sure enough, there it was ..a mouse

hiding behind a remaining flower pot

He was munching on a sunflower seed

unaware of Boo watching his every move

It hasn't been a good week in the garden for me...

one night ago I looked out on the yard before turning in for the night...

I always do.....sometimes I catch a raccoon walking by or a possum

or who knows what else......I love that the wild loves my garden

Well, I spotted two kinds of fur rumbling just beyond the deck....

then I spotted what was a squirrel tail flying around with a possum tail

oh no!

I ...without thinking...ran outside to break up the fight (I have been known to do that with humans too :0 )

but the possum wouldn't let go....so I banged and shouted..until he scampered away

I searched for the squirrel in the dark....couldn't find him

went inside to get a flashlight.....found him.....curled up in a fetal position....a tiny little squirrel

oh dear.....

I covered him with a large flower pot so the possum wouldn't find him

But in the morning he was stretched flat out on the ground under the pot

dead

Oh my little ward...all night I lay awake thinking of ways I could help you in the morning

thinking of which crazy vet would look at you

think of ways to build a nest in the tree to put you in

thinking of everything in order to not feel the great sadness

that I would feel in the morning

I just confess to being a lover of animals...all animals

they are a gift for me from God...they have seen me through many a sad time

they bring me joy.....

I hoped all night

...hope

a great thing God has hardwired in me

but this time he said ...no

My little ward was dead in the morning

I buried him under leaves...I think he would of liked that...

my husband will never understand how hard I take

the well being and death of an animal

....I have been like this since I was little...bandaging a garter snake that had been cut

by a lawnmower.....a band-aide bandage on a snake...really

I lost a moment of joy in my open bar of joy

but I always give into the new moment

and joy is always there

..now how do I tell that little mouse that Harry Hawk

loves mice...and would love to meet him? 

safe journey my little friend

While raking, I looked up and saw light

passing through the Japanese Maple leaves

I stopped and beheld

ah...the garden keeps giving

Sometimes I think

heaven opens 

and we see a bit of it

or feel it 

or taste it

It is in the slant of light

illuminating the colors of the leaf

in late afternoon

and in the smell of the earth

wet from a rain

almost fooling me to think
 it could be spring,that is the new life guest
 soon to arrive

The wind has blown warm a few times lately

stopping me at the store, in the parking lot,

stopping me to look at lowly pigeons

scurrying around for bits of nourishment

in the scattered debris of human consumption

Lowly pigeons sharing in the illusion of Springtime

in the throws of Autumn

Soon it will be bitter and the daylight will be shorter

and I will scurry like the pigeons...

scurrying in and out of car and buildings

seeking refuge and nourishment

unaware most times that in winter

heaven opens, too

Today, it is going to be 65

a blessing

The colors of autumn are fading

but they are still to be had

I shall walk in the garden today

fill the feeders and birdbaths

rake a bit

and I shall sit

and enjoy your grace

oh dear Lord

for this marvelous day

a day of life

given

So much family stuff going on

the garden has been neglected these past days

But I have a new visitor coming to the door

I thought at first it was Handsome, but alas, it was not to be

Oh how my heart breaks to speak of that old cat

and how I miss him

Truly I miss his grumpy face at the door every morning

insisting on a certain menu

His royal highness, feral cat supreme

I wish to think of him like my cat, Buster,who 16 years ago got out and never returned

I like to think of Handsome with him now, in an old lady's house...keeping her company

giving her hope, and joy and companionship

...say it is so dear Lord...that there is a place as this for lost pets

Now I am the old lady....feeding this rascal

He is very frightened....so by time I get my camera..he is gone

so excuse the bad photo

The hawk was in the yard this morning..I shooed him away

 My granddaughter wanting to know why

He eats my birdies...I tell her

Maybe he's hungry, Grandma

hhhhhhmmmmm.....she's a bit like her grandfather, I see

As we were eating our pancakes ,two cardinals 

arrived on the deck, sitting on little Handsome's bowls

boy and girl

My granddaughter, Reagan, liked this

...so did I

25 pounds of sunflower seeds
5 pounds of unsalted peanuts
apple bits and strawberry tops
and it is not enough
... that damn squirrel
He has violated my pumpkins
or was it the possum?
Maybe he'll carve two eyes and a scarry mouth
by Halloween
you think?

My husband looked out of the window and snickered,
Its always the frogs, he said.
What?
Your lineup out there on the deck.
I looked out and saw what he saw.....the fall lineup...a garden stop
yeah, it does look like the frog is guilty....get your hands above your head
Oh ..so much work putting things away, cleaning up....I welcome a good laugh
But you know....that Stafford 

I have been busy gathering things

to wash and to put away 

until next season of growth

ha...growth..this I have done a lot of this season

It must be the added year that turned a decade for me

Things are in some ways simpler...

I don't worry about this or that anymore

not even in the garden

I have let myself become completely wild

falling in love at every turn of my foot in the garden

Why just this morning I spotted this little cosmos

peeking its head out of the asters

I SEE YOU...I whispered

Oh, it heard me

can't you see its smile?

The geese honked overhead just as I whispered this

to the little flower so brave and true to itself

I looked up and waved

wished them a happy journey

soon I will travel to another place

may I find my voice yet again

maybe even honk a little

So much to do this week

but I must tend to the garden first

It is quickly coming to an end

and all the ladies in this chorus line are doing their thing

It is almost a wild party in the garden

every flower and plant throwing out its last hurrah

before standing naked in leaves

feet frozen to the ground

waiting for a blanket of white

to cover them 

I heard that we are going to have a repeat of last winter

urgh!

..better stock up on birdeseed

I told you I have lots to do...now one more thing just added to my list

wild party in garden

flinging leaves and last flowers

I partner in dance

walking around the garden this morning

the ground covered in wet leaves

I heard an unfamiliar, for here anyway,

the call of a Blue Jay

Do you think it had anything to do with the peanuts

I put out this morning before walking?

How did that rascal spot them so soon?

I followed the sound

and yes, it was a Blue Jay

flying away with his beak full of peanuts

JOY

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

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

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

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