wild one

Celandine poppy
a woodland delight blooms alongside bluebells
I have had trouble keeping their numbers up in my garden
don't know why
But it is a strange thing these plants
all plants of the wild kind
they grow where they grow
Like in my neighbor's border of red twig dogwoods
I spotted them this morning
just as I was lamenting how few are coming up this year
and there was one! growing in his stone mulch (?)
Hey..I said..You are supposed to stay in my garden!
I will have to speak to my neighbor about relocating it
to its proper place..he won't care
would probably yank it out anyway
The man is a Neanderthal when it comes to gardens
all he cares about is grass..nukes it with everything
..my burden I know
Hard to live next door to someone who doesn't see joy
in flowers other than the marigolds that surround his pool
But he is a nice fella.I guess I should give thanks for that
...otherwise I'd have to be a common thief
and take the poppy while he wasn't looking
Hey...wenches have been known to do such things
for love

returning

"Yes, there is a Nirvanah; it is leading

your sheep to green pasture,

and putting your child to sleep,

and in writing the last line of your poem."

--Kahlil gibran

I love the wabi sabi of the garden

..therein lies my lust

to exist to the end and return

while I am yet here

may my eyes always be open

to see

the ordinary

wonder of woodland violets

and yes, that is an axehead

alongside them

returning

joy

migration time!

Joy this rainy morning
I spotted a Black throated green warbler
in my alder tree!
I have never seen one before
and he was beautiful
his yellow encircled eyes appeared
to be like the barn owl's face
Oh goodness...I have forgotten the joy
of sightings
especially ones that my husband can't claim (hee hee)
and this one ... a new bird on our life list..my life list
He didn't stay around, but flitted over to the horsechestnut tree
where I spotted a fully yellowed out goldfinch..JOY
those little birds are a favorite in my Open Bar of Joy
...who am I kidding...all birds are my favorite
well..except for the hawk..he and I have issues
Oh and there was also a white-crowned sparrow
kicking around the garden floor
Oh JOY...migration has begun
I only wish I had a good camera and the skill
to photograph these fast moving birds
ah life..isn't it grand
when you keep your eyes open
and be there when there happens

It has been miserable here....too much rain

..the squirrel has been digging up everything
and eating all my horsechestnut blossoms

But live and let live I say
a wench has no room to talk

 while walking through the wet grass
inspecting what has newly risen out of this wet soil of spring
I spotted a ladybug...
well..sort of..this one I believe is an asian one
not the kind I really like..
they bite
but this morning it was a joy to see one
a tiny little bug clinging to an unfolding fern
such drama in the garden if you look closely
soon there will be butterflies and bees
I can hardly wait for it to warm up
everything is waiting for the sun
to say
rise! grow bloom
even me

I heard your song this morning
and gave thanks for
simple
wonderous things
in my
Open Bar of Joy

Dear husband brought these home this week
for my garden
Who's going to plant them? I asked
hee hee
Happy Easter all
rejoice

Oh dear, the Siberian irises are all ready
poking their heads up through last year's debris
I can't believe how far behind I am in the garden
and now I have a new computer to figure out
Something has to give
this wench is spinning around in things to do
It is sunny today...finally!..but a bit cold still
I have no choice...I must get out there in my
Open Bar of Joy before it gets away from me
.....all this work to do
and yet....I swooned passing by the garden center
yesterday....itching to buy some more plants
....oh I can feel it...pulsing through my being
another growing season has begun!
joy

ouch

Plenty of these popping up
everywhere
-curse of the garden
But I guess it is the nature of the garden
to have hardship
and annoyance
and work that never ends
I could nuke these babies
but I won't
choosing instead to
hand pull them....best I can
I let them grow tall..it's easier to pull them out
but every once in a while
one hides from me
and the bees seem to love the pretty purple flowers
....of THISTLE... of the common weedy kind
the kind that hurts your hands unless you wear gloves
and I don't know about you, but I do not like
wearing gloves...
I want to feel the soil, the rocks, the plants
...the sense of touch
often over looked in gardening
but it is a joy
for this wench

Columbine,the flower

Columbine



Columbine has always been a favorite of early spring
its bouncing nodding flowers
bringing beauty to the garden
It lives peacefully alongside
sweet woodruff, irises
bluebells,trillium, solomon seal
and violets
I love the gang
that hangs out under the pines
my kind of
wildness
Makes this lustfull heart
for the new growing season
throb

another rainy day

As I walked in the garden this morning
rain drizzling on yet unraked leaves
I sighed ..Will my spring garden work ever get done?
 Then I saw the birdbath holding heaven's gift of water
it did nothing but be present

Let me be a vessel ,too
 ...for your gifts oh, Lord
 Get done what you can Suz
the garden doesn't wait on you
 or your hand
 it is rising as you moan

Spread your heart and capture joy
it splashes in the concrete
let it splash in you

He sings

A lazy morning got to bed late
....theater last night
Ah I love the magic of the stage
The play was called, The God of Carnage
We went with friends and then had a very late dinner
not a good thing when you are getting older...
 and the wine didn't help
But while I was leasurely enjoing my cup of coffee
 I glanced out the window and saw lady cardinal
with a mouth full of dried grass..then head off to the back garden?
What about the honeysuckle place you were scouting out in front?
Then he began to sing...at the top of the oak tree
annoucing I think...that it will be soon
I took my cup of coffee and went to the back window of the family room
 and yep there she was..flitting in and out of the mugo pine
 Oh dear...I did want to remove it....
 I guess she liked the way I severly pruned it back last fall home.
..she calls it home now
 and he hangs around the trees singing
and calling out with sharp notes for her to HEADS UP.....
 I can't wait for the arrival
...the reason it is all worth it
 life in the garden
joy!

Oh the bluebells
arriving like Cinderella to the ball,
outshining the violets and sweet woodruff
If I were a prince
I'd bow
then take her hand
and dance

Oh my, bunny fur
Why just yesterday I saw one
big and fluffy,hopping around the shade garden
...standing on her hind legs to look
over the garden bench
...and a few days ago I saw her sitting statute
in the dry branches of the redtwigs,
she thought I didn't see her
until I spoke to her..then she moved her ears
 ..Don't worry, I won't hurt you,
But watch out for Harry Hawk and... maybe a handsome cat... named Handsome
I have seen him watching you... from the deck...his belly full of roast chicken

But today here at my feet....fur ...woe
I looked around..no more than that tuft
I hope you got away....
What will the summer be without you
in the garden......and your little ones
scurrying around me like wee ghosts while I weed
...delighting me as I worship in the garden
with the great spirit
who has given it all to me to tend??

My husband says there are too many rabbits...don't worry
...one will show up sooner or later
I don't take my wards for granted....I value the wildlife
that graces my yard..and I do mean graces

Maybe it was nesting hole liner fur...dropped
maybe

Fern fists rise up

  wild geraniums spreading 

the command is heard

turned up violet leaves

the bluebells are opening

woodland drama stage

Breeze moves old dead leaves

copper wind lady spins around

Robin in tree waits

Rust coverd trellis 

Dried grass rustles in the wind

age comes to them both

Broken lantern glass

the garden witch has no spells

light comes from above

 

Shadow across brick wall

rose climbs up trellis

they hold each other

joys

The chilly air did not stop me this morning
from doing a bit of early morning puttering
in the garden and around the house
It is frustrating to me that when I get
a sudden burst of energy to start cleaning up the
garden from the remains of autumn
I have to thwart it......always something lately
today...dentist
But I wrote in my garden journal
that I discoverd that the clematis vine is waking up
I am so proud of this vine....the only wisteria that I have
ever had success with......oh
I can't take credit......I guess she's happy where I put her
And to those of you who remember that awful day when
I cut down (by accident) my  sweet autumn clematis....
well...she Lives!!
I also jotted in the journal that the tulips are leafing out
the honeysuckle is bursting with leaves..by the minute
...sunshine and warmth do that to all of us right now
The landscapers came yesterday...to clean up the front
...wise woman I am to bar them from the rear garden
I noticed that many little yellow daffodil flowers were
blown over..forever to kiss the ground...by their brutal leaf blowers!
A price I pay to have the front garden looking clean and neat for passersby
and for my husband.....You can have your wench's garden in the back...but ...
a civil woman's garden must be out front....I agree....sort of
There will be plenty of day left when I get home from the dentist
I plan on suiting up.....and grabbing the rake...and digging into the task of Spring cleaning
It is hard every year to believe that this barren debris filled garden
will be beautiful in about a month.....truly a leap of faith and a lot of work
But seeing the solomon's seals long fingers..
.and the heavenly violet leaves (I LOVE wild violets)
..and the pulmonaria waking up.....joy!
Makes it all worth it
Spring...I love you

I don't know about you,
but I am having the worst time
posting pictures through Picasa

So I apologize that this is the one I have to show you
of my HorseChestnut tree opening its buds

Now that I have that ordinary world stuff (complaining)
out of the way...let me tell you
what this means to me.....It is getting warmer
and soon the baltimore Orioles will land on the very top of the
tree's perfumed blossoms......
I can only see these birds from my bedroom window
they are so good at coming in and out without being discovered
The first time I saw them...my husband didn't believe me
just like he didn't believe me about the flock of Cedar Waxwings
in the Servicberry and elderberry
We sort of have this life long competition going on
we keep a bird list.....
I am joyful that he loves the birds as much as I do
'cause he doesn't love the squirrels at all
But it's my garden and I say they are welcomed
Last night I saw a raccoon  at my patio door looking in
I clasped my hand in joy and watched in silence in the dark kitchen
...that's how I am
and I hope I never change
Now to figure out this Picasa thing

Horsechestnut in spring
orioles flit through blossoms
color in the tree

Trilliums

The Trilliums
have risen out of the leaves of last fall
delicate little beauties
often unseen in the wild
but thriving in my little garden
...this day
I needed their reminder
of the trinity
comfort given me
 from wee plants
little corms that will soon bloom
May I

Welcome

I am a solitary gardener
probably because I don't fit in with the real gardeners
..the knowers of such things as soil,light,genus, etc.
I am a wench of feeling...full of lust for my garden...it is a love affair
We speak to each other not having language of words
we share wind, rain ,sunlight, earth
I give tending and structures
The garden opens
It is really not a wild place
for it has been planted here by me....rescued from commerce...
But I give it the freedom and wildness that I can
and the animals and birds come to the party share in the music of creation
I welcome all
Once I even had a garden club come by...ha
remember I told you they went home with my chocolate mint..hee hee
that they loved the wildness of my yard...something they could (they meant..wouldn't) do.
 But wenches never look around for approval
they lust for life in the moment
 finding what makes them feel alive
and for me it is the garden and all my wards
 I have tried to make friends with others near me who have beautiful gardens
 but it never gelled somehow.....sad really
Sometimes even a wench needs someone of her own kind
 to share amazement with or the joy of beauty
But the great spirit has given me you
sharers of joy
 lovers of all things in nature
 praise

In the morning light
I saw a hawk take a bird
life and death revealed

wild,like me

 peony fingers and pachysandra

 bluebells and wild Hyacynth

 bloodroot and lungwort

        my new garden troll with owl!                                      swelling horsechestnut buds on a raining day

Early this morning I took a much needed walk into the garden
like a transfusion of joy this stroll
Overhead, birds busy flitting about and singing..it's that time of year
the Life Goes On time of year
give thanks I say to myself again
I can't change the world, but I can tend a garden
It has rained for two days now and the garden soil is very wet
I haven't had time, or the weather has been too cold for me to rake out debris
It maybe too late to clear certain areas now without breaking my precious woodlands
What did I just say? I heard myself.....and I laugh....they are woodlands...nothing ever gets cleared in the woods....let it be..let it decay....wabi sabi
The smell of the wet earth is full of lust........
One of my other rescues..from the same site as the bloodroot, is the wild hyacynth
We dug it up not knowing what it was and we were pleasantly surprised to find out what we had rescued
The ratty looking leaves gave way to little stems that brought forth tiny purple flowers with yellow tips
but it was the smell that gave it away...pure heavenly lilac like fragrance
When I found it in my wildflower book it said....found occasionally throughout Illinois..habitats include:black soil prairie,moist savannas,moist open woodlands along streams,found in high quality habitats..whether prairie or woodland. 
Oh how incredibly sad that the habitat was destroyed.....forgive us for what we humans do to you ,both animal and plant......we sin against nature and she keeps on ..forgive
But I have a few.....I could never leave this house..this garden
Do you like my new gnome..my troll and his owl ?
My husband frowned when he saw it. What can I say.....I must be who I am

Red Bird

It's not the promised 60 degrees outside
but that is a good thing, I am stuck inside waiting
I hate waiting,feel it a waste of time
waiting for a repairman
But I am salved by the fact that it is sunless outside and a bit cold
 my tending to the garden should be starting now... So many interruptions lately
I'm itching for that warm day when I can dive into the quiet meditative work
 of sacredness of tending to
I love to bear witness to awakening
especially in myself
The garden does that...
one breath at a time
one green leaf at a time
one opening bud at a time
I need restorative energy right now Drained of my reserves...
 from the past two weeks of nurturing others
God give me a quiet day of earth in my hands
But wait I must do today ...and accept it
ah...accept
 the secret of living in joy.
..accepting what is as the gift that it is
If I had not been waiting by the window for the man to arrive
I would have missed the mating pair of cardinals in the White oak tree
scouting out the honeysuckle bush for their spring nest
They have nested there for the past 3 Springs
an honor greater than any given by humans
Have you ever listened to the song of a male cardinal?
 pure joy notes
He's in love and she is too
and together they bring forth a new generation of their kind
...sort of like the joy I've felt these past weeks
a new generation of my kind running through the house
ah..thoughts of gratitude flow through me
all because I'm waiting
I guess I will give up the hating of this waiting
and instead see the gift that it has become

Red bird on white oak
honeysuckle branches wait
sharing of new life

***

My Little Ones

My little tulips are back safe in Laguna Beach
little miss still running a fever....oh dear what a week it was
But this morning I went outside and prayed for all of it...
a prayer of thanks for all that God has given me the privilege to have in my life
especially them my little grandchildren...the flowers of my life's garden
And as I was communing with the Great One
I looked down to see that the Blood root has risen out of the ground and in some places
it has bloomed
Some day I will show a picture of what it looks like now
the place where I rescued them from
It will make you cry....if you love natives
When we first stumbled upon them....we didn't know what they were
but the 100x100 ft spot that they filled was stunning in the spring light
hundreds of delicate white flowers rising out of dead oak leaves
they stood quite tall, maybe 10 inches..really
We went back to our car and got out our spade and bucket (we always keep one in the car for such rescues)
we saved what we could before we were chased away
The developer didn't care......he paved it all
Oh such sadness I feel remembering it....all the woodlands that are gone forever
I have since heard of a group called the Wild Ones...they go on plant rescues when development
dooms these plants....
My little Blood roots...safe in my garden
My little Bloodroots safe in Laguna Beach California
Praise be to God

Haven't visited the garden this past week
haven't visited my blogger friends either
too much grandma stuff going on here
sick kids all over the place woe..I have forgotten how hard it is
 no time for nurturing of the self or indulging the senses
 in the simplest things such as breezes or sunshine or peonies poking through the earth
only time for hot little bodies sitting next to me
wanting comfort
But I did glance out the window and see these viburnum buds swelling
Whether I am present or not
the garden needs no witness or audience
 it goes about its business of surviving and living
it serves only one Master
 blessings and joy
..be back  soon