(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Wallflowers

Please keep my friend Robbin, from Cedar Chest of Dreams, in your thoughts and prayers. Her family is grieving the tragic loss of Robbin's oldest son.

photo by Aisling, May 28, 2008 1) orange wallflowers in the butterfly garden, from a wildflower seedpacket mix

Sunday Stroll Invitation

You are invited to join me in a Sunday Stroll today.

My camera isn't working well today, so I hope I am able to post some new images myself! Right now there is a little lull in the garden, as spring bulbs are fading, and the summer flowers are just beginning to set their buds. A slow unfurling is taking place... leaves unrolling, buds swelling, flower stalks rising... as the garden quietly waits for the warmth and brilliant sunshine of the summer. Despite the sedate pace, the garden is new and different each day.

"No two gardens are the same.

No two days are the same in one garden."

~Hugh Johnson

If you have time this week for a Sunday Stroll, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too. I'll check back often and try to keep the list updated.

Look who's strolling:

Imelda at Greenish Lady
Me, here at the Quiet Country House

Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm

Joyce at Tall Grass Worship

Sunday Stroll - New Each Day

photos by Aisling, Sunday May 25, 2008 1) Orchid Lights Azalea 2) the violet border in the butterfly garden 3) the first flower bud on my oldest Lupine, original a "hand-me-down" from my mother-in-law's garden 4) a pansy in the front garden 5) Black Hero Tulip from the front garden 6) Golden Supreme Apple blossom 7) Bosc Pear blossom 8) Salad Burnett blossom in front of lavender in the herb garden

Monday Muse - Inspiration from Blogs Goes On...

I've been writing Monday posts these past few weeks to highlight the blogs in my blogroll.

The next blog on my list is Patty's Morning Ramble. Patty is a long-time proponent of living the simple life. I encounter many blogs of folks who aspire to live a "greener life." What is a current trend has been a way of life for Patty for much of her life. Her blog posts offer glimpses of the simple life she lives on a small farm in Texas. Her photography is wonderful, and her posts remind readers to focus on the people in their lives rather than the "stuff."

The next blog belongs to writer Olivia Kroth. Currently, much of this blog is in German, but English translations are often provided. I love the nature photos and related quotes that this author shares. She has another, more personal, blog that I still need to add to my blog list. She is one of those "connected to nature" kindred spirits whose thoughts I love to read.

Kate's cheery blog, Our Red House, appears next on my list. Kate writes charmingly about what is going on in their home: what's cooking, who is having a birthday, what the chickens did when they visited the schoolroom. *grin* I love her seasonal observations, even though her southern hemisphere seasons are the opposite of what is going on here at the Quiet Country House. I check in often for pretty photos, great recipes, and interesting stories.

photo by Aisling, May 18, 2008 Azalea, cultivar orchid lights of the northern lights series

Sunday Stroll Invitation

It may be difficult for me to get good garden photos today, and I may have to take my walk in a raincoat or a heavy sweater. This is our weather forecast for the day: "Cloudy with a few showers. Cold. High 47F. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30%."

The chance of rain is only 30%, but the wind is certain; it is already here. Wind keeps the leaves here in motion almost every day, but today it has tree branches swaying as well. Like a good rain, the wind can be a cleansing experience... maybe not so good for snapping crisp, focused photos of flower petals, but good for the soul.

"Only those in tune with nature seem to pick up on the energy in wind. All sorts of things get swept off in the breeze - ghosts, pieces of soul, voices unsung, thoughts repressed, love uncherished, and a thousands galore of spiritual ether. Wind is an emotional rush because emotions are rushing by. " ~Drew Sirtors

Whatever the weather in your corner of the world, if you have time this week for a Sunday Stroll, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too. I'll check back often and try to keep the list updated.

Look who's strolling today:
Robbin at Cedar Chest of Dreams
Me, here at The Quiet Country House
Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm
Joyce at Tall Grass Worship
Amy at Embracing Change

Sunday Stroll - Hiding in the Wild Edges

I had to slip into some of the wild nooks and crannies on the edges of our property to get photos today. The flowers in the gardens are in constant motion with this chilly wind, and every photo I took was just a blur. Ah look, a purple blur... must be a tulip. This white blur? I think it was the foam flower (tiarella.) Finally, I made my way to the wild edges of our property, down in the low areas amid the native dogwood and viburnum, to take my Sunday Stroll photos.

photos by Aisling, May 18, 2008 1) wild strawberry blossoms 2) dandelion 3) looking up from the mossy wetland toward the house 4) moss under the native shrubs 5) chocolate mint in the creekbed, with the blue sky reflected in the water

Being Five

When my girls were little, and doing cartwheels, and bopping around with so much light and vibrant energy, I used to say that it would feel good, as an adult, to walk around - to dance, flit, and spin around - in one of those five-year-old bodies for even just a little while. Another great joy in being so young, is the complete "suspension of disbelief." We often hear that phrase in conjunction with movie watching... a movie will mesmerize watchers, reviewers tell us, if they can suspend their disbelief. Five-year-old Tanka walks around with his disbelief permanently suspended.

Out of the blue, he will ask me, "What's your made-up candy?" The trick here is not to ask for an explanation of the "game" because that interferes with the organic flow of the moment. So, he says, "What's your made-up candy?" and I reply, without hesitation, "It lasts a really long time without dissolving and changes flavor every few minutes." I gave the same answer several weeks ago, and he doesn't let that slide. "You've had that kind before," he reminds me. "I know," I tell him, "But it's one of my favorites, so I want to have it again." He's cool with that, and nods his head, pulling a made-up candy of his own from his pocket and popping it into his mouth.

I'm getting in touch with my inner five-year-old: What's your made-up candy?

photo by Aisling, May 16, 2008: Dicentra Spectabilis, Bleeding Heart

Happy Birthday, Maudie!

Naughty Maudie, our German Wirehaired Pointer, is thirteen years old today. Here are a few pictures from her first year. You can find several more recent photos and posts about her here.

"The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too." ~Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Seasonable Weather

We're having a cool, wet Spring. After working in the garden yesterday, planting and transplanting, I am glad for a night and day of rain. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, "The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain."

photo by Aisling, May 14, 2008 Obsidian Heuchera (coral bells)

Monday Muse - Still More Inspiration from Blogs

The next blog on my blogroll is a crafting blog, Inside a Black Apple. I haven't gotten to know this blogger well as I have many others; she has a fairly busy blog and a large readership. Despite that, I really enjoy looking in on her blog periodically. She is an artist and crafter, and I love her style. It was fun to see her a couple of months ago on Martha Stewart. If I ever find time to "get crafty" myself, you will probably see a few more craft-related blogs appear on my blogroll. There are some beautiful craft blogs out there!

Joanne's Joyful Blessings blog is also somewhat craft oriented. Joanne does lovely needlework which she often features on her blog. I got to know Joanne years ago through "list mail" on several very domestic lists. I love to peek in on her blog to hear what she has been teaching in the homeschooling co-op, see bits of her garden, or see her latest project.

Visiting my dear friend Nan's blog, Letters from a Hill Farm, is like taking a trip to the country side. It is, as they say, a breath of fresh air. There you will find book reviews, pretty photos of rural images, recipes and poetry. Even if I hadn't already known Nan, I would want to read her pleasant cheerful blog daily.

photo by Aisling, May 11, 2008 Angelique Tulip

My Sunday Stroll - Amongst the Trees

photos by Aisling (& photo 1 by Haiku) May 11, 2008 1) Thundercloud Plum blossoms (Haiku) 2) Honeycrisp Apple Blossoms 3) Bosc Pear Blossom 4) My new litte Red Haven Peach tree 5) a first peach forming 6) White birch at south end of vegetable garden

Sunday Stroll Invitation

Today, we planted a Red Haven Peach Tree in the little garden that is home to our "mini orchard" of two apple trees, two pears and now a peach tree. The peach tree was a Mother's Day gift from my family. Whenever we add a new tree to this land that was once a treeless pasture, I think of a quote I read once: "There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it." ~ Minnie Aumonier

If you have time this week to to take a Sunday Stroll, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too. I'll check back often and try to keep the list updated.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Strawberries

" One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste."
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


photo by Aisling Alpine Strawberry; cultivar Lipstick

Monday Muse - Inspiration from Blogs Continued

I wrote last Monday about the inspiration I receive from reading blogs. Today I am going to continue to tell you about the blogs in my blogroll: who they are and why they appear on my list.

I have been reading Mrs. Pivec's Golightly Place blog with pleasure for quite some time now. She is a vegetarian homeschooling mom, intent on living lightly upon the earth. Her artistic leaning is apparent in her blog entries, which sometimes include glimpses from her sketchbook. Her personality, conveyed sweetly through her writing, is pleasant and friendly. Though I'm no longer a homeschooling Mom, I really enjoy reading about her approach to educating, and learning along side, her daughters.

Recently I did several posts for La-tea-dah's Tea Blogging event. I enjoyed the event and was disappointed when other committments prevented me from doing the last few week's entries. Her blog is filled to the brim with interesting information, from tea traditions to recipes, craft ideas and suggestions for other great blogs to read. Gracious Hospitality isn't just a pretty name; it is what one truly finds when one read's La-tea-dah's blog.

A love of nature is how L.L. Barkat and I found each other's blogs, sometime last year. We share an enthusiam for letting the wild edges of our property grow up with native species. I love to visit her blog for pretty Wordless Wednesday images or for suggestions for using edible wildflowers. Green Inventions Central is a restful respite from a hectic world.

photo by Haiku, May 4, 2008 Blue Sky/Green Leaves

My Sunday Stroll - Joining the Dance

photos by Aisling, May 4, 2008 1) Daydream tulip in the orange phase 2) Daydream tulips, in all stages of their progression from yellow to glowing orange 3) Creeping Phlox at the northern trail head to the butterfly garden 4) Red Appledorn Tulips and Poet's Narcissus 5) A fallen white tulip on the trail

Sunday Stroll Invitation

Alan Watts said, "The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." This is one of the lessons the garden teaches us... if we are paying attention. Each time I step into the garden, something has changed: new shoots are reaching up through the soil, new buds have emerged, and the first petals have fallen away from a flower I've been admiring for days.

If you have time this week to "join the dance" of change in nature, please post about about it on your blog and then come back here with a comment and a link to your post. You may use the Sunday Stroll button at the top of this post on your post or side bar if you would like. I will add participant names to this post so other strollers can walk through your garden too. I'll check back often and try to keep the list updated.