Love at First Sight

Dear Quiet Country Readers,

This is the very first photo taken with our new camera. For those of you who are interested in such things, the camera is a Canon PowerShot SX110IS. Some of the features include: 9 megapixels, 10 x zoom, Face Detection Technology. And, we got a really big memory card. We really will take that long-awaited trip to Ireland one of these years. *grin*

I'm sorry I've been so quiet here. We are so busy with all of the various school schedules; five of us are in school right now, with four different schedules. We will be having out of town company, and Sijo is suddenly allergic to bee stings and possibly some other unknown allergen. Then there are work obligations for four of us with, of course, four different schedules. My own work this year, as a paraprofessional substitute at the local elementary, is more part time than usual this year, but I'm still subbing a couple of times a month, just to stay "in the loop." Five year old Tanka is playing soccer, his first sports team experience, and I'm back to being a "soccer mom" in a mini van. I'm not getting much done in the garden, but in celebration of Autumn, I do plan to buy my annual new mum within the next few days.

I'm tired just from writing that paragraph! I hope you are all filling your hours with happy endeavors. Enjoy the day!

from the windy hilltop,
~ Aisling

photos by Aisling, September 18, 2008 1) honey bee on wild asters Note: Will add these two pictures later. Blogger - or my dial up connection - was not cooperating. 2) a little stretch of the mellow butterfly garden of late September 3) Sedum coming into bloom

Last September's Garden...

For the past year, I have been sharing little glimpses of my Quiet Country Life through photos and prose. September 13th was my "One Year Blogiversary." In honor of that, I am sharing a few photos from last September's garden, and a link to my first post on this blog. Thank you for reading!

Read my first post here: The Quiet Country House

photos by Aisling, September 16, 2006: 1) Seashells Cosmos 2) Heavenly Blue Morning Glory 3) Blue Scabiosa "Pincushion Flower"

A Sunday Stroll - Rain from a Late Morning Storm

Even the intense heat of the day - the kind of heat that keeps everyone indoors and kindles tempers - was not enough to dry all of the rain from a late morning storm from the earth and flowers in the garden. I walked the trail for a while, lingering in the shade near the moon garden. Tiny butterflies and buzzing insects kept me company, while the hot wind lifted the tree branches, changing the pattern of light that fell across the garden.

photos by Aisling, July 8, 2007 1) White Phlox, cultivar David, just coming into bloom 2) An "Easter" lily, still holding the rain from a late morning storm 3) a butterfly on the blue scabiosa (pincushion flower.) 4) Echinacea (purple cone flower) 5) Orange Day Lily

A Sunday Stroll...

photos by Aisling, 7/1/2007, 1) The ubiquitous Stella d'oro Lilies are blooming in the butterfly garden. 2) This is the oh-so-pretty Monte Negro Lily picked out by Sijo at the nursery several years ago. 3) Feverfew and lavender are blooming sweetly in the herb bed 4)This Dark Pink Yarrow stands out vividly against the other side of the lavender 5) This delicate pink rose is known as "the fairy." 6) The rose that was grafted on to this root died back the first year, and since then, this lovely coral/red rose has bloomed, gorgeously and fragrantly each year.

Tuesday at Home...

During this school year, Tuesdays have been the day most likely to find me at home with no outside commitments. So, Tuesday is cleaning day, laundry and ironing day, and my one real chance for "down time" all rolled into one. I manage that by cleaning in 45 minute sessions, then giving myself a break with the computer, a novel, or a walk in the garden for 10 or 15 minutes before tackling the next cleaning task. Now that I am substituting for the paraprofessionals at our local school system, my Tuesdays at Home sometimes turn into Tuesday on the Run and the house looks a little worse for the wear until the weekend (if i have time to clean) or the following Tuesday.

This morning I brought order to a chaotic kitchen, sprinkled essential oil infused baking soda on the living room carpeting and vacuum-cleaned it, and washed a few windows and floors. I took time on one of my breaks to pick some flowers for the kitchen table. I put a lot of clutter away and did a few loads of laundry. In a few minutes, Tanka and I will eat lunch and then I will pull out the week's ironing. Before that though, I think I will squeeze in a few minutes of reading The Samurai's Garden. I'm very good to my cleaning lady, aren't I? Flowers, lots of breaks, and some reading time built right into the work day! *grin*

photos by Aisling, May 8, 2007: 1) Black Parrot Tulip 2) tidy kitchen and dining room, Tiggy at the window

After the rain...

This morning I took a walk in the garden, under cloudy skies. Nothing was blooming, but I saw a pansy with a soft roll of purple, almost ready to open. I saw the swollen golden buds of crocus and a dark purple iris still encased in it's celadon sheath. As I walked, fat drops of rain fell across the garden slates.

A steady rain fell softly but insistently for quite some time, urging the on-again/off-again creek to flow. After dinner, I took a pair of scissors and headed to the garden with the intent to cut away some of the dry brown evidence of winter. In the garden, I found the first blooms of spring: two crocus, a pansy and a tiny iris. Each had unfurled in the warmth after the rain.

The boys have been playing amid the cattails all afternoon, while down by the lake the seagulls are screaming in wild joy over the arrival of spring. They are not musical at all, but they are loud and exuberant and they have a really good point: "Hurrah! Hurrah! It's Spring!"

photo 1 by Aisling, photos 2 and 3 by Haiku, March 2007