Daybyday cum Garden cum Recollections etc. etc.

Off on my sidebar I have this long list

of Blogs which once I posted to

enthusiastically and with great energy

but times have changed

and so I have decided to amalgamate...,

(there's a good word)

the main reason being that I feel lazy and unproductive

when I go from one ABC Wednesday letter

to the next, without anything in between

even though I think in my mind

of a thousand things I'd like to write about!

So tonight it is DaybyDay cum Garden

and the picture above is redolent of the garden

in mid-summer

when all the springtime pastels have 

said farewell and the

vivid reds and yellows and purples of summer

come into their own.

I have stolen a few new potatoes

from the little curtain at the bottom of the 

potting bag that allows you to do that,

and enjoyed them with mint and new peas...

only a few of which twine themselves

around a pretty metal tower.

It makes me feel that I have a garden again!

Oh happy days, when I had a gardener too......

These days I find my happiness tending the flowers

(which sometimes requires that I roam the garden

with my machete, filling barrels of yard waste with extra greenery

I get so carried away at planting time)!!!

Here is a little smattering of these vibrant colours....

and the early morning smoke that drifts down from the

wildfires in the Cariboo/ Chilcotin

where my dear children keep vigil

and wait for the smoke and the danger to go away.

Bears, Bees and honey

ABC Wednesday
July 19th, 2017
The Letter is B for Bears, Bees and honey

When considering the subject of

Bears, Bees and honey

do we ever think of the morals involved?

Well, probably not,

but Aesop did

at least he considered the consequences of the whole affair

When the Bear came across the log filled with honey

and snooped around, thinking to fill his tummy

a single bee came out to protect the swarm, 

and stung the bear.

In a great rage the bear swapped the log with his huge claws

determined to destroy the nest of bees...

but a swarm of bees flew out and stung the bear

from head to heels

and the bear saved himself by diving into the nearest pond.

The moral of Aesops story?

"Better to bear a single injury in silence than

to bring about a thousand by

reacting in anger".

Probably Winnie the Pooh

ate his stolen honey with delight and serenity

but Mary Oliver tells a story in her poem

Black Bear in the Orchard

that delves a little further 

into the consequences and the morality

of the whole thing

Black Bear in the Orchard

It was a long winter.

But the bees were mostly awake

in their perfect house,

the workers whirling their wings

to make heat.

Then the bear woke,

too hungry not to remember

where the orchard was,

and the hives.

He was not a picklock,

He was a sledge that leaned

into their front wall and came out

the other side.

What could the bees do?

Their stings were as nothing.

They had planned everything sufficiently

except for this: catastrophe

They slumped under the bear's breath,

They vanished into the curl of his tongue.

Some had just enough time

to think of how it might have been -

the cold easing,

the smell of leaves and flowers

floating in,

then the scouts going out,

then their coming back, and their dancing -

nothing different

but what happens in our own village.

What pity for the tiny souls

who are so hopeful, and work so diligently

until time brings, as it does, the slap and the claw.

Someday of course, the bear himself

will become a bee, a honey bee, in the general mixing.

Nature, under her long green hair,

has such unbendable rules,

and a bee is not a powerful thing, even

when there are many,

as people, in a town or a village,

And what, moreover, is catastrophe?\

Is it the sharp sword of God,

or just some other wild body, loving its life?

Not caring a whit, black bear

blinks his horrible, beautiful eyes,

slicks his teeth with his fat and happy tongue,

and saunters on.

Mary Oliver

Pause for thought......

More Bs here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to Melody and all those,

busy as bees, who assist her.

Steeped in recollections

Sunday evening
July 16th, 2017

I am feeling well steeped this evening

just like an old tea pot

except tonight I am steeped in recollections

I may have mentioned before that our old Museum

(which was once a jail cell

for wild west law breakers, 

but for the past forty years has been a

reformed and respectable museum)

Small and somewhat inadequate, 

but now the Museum Society has another property

with a large building and room for

the old jail cell to settle in, outside.

There is also a great selection of articles, items and

newspaper clippings for which there

was formerly no room for display,

but which now need to be sorted and polished up for view.

I have taken on the job of going through old newspapers,

clipping what I deem to be precious and of value

to visitors and future generations.

This being a sit-down job and me being one of the oldest residents around.

This I have been doing for the last few days, and I must confess

it has been most enjoyable.

Things that happened - people I had almost forgotten

wonderful to make their acquaintance again!

I found a newspaper record of a talk Charles had given

at a Remembrance Day service

and it brought back the occasion,

and his words to young people of 1976

about preserving the Torch of Freedom

in peace time.

He said, in part " Nevertheless, it is good to gather once a year

and show the young that we do not forget, thought time goes on.

The Torch of Freedom has been passed to us, and in turn must

 eventually be passed down the generations.

Indeed, freedom is still the legacy, but its face has changed

with the times.  Today war is not the danger to Freedom.

There is not now a danger from without, but the

possible danger of loss of freedom from within."

The account goes on to say that Charles, taking quotes from

D.H. Lawrence and Plutarch, made the point that

freedom can slip away through luxuries and complacency.

and he posed the question

"Are we becoming slaves through default?"

In other words, by demanding more and more

from government services we entangle ourselves "in a system that

in fact restricts liberty".

And I remembered how we had discussed that when

he was preparing his talk (and at other times) and I still fear

that we are giving up our liberty and independence

for support that makes us beholden.

Well, I have gone right off the subject of 

"being steeped in recollections"

but you must forgive me....sometimes when you are the oldest

your mind wanders a bit!!!

post script - I have forgotten the Lawrence and Plutarch quotes

but nevertheless, they must have been relevant.

ABC Wednesday
July 10th, 2017

The letter is A

for Anxiety

At this late stage in my life I have tried to banish anxiety, living day by day, depending upon circumstances and experience to enable me to handle problems with some serenity.

Today, tho' I must admit to some anxious thought for the thousands of people here in British Columbia who have been distressed and made homeless by the ferocious wildfires that are so prevalent, fanned by summer winds and encouraged by the hot dry weather we are experiencing..

Oh, I am particularly anxious for family - two dear sons and a precious DIL who are living. off-grid, in the midst of this inferno in the Cariboo/Chilcotin area of the province.

News last night that the fire down the road is now threatening the neighbour's house, and these are the circumstances that the ever-vigilant firemen immediately respond to..... . 

So my anxiety is somewhat relieved to know this little stage of the greater fire is being acknowledged and dealt with, along

with all the dreadful fires that have driven whole communities from their homes

 throughout central British Columbia,

 and also forty miles from here along the road we traveled so often in the past, 

(it being dotted with wonderful lakes and fishing spots, now ravaged).

This is the second time the Meadow has been threatened by wildfire 

and they are encouraged by memories of the concern and competence of the fire fighters 

last time around. 

They are also well equipped with huge mobile water containers,

 fire hoses, large moving equipment, and even a drone that makes morning 

forays into the surrounding countryside to assess the situation.  

Their father would be very proud of the way they are coping with this threat,

 and their continual awareness of living where your welfare and safety

 depend almost solely on your own spirit of independence.

Although domestic animals are being moved and cared for,

 my heart hurts for all the wild animals who call this ravaged countryside home...

And there.........when I thought of the start of a new round of ABC Wednesday,

 and the letter A, 

ANXIETY immediately sprang into my mind...

However, anxiety is furthest from my mind

when I consider this new round of ABC Wednesday

so ably and generously undertaken

by Melody and her helpers.

Here, you will find other "A"s

Z for Lisa Zaron

ABC Wednesday
July 45th, 2017

The letter is Z for Zaron

Lisa Zaron

A modern American Poet

Born in 1969 to an American-Norwegian mother

 and a 

Norwegian father

-------

gifted with her father's love

for the written word.

---------

The Blues are all the Same

It seems almost too far fetched really,

too difficult to believe

This unassuming moon shining like a copper plate.

These milkcrate blues.

The soft trellis of sound

wobbling through the wind

as if pouring out from the window

of some lonely house on the hill.

How beautiful it is,

the ghost of your voice,

haunting this empty valley

Lisa Zaron

dedicated to Jackson C. Frank

More interesting Zs here at ABC Wednesday
with thanks to all who have
maintained this wonderful meme

June 30th, 2017

The last day of June, and what am I doing?

Well, I watered the pots, and the bits of garden that had a drooping appearance, - I felt sure they would appreciate a little shower from the hose to freshen up their leaves!!

It is definitely a summer garden now, - the lilies are bursting forth with all their lovely fragrance, and the yellow daisies drift over the shastas and all the purple and rose flowers that complement the silver of the lambs' tail.

Yesterday I spent the morning with my wicker basket of fine cotton, designing the warp for a garden scarf that will incorporate all these summery colours.

I was pleased with the result, but have been puzzling over the sett of the warp - will 28 ends per inch give me the right hand, -  firm, but not too firm,.  Or should I go for 30, and a balanced weave.

My thoughts veer away from the actual warp winding, when I think of all the changes in colour, but, there, what is life without challenges!!

Having finished my second blanket/throw devised from my precious stash of old balls and skeins of wool, the loom is now naked again.  Surely it can't be complaining of the cold, with all this heat - it must be modesty that motivates her to cry out to me whenever I go past the loom room!!

There is Canada's 150th Birthday celebrations to deal with tomorrow, and I am only on page 56 of Monday Evening's Book Club assignment, - a book about the power of Introverts in a world that can't stop talking.  It is "a well researched book on the power of quietness and the virtues of having a rich inner life.  It dispels the myth that you have to be extroverted to be happy and successful".

Being somewhat of an introvert myself, I am quite in agreement, but somehow I have yet to be fired up and excited about the book, and time is running short!!!  I foresee any warping being delayed until the middle of next week, but that's O.K. - anticipation is 98% of joy, - I can think about all those gorgeous colours winding onto the warping board without actually having to tie all the knots!!

I am off now to read a page or two before Bruce and Callie start thinking "supper" and the evening news comes on with all the drama of our British Columbia political situation where the Liberals lost a non-confidence motion (or did they lose a "confidence" motion) and our government has been taken over by the ubiquitous NDP propped up by three members of the Green Party, the thoughts of which have made the Leader of the Greens quite giddy with power and excitement, and the rest of us waiting and watching to see how any business will get done with the opposition with one seat more than the newbies!!! (after they choose a speaker).

Life is terribly interesting, providing you keep aware and busy.....

Post Script - don't forget the White Rabbit will be hovering close by tonight, looking for his usual obeisance so he can shower us all with Good Luck in July......

Y for Yanni

ABC Wednesday
June 28th, 2017

The letter is Y for Yanni

A Greek musician

known and admired for his synthesized music

which has been described as 

"a kind of peaceful easy-feeling link

between pop music and classical music".

A video from his concert in the Acropolis...

(The Storm / Vivaldi)

a fitting place

for a Greek Musician, although

Yanni emphasizes the world-wide

aspect of his music.

And another,  which I like very much

The Rain Must Fall

More Ys here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to those who

maintain this great meme.

X for eXhaustion

ABC Wednesday
June 21st, 2017

The letter is X for eXhaustion

The cure for eXhaustion

Sometimes exhausted

with toil and endeavour,

I wish I could sleep

for ever and ever.

But then this reflection

my longing allays

I shall be doing it

one of these days

Piet Hein

More Xs here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to those who so

eXcellently maintain this

eXtraordinary meme

This and that as I weave away!

June 17th, 2017

A nice day for weaving....

Here are a couple of scarves I wove after being inspired by Jane Stafford and her tips on balanced weaves.  They are awaiting hemming!

But on this one I cheated - it has a nice long fringe - no hemming required

These scarves are woven with a 20/2 silk, remnants of past weavings.

I am using up my stash.  For two reasons....

The hopeful one is that I will replace it with new threads and go on weaving

forever and ever..

The other reason is that I don't want any of my children

shaking their head, rolling their eyes

and commenting on parents and their accumulations!

When the time comes...

With this in mind I have been gathering up my containers of wool,

sorting them into piles and colours,

or sometimes jut randomly plying two or three of them together.

Using the Indian Head Spinner, as shown below.

I end up with a lovely variegated warp

which I put on the loom

beamed, threaded, sleyed and tied

and then woven gently with a thinner weft.

Down in the lower left corner Callie sits on the throw

as it comes off the loom..

ah, but when water and washing

does its magic...

This cosy blanket hangs on the back of my chair

to keep Callie and I warm while we snuggle and read.

I am now on my second one

and intend to keep going until all those leftovers have been morphed

into something that will light up the children's eyes!

In the meantime our youngest son, on a trip down

from the Chilcotin,

very kindly put together my Countermarche, in the garage.

Here he is puzzling about what goes where and why.

I love him for doing this!

(amongst other reasons)

For the last ten years it has been resting, all in pieces,

because its User (me) couldn't get her

 knees up and down

to tie up treadles.

I have a DIL who is more supple than I and wants to learn to weave

and I'm not going to let THAT opportunity pass by!!!

My children are all so good to me, and sometimes I wonder how

Charles and I had the wisdom to have six of them

to help us in our ancientness!

God bless him this Fathers' Day!!!

W is for Wheelbarrow

ABC Wednesday
June 14th, 2017

The letter is W for Wheelbarrow

A famous poem of imagism by Dr. William Carlos Williams

THE RED WHEELBARROW

So much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens

More Ws here at ABC Wednesday

with thanks to all who maintain this

interesting and captivating meme

V is for Veritable

ABC Wednesday
June 7th, 2017
The letter is V for Veritable

I have chosen this word for V because I find it has always filled me with such confidence.

How could you not be fond of a word that expresses 

genuine, factual, indubitable, unquestionable, 

authentic, reliable, trustworthy, valid and true.

Would you not say that these

children are listening to

a VERITABLE storyteller?

. . . . . . . . .

On the other side of the coin

the word Veritable holds a little sadness,

reminding me of that last great push

by the Allies in the effort to end

World War Two

Operation Veritable

was the northern part of an Allied Pincer

movement that took place during

the final stages of the war and in which

the Canadian Army played an important part.

My husband's brother was killed here,

in a meadow just across from

the Hochwald Forest.

Such a sad place to die...

a veritable tragedy.

more Vs here at ABC Wednesday. with thanks

to all who maintain this veritably wonderful meme.

June 4th, 2017

An Excerpt from a June, 2007 posting
which only goes to prove that the more things change, the more they stay the same

Despite the devastating things that happen in our lives, the moves we make, the changes in circumstances, still, beneath whatever desolation saddens us there is a core in the way we cope with life that stays the same and carries us through!

Well, I've come to that conclusion, anyway.

In June 2007 I copied that lovely old admonishing William Henry Davies poem that goes thus.....

What is this life if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see when woods we pass

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see in broad daylight, 

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich the smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if full of care

We have no time to stand and stare.

And said, in so many words  "One of the most delightful advantages of aging is an awakening awareness that probably hasn't been felt so strongly since childhood.

Do you rlemember the intense kinship you felt with all of nature when you were a child?  The awe that little things inspired?  A wiggling worm, a taqdpole, the green grass growing and the passion for four leaf clovers?  What a precious affinity we had with GRASS, embracing time in guiltless idleness as we lay on the lawn, imagining shapes in the white clouds of summer.

And the little girls who romanced with the flowers in their mothers' gardens, making princesses our of hollyhocks and sweet heaqds of clover, - all dressed for the ball and Prince Charming.

Now, as age steals busy activity, it leaves in its place the time to recapture some of the awe of childhood.

The 'trailing clouds of glory' that Wordsworth saw surrounding the very young child seems to return to us, and surround us, as we reach the final years.

Some are lucky (or wise) enough to carry the sense of wonder throughout their whole lives, but for others it is a surprise gift, bestowed by a sense of infinity and appreciation".

At this point in 2007 I entered some of the gorgeous flowers 

that grew in the garden Charles and I nurtured in those days. 

Different garden, but yes,

 my time in the garden today was spent amongst the same beauty....

and gave me the same comfort.

I am still stirred by the magic in the early morning garden, 

and have great awe and enthusiasm for the new blooms that surprise me every day. 

 Such a comfort, too.....

From Francis Hodgson Burnett, and the Secret Garden..... 

"and the secret garden bloomed and bloomed, and every morning revealed new miracles".

Coffee is at seven if you would like to join in the back garden,

just down the lane...