The Lenten Rose

 

 

Here is the great pile of snow that the Bobcat rolled out of our driveway, and along

the fence line to create a little parking spot.

 

 

In some spots along the street the road is practically a one lane road, although the last few days of warmer  weather have taken all the ruts away and we are now driving on pavement – mostly.

 

Not that there has been any sunshine!!!  It is possible to follow the sun as it traverses the top of K Mountain, but only as a faint glow behind the lowering clouds.

 

I looked at all this snow stacked like large dirty white haystacks at each intersection in town, and thought glumly about when we would ever see a bulb or blossom with two feet of the blessed stuff covering all the garden.

 

Then I thought about the Hellebores, – those lovely Lenten roses that only have a few days to make it to Lent, which is early this year, according to the moon.

 

It was a warm afternoon.  I will go out!!!!

 

I walked to the mailbox in my boots, slushing through the snow at the sides of the road. 

 

When I came back I found a small shovel, and after I had put feed out for the birds I started to remove the snow carefully where I knew the Hellebores were tucked in under their white coverlet.

 

Here is what I found!!!

 

 

How brave and beautiful as they did what they had to do in the season they were called upon to do it

 

I cannot begin to tell you what a wonderful feeling of hope and well-being they gave me.  I have been waiting with such longing for spring and the garden to distract me from my other yearnings

 

Inside, some of the bathtub forsythia has made it to the centre of the table – a lovely cheering accompaniment to dinner-for-one

 

 

along with three delicious books of poetry that arrived in the mail.

 

Mary Oliver’s ‘What do we Know’ and ‘Owls and other Fantasies’ as well as the selected poems of Wendell Berry.

 

From Mary Oliver….bless her for the beauty and the wisdom and the joy and comfort she imparts…..

 

Here are her thoughts on springtime and the woodpeckers

 

All day the flicker

has anticipated

the lust of the season, by

shouting.  He scouts up

tree after tree and at

a certain place begins

to cry out.  My, in his

black-freckled vest, bay body with

red trim and sudden chrome

underwings, he is

dapper.  Of course somebody

listening nearby

hears him; she answers

with a sound like hysterical

laughter and rushes out into

the field where he is poised

on an old phone pole, his head

swinging, his wings

opening and shutting in a kind of

butterfly stroke.  She can't

resist; they touch; they flutter.

How lightly, altogether, they accept

the great task, of carrying life

forward! ............

 

ABC Wednesday

The letter is D, the flower is Delphinium

One of my favourite flowers.  I have grown them in every garden I have ever had.

 

Delphiniums are an alkaline loving perennial,

popular in cottage type gardens where their beautiful showy spikes tower  in gorgeous shades of blue, pink, white and purple.

 

They are fond of moist cool summers and definitely need to be staked early in the season if they are going to be exposed to sudden wind or rain.

 

Difficult to grow from seed, they should be purchased in a pot, unless, of course, you have a friendly neighbour who is willing to part with a crown.  Dig a hole twice the diameter of the plant’s container, and be sure that the top of the root ball is level with the soil.

 

After the first blooming in June cut the flower stalks to the ground and new flower stalks will develop so that you can enjoy Delphinium in October, although they won't be as spectacular as the June flowers – but just as precious as you go into winter.

 

Very young delphinium plants and delphinium seeds are poisonous, and can cause nausea, twitching muscles, paralysis and even death, so please don’t consider them a delicacy.

 

For more interesting Ds please click here and visit ABC Wednesday.

Watching for Woodpeckers

Here is the Amaryllis that will carry us into February

 

past Groundhog Day and possibly into spring

 

(she said, quizzically, hopefully)

 

one would think, given the dreary skies of January, the little varmint would not see his shadow.

But I’ll bet you twenty cents he does!!

 

However, I have heard this morning

that there is another harbinger of spring upon which to put one’s trust

and anticipation.

 

It is said that the courting of the woodpecker

is the way to track Spring's advance as she loiters along snow covered lanes

in the wintry woods.

 

and it is reported that even now, as we speak,

the sap rises in the pileated woodpecker and they are a-courting!!!!

 

Do not be discouraged if Ground Hog Day is sunny -
 

put your faith in the Woodpecker.

 

ABC Wednesday

The letter of note this week is C
C is for Cleome

 

Cleome

“Spider Plant”

 

A lovely flower, known for its exceedingly long seed pods which develop below the flowers as the bloom progresses upward, giving the plants a spidery look.

 

As do the projecting stamens of the flowers.

 

Cleome grows in great clusters of flowers, six to eight inches in diameter, perched upon stems that grow up to six feet high.

 

Cleome grows well in average soil located in full, or nearly full sun.  It is not a shade plant and likes to  display its spectacular beauty right out in the sunshine

 

Sow Cleome when the ground is warm, – or start it indoors four to six weeks before you plan to plant it.

So, can’t you see this beautiful plant at the back of your flower bed?

 

Planted in clusters of pink, white or lavender shades it makes a most satisfying annual. and if you treat it properly and live right the seeds will probably propagate the next year.

 

I sent away for my Cleome seeds yesterday, and plan to make a new bed in the back garden where they will hide the chain link fence and add a bit of drama to the East.

 

 

 

For more about the letter C visit here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt who founded this Meme and all who work to maintain it.

This and That

I am trying really hard to get back into posting, but am finding my inspiration and enthusiasm at a very low ebb,  so I will begin in a very small way by talking about what I am reading, what I am doing and what I am thinking.  Well, you might not be too interested in what I am thinking as I seem to spend a fair amount of time sitting quietly, reminiscing, sometimes with a small smile and sometimes with a tear or two.

I keep two journals, – one for memories and for the moments when a bit of fragrance or a snatch of music broadside me, suddenly, without warning.   And the other for the plans I have to carry on with life;  indulge myself with gardening dreams and a trip to see the Meadow folk in the Cariboo country, attend a concert, go for lunch, immerse myself in what is going on in the village…..

What am I reading?  Oh, a variety of things, – on my Kobo a light book on a quilting adventure, – one of a series.  Together with a little piano music it puts me into a dreamless sleep at night. 

During the daytime  I am reading Wendell Berry essays, and some of his wonderful poetry.



I cannot choose between the essays and the poetry, they are equally absorbing.  The Essays make me think,  - the poetry, sometimes, makes me cry,  So very sensitive and compassionate.  I open the poems randomly….

Grace

 

The woods is shining this morning

Red, gold and green, the leaves

lie on the ground, or fall,

or hang full of light in the air still.

Perfect in its rise and in its fall, it takes

the place it has been coming to forever.

It has not hastened here, or lagged.

See how surely it has sought itself,

its route passing lordly through the earth.

See how without confusion it is

all that it is, and how flawless

its grace is.  Running or walking, the way

is the same.   Be still.  Be still

“He moves your bones, and the way is clear.”

 

The Bloomsbury Review says of Wendell Berry –“(he) is one of those rare individuals who speaks to us always of responsibility, of the individual cultivation of an active and aware participation in the arts of life, be they those of composing a ;poem, preparing a hill for planting, raising a family, working for the good of oneself and one’s neighbors, loving.”

 

He is not a careless man, but one who is mindful of all aspects of life, – wise and philosophical , caring of the earth – in my mind I compare him to Wallace Stegner and have the same regard for his works.  I am surely enjoying “Imagination in Place” – a small book of essays.  It appeals to me especially as one who has spent most of her life in the same valley, amongst the same people, surrounded by the same hills, the same farms and orchards and vineyards all breathing and surviving in the same beautiful country.

 

When I am not reading, I sometimes go through drawers and cupboards, cleaning out the accumulation of years – who needs seven wooden spoons and five potato peelers, I ask you!!  Or close to fifty white handkerchiefs, some of them still in their original packaging!!!

 

Or I knit.  Early in October I bought some beautiful silk twist yarn in many brilliant colours to make an afghan but when it came time in December to start it was too large a project for me to cope with, and so I found a pattern for a plain knit hat, done in the round.  After the first one I made it even simpler and just cast on 48 stitches, knit for nine inches, began to form the crown and drew it all together, and sewed the piece into a hat.  There was enough of each colour left to make a moebus scarf – mindless work, but it kept my fingers happy and gave me a little start on Christmas next year.

 

 

And Vincent, our youngest son, ploughed his way through the snow in the Garden on the Hill and brought me great branches of forsythia which now reside in the bathtub – perhaps too early to force, but it makes me feel good to try.

And I made some homemade bread, loving the feel of the dough beneath my hands.

 

Life is good...

ABC Wednesday

The letter this week is B

and following the flower theme I have chosen  Borage to represent the letter B.




An ‘umble ‘erb, but one of my favourites because of its gorgeous colour, its cool and refreshing taste of cucumber when made into a summer tea, and its great attraction for Bees, who buzz around the bountiful plants in great delight.  And they are bountiful, – if you have one Borage plant you will soon have a dozen.  They are an annual plant, but they self seed easily and prolifically.  In our garden on 10th Avenue the number of star-like blooms  challenged the numbers of stars in the heavens, I’m sure!!

I offer you an excerpt from Sir Google that sings the praises of this friendly herb.

 

“Borage Flower Essence aligns strongly with the Heart chakra.  It works directly and powerfully to clear the debris we no longer require.   This clearing results in increased Space in the Heart, particularly to let in new Awareness around Close, Loving relationships, enabling stronger connections and feels of Confident Love.  Borage offers a strong sense of hope and confidence for those times when we feel discouraged and want to shrink away from situations and people.  This essence also offers Calm and allows tensions to soften.  Borage acts as a Heart Tonic, re-awakening feelings and capacities to make loving connections, especially when they have felt risky”
 

In the garden they are a good companion for tomatoes, squash and strawberries.
 

They are even supposed to deter tomato hornworms, which would not have pleased some of our boys when they were youngas they were great gatherers of the Mighty Hornworm, and I once even found a bucketful in the same bed as our youngest son!.

 

If you are going to use the leaves of Borage for tea or salads or sandwiches pick them when the plant is young as the older leaves and stems get quite prickly.  Plants can be pinched or pruned to encourage branching and more tender foliage.

 

When frozen in ice cubes the starry blooms make most attractive additions to iced tea or you could even try a Borage Julep.

 

As with all edible flowers, use sparingly until you know how they affect you.  Borage is said to have a mild laxative effect.

 

For more interesting interpretations of the letter B click here to visit ABC Wednesday, and thanks to all those associated with this great meme.

ABC Wednesday

The  letter A and we’re off again!!!!!

A is for the Amaryllis






I have been awaiting this moment, when ABC Wednesday began another trip through the Alphabet, hoping to be diligent about my posting.

Because of my great yearning for gardening and spring to arrive I am going to use flowers as my theme as we go through from A to Z.

The amaryllis is perhaps one of my favourites, – in league with the paper whites.   Both of them get me through the winter months when outside the skies are dreary,  and I watch out my window at the Hawthorn tree to see if the catkins show any sign of the sap rising.  What would December and January be without their brightness at the window!!!!



If I choose to plant the spent bulbs in the garden after a little rest from their spectacular showing during the winter season, some of them bloom quite vigorously, but then they don’t have the energy to do it all over again the next year, so it is probably better to let them rest quietly, and then around the first of October put them in a cool dark place to awaken the urge to start blooming again. 

Pot them up around the first of December and they will add their glory to the Christmas season and beyond when the most attractive reading to the gardener is the seed catalogue and the incredible gardening magazines that illustrate what other green thumbs and creative minds have accomplished.

Many thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her Able helpers for carrying on this terrific meme, – click here to see what other wonderful interpretations for A have been posted.

The skating rink, then and now

When I was very small, when I was still wearing bob skates

 

(do you remember bob skates??)

………..and before I was allowed to go skating at the big Alberta Avenue Rink , my father built a skating rink in our backyard that attracted all the other small children in the neighbourhood, and that is where I learned to skate.

In the evening he would water the closed in area with a hose, and during the calm, cold prairie night it would freeze into a lovely smooth icy surface.  After a few nights of hose work the skating rink was ready for all the little bob skating types and we would have a perfectly lovely time!

 

 

Fast forward about 85 years and you will find the same thing happening on a much larger scale.

Somebody up there is giving the village a real hosing, – (it rains)

 all up and down the streets and back lanes and in the parking lots,

 and during the night the temperature doesn’t really plummet,
 but it gets low enough to make it terribly hazardous for all those old people
who threw away their bob skates

when they got old enough to tie the laces on their single blades.

Ah well,  I have my cane with the spiked end

 and my ankles really aren’t up to skating any more.

P.S.  Many thanks to Morning’s Minion who reminded me about Windows Live Writer, which just works like a charm if you are having trouble with Blogger.

 

 

 

Happy New Year

I am planning to slide very quietly into the new year

in hopes that I will be able to find a peaceful corner to recover my equilibrium

after the disquiet of our own personal

Annus Horribilis

Such a sad year with all the divisions in our ecumenical church,

 which for 42 years had enjoyed the friendly worship

of two denominations and which now lies in tatters.

And it ended in sorrow as we lost our darling

husband and father.

And so I greet the New Year with new aspirations,

 still grieving, but with hope and love and mindfulness,

and with grateful thanks and memories

For last year's words belong to last year's language

and next year's words await another voice.

And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot

 

 

 

December 22nd, 2012

 

A snowy day in the Similkameen

the evergreens at the front reach chilly fingers towards the window

where Callie crouches, watching passers-by

 

and towards the west that strange bamboo like tree that grows in the neighbour's

yard and shields my kitchen from the setting sun is home to a

blue jay who flits among the tangled branches

but never stops long enough for a picture.

 

here is the home of the little birds who shelter amongst the

cedar branches and beneath a snowy roof

 

 

 

I ventured forth to feed the birds, and within five minutes of setting out the sunflower seeds and

the small seed for the smaller birds, the ground was awash with quail

The men of the sidewalk cleaners brigade are having a busy day of it, -

 the snow is coming so fast and heavy that there is hardly time for a decent coffee break

before they are out with the shovels again.

 

They have sidewalks on the other side of the street.

If you don't keep them cleared of snow you are fined by the village.

 

There are compensations for not having a sidewalk

but I do sometimes feel a little guilty when I cross the street

and enjoy the fruits of their labour.

 

The white hats on the clusters of bright mountain ash berries

grow larger and more peaked by the hour



but inside all is warm and cosy and the stocky amaryllis that decided to sprout early

have nice Christmas blooms



some of the paper whites will be in bloom by Christmas Day, but they have been most

irregular this year - I look forward to them stretching the season out somewhat

as the slow pokes bloom later in January.

 

I have found it difficult to find room for all the decorations this year

but here is the Christmas Angel our elder daughter brought to us

over forty years ago, when she came home from Art School at Christmas break.

 

It never fails to greet friends and family with the sweetness

and loving innocence of Christmas.

 

A Merry Christmas to all dear friends....

 

 

ABC Wednesday for December 19th, 2012

W is the letter of the Week

There is really nothing extraordinary about choosing A Wild and Wonderful Winter Wonderland to picture W, - but that's the way it is here these days!

There was a time when winter was my favourite season, - I skated and skiied a little and I loved the sound of the snow crunching as I walked the trails behind our suburban home.

The Band played at the local skating rink and we crowded the changing room and the central fire that warmed us after an hour of whirling and twirling and yearning to be figure skaters.

Here is the very rink I skated on, with the band stand out in the centre of the ice where the musicians huddled around a pot-bellied stove  on Sundays and Wednesdays and played marches and waltzes  in the crisp wintery air. You notice that the girls are wearing skirts, - it was a time before trousers were accepted as Women's Wear.

Oh dear, now I grumble at having to take the SUV out of the garage on to the snowy streets, and if I should go walking I hear Charles in my mind, - 'Do you have your cane?  Have you got the spiked end on it!!!" Still, the memories of gliding and music and sweet cold air are Wonderful!!

More W's over here at ABC Wednesday with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and her be-Witching helpers.

Vintage Vehicles

ABC Wednesday
December 12th, 2012

Here is the letter V which stands for Vintage Vehicles

Strictly the term 'Vintage' only applies to a Vehicle manufactured between the beginning of the

year 1919 and the end of 1930

 

I think some of these lovely machines are pre-vintage

but anybody creative can put together some wonderfully romantic stories

to go with them.

This is a pretty spiffy looking machine with a handsome chauffeur and a couple of pretty ladies to show off the brass horn and headlights, and the fancy wheels

 

 

Oh,look at the wonderful rumble seat and more spoked tires!

Are those side lanterns ?  Love the lines......

 

 

And here below is a Vintage Edwardian - an American car

and what I would call a 'touring' model

 

 

 

 

A couple of beautiful old-timers

 

 

 

and a gorgeous model for taking the family on a picnic.  I like the arrangement

for holding the roof down!!

 

This song was written in 1909 so I think the Oldsmobile hit the road

quite early in the last century,

but I'm sure you would like to sing along

 

Just follow the bouncing ball......

 

 

 

For more takes on the letter V  click here to visit ABC Wednesday,

Mrs. Nesbitt and her Vivacious helpers

Ukelele

ABC Wednesday
December 5th, 2012

U is for Ukelele

 

and here is a splendid sample of Ukelele music

by the U.K. Ukelele Orchestra

 

 

Enjoy!

 

For more interesting U's pop over here to ABC Wednesday

The Beloved

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Widow

Charles Goldie

 

 

I am stepping lightly into the world again,

 

 testing the waters of Widowhood with tentative toes.

 

I have been wandering slowly and hesitantly in Blogland

 

appreciating the kind words of condolence

 

and trying to find my way back to posting.

 

I see the birds come to feed, and the year prepare for winter.

 

The stark beauty of bare branches touches my heart

 

but my life seems circumscribed

 

by one reality

 

and my mind at rest is the dwelling place of only one lonely thought. 

 

Since early in our marriage I have cherished this poem by Sara Teasdale

 

The Beloved

 

It is enough of honour for one lifetime

To have known you better than the rest have known,

The shadows and the colours of your voice,

Your will, immutable and still as stone.

 

The shy heart, so lonely and so gay,

The sad laughter and the pride of pride,

The tenderness, the depth of tenderness,

Rich as the earth and wide as heaven is wide.

 

Time is the great healer, and December is here,

the month of love and new beginnings.

Tomorrow I will plant the paper whites! 

 

A bleak day....

The flag above the Cenotaph descends to half mast

 

and we grieve for another cherished Veteran.

 

My darling husband died yesterday,

 

but I will be back anon.......



ABC Wednesday
November 14th, 2012

The letter is R

The object is Roller Coaster

What a merry ride as they slide over the top, into a gentle incline, but wait!  Soon they will not be throwing their arms in the air and displaying their bravery with such happy aplomb.  Soon they will enter into a 'mindbending',  breath stealing, heart stopping plunge...and then what of all that bravado!!!!

Here is a rather noisy video of the MindBender at West Edmonton Mall, - the largest

indoor roller coaster in the world, I believe.

 

This is not the Roller Coaster I cut my teeth on, so to speak.

In the '30's when Sunday Schools were the vogue

and Sunday School Picnics were big social affairs,

the Parish of St. Faith's (Anglican) held their annual Sunday School Picnic

at Borden Park, in Edmonton, where there was a Tunnel of Love

and The Green Rattler roller coaster!

 

 

In those days of my childhood I was fairly brave.

Each child got a ticket to ride the Green Rattler, but there were some among us

who were not as brave (or foolhardy) and it was quite easy

to collect extra tickets and have a half a dozen rides on

The Green Rattler at just one Sunday School Picnic.

 

My next encounter with a Roller Coaster was in the late 1960's, or maybe the early 1970's.

 

I took the two youngest children to the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver

and while there, remembering my delight with The Green Rattler

in days of yore, I suggested a ride on the fairly new (1958) wooden

roller coaster at Playland (or Happyland, depending upon your vintage.)

 

photo credit tiffa130 Flickr

 

 

 

photo credit Dennis Sylvester Hurd Flickr 

It is still a great thrilll to thousands of folk, but alas, I found that I had lost my zeal for roller coasters at that stage of the game, and though I love to read about the rickety enjoyment
other people get from it I will just watch and admire.

Charles and I are on our own personal roller coaster at the minute, both physically
and emotionally as his health swings from the heights to the depths.
At the moment he is on an upward swing, but I have
been there before ........I pray that we will reach a nice even run.....

For more great R's visit here, at ABC Wednesday
with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and all the rollicking ABCers.
 

Wednesday, November 7th

As we made our daily trip to Penticton today, up through the valley bottom where the trees are still brilliant with autumn shades, we climbed to higher altitudes where a strong wind has thinned the leaves on the deciduous tree and in some cases scattered all the ground beneath them with gold.

At the highest point of the pass the beautiful bones of the alder and aspen are filagree lace, silhouetted against the darkness of the evergreen hills.

I was reminded of Mary Oliver and her beautiful "Lines Written in the Days of Growing Darkness".

Every year we have been

witness to it: how the

world descends

 

into a rich mash, in order that

it may resume.

And therefore

who would cry out

 

to the petals on the ground

to stay

knowing as we must,

how the vivacity of what was is married

 

to the vitality of what will be?

I don't say it's easy, but

what else will do

 

if the love one claims to have for the world

be true?

So let us go on, cheerfully enough,

this and every crisping day.

 

though the sun be swinging east,

and the ponds be cold and black,

and the sweets of the year be doomed.

And I thought about how these words are so relevant to the November of our lifetime

ABC Wednesday

The letter is Q

Q is for Quoits

Here is a fun video of a game of Quoits at a local pub.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg, Horseshoes or Quoits??? 

It seems some people are Quibbling about this, but no matter which the game of Quoits appears to have had its origin in ancient Greece  where poorer citizens, who could not afford a discus, made their own by bending horseshoes into a circle.  They were used in their open form only after it became customary to practice pitching at a spike embedded in the ground.

In England Quoits became so popular that Edward 111 and Eichard 11 prohibited the game in order to encourage archery.  However, it became quite a well organized sport by the 15th century probably because of the numerous attempts to eradicate it from the pubs and taverns of England.

The pub variety of Quoits has many offshoots, - games such as ringtoss or hoopla becoming popular as parlour games, and deck quoits which became popular as a means of entertaining blase passengers on long cruises.

For more interesting aspects of the letter Q click here to visit ABC Wednesday, sponsored by Mrs. Nesbitt and her quirky helpers.

The subtle shades of Autumn

Thursday, November 1st, 2012

There is an expression used in dyeing yarn with an Iron Mordent, - it saddens the colours,

 and this is what the misty, rainy weather has done to the surrounding hills
as we travel back and forth  over the Yellow Lake Pass to Penticton,
 to sit with Charles in the hospital. 

 

His hip is healing nicely, but because of his age

he is having a rocky time with

post-op delirium

and yesterday we found him quite lucid first thing in the morning

but by noon we were all on board ship around his bed, and he was cautioning us

not to go too near the railing.

 

I hope tomorrow will be better.

They say the sun will shine.

But what could be more lovely than these

rich rusts and golds that change each day,

depending upon where the mist swirls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here at home the garden takes on the subtle shades of fall.

 

 

and across the little undeveloped parkland the shrubs and trees shimmer in the rain

 

 

These daily trips through gorgeous autumn colours are lovely and quiet,

but not quite adequate compensation for a healthy husband.