Friday, August 31, 2012

The Night of the Blue Moon

Friday, August 31st, 2012

This posting may not have too much to do with the Blue Moon, but I am excited that it is the thirty-first day of August and tomorrow we start on that most favoured month.

SEPTEMBER

Well, the sun's not so hot in the sky today,
and you know, I can see summertime slipping on away...
James Taylor
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I see that there are dried leaves on the lawn, but they are from some mid-summer
branches whose leaves wilted when the tree at the front, which nobody is able to identify,
became a little droughted.

What I am looking for are leaves that have a little tinge of scarlet around the edges, or a mellow
aura of pale yellow creeping along the veins of the tired green sun-dried leaves,
promises of  the glowing lights of funeral costumes that will soon
illuminate the orchards, the vineyards, the meadows,
 the ditches, the fences, the mountain sides,
the trees, the gardens, - 
the whole glorious valley, kindled with the fires of autumn.






Already the goldenrod  and rabbit brush line the country roads like singing sirens,
calling to me to gather great armloads and take them home to dye the yarn
that was so abundant in by-gone years, when we husbanded sheep and lambs.



As I lay on the cusp of sleep last night I thought about the dyes and mordants
that I have squirreled away in a Navajo basket,  and about where they
might be, - that alchemy that turns yarn into gold and precious jewel shades.
Up in the trailer that houses all of my weaving - looms, warps, reeds, shuttles, etc., I think. 
 September seems a perfect time to take on the project
of organizaion, distribution, and maybe even a little creation.




The  Blue moon is extraordinarily beautiful tonight,
shining gently through clouds that drift lazily across
her lovely face.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Sweet Peas and Peaches



Wednesday
August 29th, 2012


Blogger offered me a way to download pictures by e-mail, and it seems to work, so just for a test here are the pictures of the fragrant Sweet Peas and the ripening peaches that are quickly being devoured.











I have had an interesting (and sometimes frustrating) morning, but lots of satisfaction 
in learning something new.

Still would like to know why blogger freezes up when I try to post pictures....

They are really quite innocuous pictures, don't you agree....

Fragrance in the kitchen

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

Oh, September, - I watch for you down the road with shaded eyes, and am encouraged by the coolness of the days this week, as August prepares to pack up and hit the trail.

A beautiful fragrance in the kitchen this morning, as I picked a few fresh sweetpeas and tucked them into a small glass pitcher above the kitchen sink  Is there anything in the world that smells so delicate and light?

They are full of memories, as I'm sure they are for any prairie girl where they grew over everyone's back fence and filled the sunny days with their glorious perfume and pastel beauty.

Combined with the wonderful rich aroma of ripening peaches it is certainly the place to be if you can't be out in the garden.

Today the weather has been unsettled with a heavy rainfall just at supper time.  Callie got caught out in the storm - a few mighty claps of thunder and probably a little lightning as well.  I went to call her in, and when the rain had stopped took her treats out to rattle a bit, but she wouldn't venture forth until Charles came, and in his trustworthy  and calming voice he called to her and she came immediately from where she was hiding in the raspberry patch.  What DOES that man have about him that he inspires such comfort and safety?  Well, he and Callie have a thing going, - she is happiest spread out in the wonderful nonchalant way that cats have, all over his knees, with her head tucked up beside his arm.

Blogger is being very naughty today and won't allow any photos, but I will try once again to see if I can capture a picture of the Sweet Peas.....









Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday
August 27th, 2012

We are having morning coffee in the back garden yesterday when the next door neighbour to the East came out with some offerings for her wonderful large compost box cum worm farm - red wrigglers, which she says are much superior to common earthworms for producing castings and making deep rich friable earth.

Over the last few months we have watched a full box of leaves and yard waste morph into a half a box of gorgeous black soil, worth its weight in gold here in town where the soil seems so thin and scanty.......highly favoured for fishing, too on account of their wiggly actions and the fact that they stay alive longer in the water.



These neighbours are the age of our middle children, and very busy.  They are First Nation's people, and she is deeply involved with the administration of Band business on the Merritt Reserve, while her husband has classes in the local school, teaching and promoting education in the Native Okanagan language and culture.

He is also an accomplished and inspired flutist with a CD entitled 'It's About Time' released in 2010, - really enchanting sounds which are accompanied by piano, guitar, harp, hand drums and bird songs.  Herman plays for documentaries, short films, community events, weddings, healing gatherings and  has been nominated for the Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards.



We lingered talking to both he and Joanna for an hour, leaning on the side fence, discussing Native issues, ranching and farming and weaving and compost and canning salmon - life in the Similkameen and education problems.  The children from the local Reserves have been integrated in the local school for over a hundred years, and during that time, at least in our family, close friendships have developed, and easy and familiar relationships exist.

Extracts from Herman's haunting CD can be found here.



Some of Joanna's Red Wrigglers can be found making themselves at home in our compost bin!!