ABC Wednesday

The letter is the Spectacular S

Shall I choose SUNFLOWERS or SNAPDRAGONS to represent this Snappy, Sunny letter?

Either conjures up beautiful images...

 

Snapdragons were a favourite in my grandmother's garden and it delighted small children to snap the dragon's mouth open wide.

2008 was a Special year for Sunflowers in our garden.

 

And a feature on the menu at the Bird's Bar and Grill

 

For more great Ss slide over to Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday  here and enjoy

the Sterling presentations

from Denise, Roger and all their Spiffy helpers.

The Lure of the Greenhouse!

What is one to do on a sunny Sunday afternoon when all you've been missing in the garden is the fragrance of the Evening Scented Stock?

Why, go to the Greenhouse of course.  Not a happy outcome to my journey, unfortunately, as this year Anna had decided not to seed the Evening Scented Stock, or the Fragrant White Nicotiana.

However she did have some Heliotrope and some lovely spicy Carnations, and so I brought some of both home with me  - along with a Liantris, two one year old Foxglove plants, (looking towards next year) a couple of packs of sweet smelling allysum (just in case I should run out) three or four small trailing plants and a lovely Diamond Frost ferny kind of filler - oh yes, and some Pinks!!!

I sacrificed a large old juicer to pot them all up in, and why not!!

I think my juicing days  are done, but oh, how I will enjoy those

gorgeous evening fragrances......

and I will buy some seed and plant the Evening Scented Stock in a pot

I will keep by my bedroom window.

ABC Wednesday

The letter this week is R, which stand for Ranunculus.

Here is the Ranunculus that grows in my garden,

 

 better known as the Persian Buttercup

 

 

It blooms at the same time as the bleeding heart, the oriental peony, the apple blossom, the lilac

and just before the iris

and it makes itself quite at home, wandering the garden all summer so that in the following

spring it shows its lovely face in hitherto quite unfamiliar places.

 

 

 

it does bear watching - inclined to be much too intimate with all its neighbours,

and even the flowers across the garden path

and over into the next bed....

 

For more great Rs visit here at Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday, with

thanks to her, to Roger and to all their helpers.

 

ABC Wednesday
May 8th, 2013

The letter is Q

 

Q is for Quince

 

 

 

Here is the Quince in blossom today along the side garden...

and as it looks in the fall, when it matures to a bright yellow

 

 

The Quince has a romantic history.  A native of Persia, Greece and other Eastern localities it figures
prominently in ancient literature and classical legends....  It is believed in some scriptural circles that the Apple, translated, was the Quince and it is supposed to be the fruit alluded to in the Canticles,

"I sat down under his shadow with great delight and his fruit was sweet to my taste';  and in Proverbs, ' a word fitly spoken is like Apples of gold in pictures of silver.'  The Quince was held sacred to Venus, regarded as a symbol of Love and Happiness. and the 'golden apples' of Virgil are said to be Quinces

All well and good in warm climes where the Quince matures into a soft, juicy fruit, but in colder parts of the world the fruit is hard, more like that of an immature apple or a pear.  The rind is rough and woolly and the flesh harsh and unpalatable with an astringent taste.

 

Not appealing to be eaten out of hand, but perfect for Marmalades or Jelly.

 

Quince Marmalade

Pare and core the Quinces and cut them up, putting them into water as they are cored, to prevent them from blackening.  Put them into a preserving pan with one pound of sugar and one pint of water for every pound of fruit.  Boil over a gentle fire until soft.  Then put them through a sieve, or mash with a spoon, boil up again and tie down in the same way as any other preserve.

In France, before putting the marmalade into pots, a little rosewater and a few grains of musk, mixed together, are added.  (I told you it was a romantic fruit).  This is most delicious and among the French, by whom it is called Cotinat, has a reputation for its digestive powers.  This I learned from Wikipedia....

For more interesting takes on the letter Q visit here at Mrs. Nesbitt's ABC Wednesday, with thanks to her and her Quirky Helpers.

Sunday, May 5th, 2013

A sterling chain of gorgeous days has kept me outside; in the garden, visiting plant sales, working my small, limited time in the church's outreach Bargain Centre (where I also found three perfect blue pillows for the outside bench),  and redistributing dirt into all the pots I could find so that tomorrow I can go to the garden nursery and indulge myself in wonderful flowers and veggies to fill that motley collection of containers.

 

The new blue pillows also inspire me to go to the paint store and spiffy up the benches they sit on with a new coat of paint.  White or blue, - what do you think?  These were left by the former owner - Charles said they were in such rickety condition they probably wouldn't have made the move to the northern reaches of the Province......but I like them, and we both enjoyed morning coffee here.

 

I find myself to be a little redundant at the Bargain Store; useful only for re-hanging and straightening out the crowded racks, removing empty hangers and engaging in conversation with our many customers. 

 

It is true that I have put in my time at the Bargain Store over the years when my energy was at a higher level, but even if just for morale I go gladly for a couple of hours twice a week when it is the Anglican Church Women's turn to take part in this village outreach.  Well, it's more than the village, - we also sort and send donations to the Gleaners, the Salvation Army, the Women in Need, and anybody else who calls upon us for help.

 

I  found a couple of old cotton T shirts at the Store and plan to turn them into a garden statue on Tuesday.  At a Paverpol statue workshop......

I would like to make a lovely large heron to brood over in the shady corner of the garden, but I think perhaps it is a little too ambitious for a first time endeavour.

 

I saw these statues at a local art show a week or so ago. They are made with wire and strips of cotton and Paverpol, of course.

 

 I went to the show with our son, Sid, who was showing some of his soapstone carvings, and I took along a basket of weaving odds and ends for interest's sake.

 

A busy week - it passes the time!

ABC Wednesday
May 1st, 2013

The letter this week is P
Perfect for Peonies

 

With a Paean of Praise from Mary Oliver in her beautiful poem "Peonies"

 

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready

to break my heart

as the sun rises,

as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

 

and they open -

pools of lace,

white and pink -and all day the black ants climb over them,

 

boring their deep and mysterious holes

into the curls,

craving the sweet sap,

taking it away

 

to their dark, underground cities -

and all day

under the shifty wind,

as in a dance to the great wedding,

 

the flowers bend their bright bodies,

and tip their fragrance to the air,

and rise,

their red stems holding

 

all that dampness and recklessness

gladly and lightly,

and there it is again -

beauty the brave, the exemplary,

 

blazing open.

Do you know this world?

Do your cherish your humble and silky life?

Do you adore the green grass with its terror beneath?

 

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,

and softly,

and exclaiming of their dearness,

fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

 

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,

their eagerness

to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are

nothing, forever?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more wonderful Ps click here and push over to ABC Wednesday where Mrs. Nesbitt and her perky helpers provide you with many pleasant and piquant pictures.

Friday, April 26th, 2013

On Wednesday I said to Charles (out loud) "I am going to take a drive down to Cawston and see what's happening at Ginty's Pond - would love to have you come along....."

 

It was a gorgeous day.  Blue sky, wispy clouds, warm breezes and sunshine!!

 

 

 

 

 

I went first to Kobou Park, a project of the community to mark the 1967 Centennial Year,

-  when we were young, -

And since kept in beautiful shape by the young people of the community

(and some of the older people, too)

who use the ball parks and the children's corner constantly.

 

What interested me most was my thoughts of contributing in Charles' name

 to the trees that rim the park,

placed there in memory of pioneers of the Lower Similkameen 

and some of the people who

were part of the Cawston Bench Lands,

veterans of the Second World War who planted the dusty sagebrush flats.

 

I thought about what tree would best exemplify his dear, generous life,

and think it is a decision I cannot make on the spur of the moment.

 

 

 

I left the park, still pondering, and drove along to the western end of the pond.

 

 

where the shrubs and trees and grasses that line the water are that wonderful

luminous green of April and springtime.

 

 

Last year's bullrushes rise crisply above the rather murky waters, holding aloft

their soft, puffy seed heads, enticing the birds and the wind shamelessly.

 

 

Stretching into the eastern part of the pond there is a little green growth, then smooth waters

 

 

 

I pass beside the river, and the hills that rise above its far bank..

 

 

 

and I come to the end of the pond that crosses the road through a culvert that

stretches to the south, winding its way down again to the river.

 

There is a great deal of housekeeping going on here!

 

 

 

and perhaps still a bit of courting

 

 

I came home through the orchards in bloom and the gardens blossoming with spring flowers.

 

 

 

 

and along by the creek that runs through the Rocking Chair ranch

 

 

It was my first venture out alone, and I thought I did pretty well.

 

Lots of lovely memories of other days, other drives, other conversations.

 

And memories from long ago, - I remember the first year we were in Cawston,

roller skating down the Main Street with Steven, our oldest -

 

and skating on Ginty's Pond during the 1950's when the winters were

cold and the snow was deep and there was a marvelous place to party and have bonfires.

 

Ah yes, and here is this ancient lady, wandering around, taking pictures

 

and finding some contentment,

 

 

as I turn into the driveway at home and see Callie, waiting in the window....