Wordless Wednesday - Gems in the Garden

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photos by Aisling, July 9, 2008 1) green tomato 2) tiny green tomato on shimmery vine 3) tiny green fly 4) a knot on a string that marks a row in the garden

Monday Muse - Blogs

I've found over the last couple of years that I would rather read blogs than magazines. I find them an abundant source of inspiration. No matter what new interest I might develop, someone is blogging about it. Some of the best blogs I've found, have been discovered by linking through other favorite blogs. It is like meeting "a friend of a friend." Right away, you know you have something in common, because this blogger you are meeting has the good taste to read and interact with one of your blogging friends.

I believe I first met Joyce of Tall Grass Worship through my long time friend Nan's blog, Letters from a Hill Farm. Joyce has been a welcome addition to our Sunday Strolls. I love the sense of reverence with which Joyce always seems to write. Even when she is disgruntled over Japanese Beetles invading her garden, or "progress" digging holes in her neighborhood, her good humor and thoughtfulness shine through her writing.

The Bunnies Bungalow is the blogging home of Debra K. Reading her posts, a reader gets a real sense of a compassionate, nurturing woman, who is, among other things, very skilled at creating a cozy nest...or burrow. Debra's mother is dealing with the incredibly sad condition of Alzheimer's Disease, and so, Debra is dealing with it too. Her posts will tug at your heartstrings, but her strength and grace will inspire. You can also link from her blog to her shop, where she sells sweet little vintage treasures.

The next blog listed on my sidebar is "The Dolphin Cove." Chellie's blog is now "Chellie's Cove" but despite the name change, her blog remains the same friendly spot to visit. The longing for serenity that she mentions on her blog header is just one interest that Chellie and I share. We also have a dear mutual friend, Robbin of Cedar Chest of Dreams. I have seen, over the past few months, that in addition to writing an interesting and personal blog, Chellie is a wonderful, constant, supportive friend. What more could you ask for?

photo by Aisling, July 7, 2008 False Sunflower, heliopsis

Sundary Stroll Invitation

"To me, photography is an art of observation. It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place... I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do wtih the way you see them." ~ Elliot Erwitt

I walk through my gardens often, as you may have noticed. Sometimes, I am assessing the condition of the gardens, to determine what work needs to be done. Sometimes, I am just enjoying the day, fine weather or a few moments of quiet. It is when I walk with a camera in my hand, that I slow down and focus on what is beautiful. I don't notice the big bare spot in the garden where nothing is blooming. Instead, I notice the one exquisite blossom nodding on a delicate stalk. I see the honey bee that just landed on a translucent petal. I watch dew drip from one leaf to another. I am learning, as Elliot Erwitt defines it, the art of observation.

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:

Margaret at Periodic Pearls

Me, here at The Quiet Country House

Nan at Letters from a Hill Farm

Joyce at Tall Grass Worship

Mibsy at Classical Calling

Robbin at Cedar Chest of Dreams

Dee at Red Dirt Ramblings

Sunday Stroll - The Colors of the Day

Chicory are blooming along the roadsides, but their shades of blue are not the predominate color story in our landscape in these early days of July. The native viburnum are blooming and the wild edges of our property, the fields and back hill, are awash in white. Closer to the ground, another level of white, where the wild yarrow blooms. And in the garden, a large patch of white Arctic Daisies, seen here beside the buds of the orange daylily, is the social hub for honey bees and other nectar seekers.

Though white is predominate in the uncultivated areas, pink is making a statement in the garden. The faintest hint of pink colors the one blossom on a young black-lace elderberry bush, while nearby audacious splashes of pink cover the spirea.

The blanket flowers, so pretty in bud, are beginning to bloom in bold orange and yellow profusion. A single bloom of wild white campion has hidden herself away in their midst, echoing the white splendor of the viburnum in the wild edges.

photos by Aisling, July 6, 2008

The First Orange Daylily

Though considered by many to be somewhat ordinary, I find the blooming of the first orange daylily a special event. It seems to me that the garden is celebrating, if not Independence Day, then the arrival of high summer. The daylily is the tallest flower in my garden right now, on a stalk that rises up over deep green, sturdy leaves. The fireworks this evening will be worthy of "oohs and ahhs" but, for this gardener, the explosion of fresh orange blossoms over a patch of white daisies is more satisfying. Ordinary? Perhaps, but also reliable, colorful, and vibrantly alive. I'm somewhat ordinary as well, but wouldn't mind being described by those adjectives.

photos by Aisling, July 4, 2008

"Feeling Light Within, I Walk..."

I found this Native American prayer, a Navajo Night Chant. Spoken aloud, it reads like poetry so I am sharing it on Thursday, my usual day for poetry on this blog. I thought my friend Robbin, especially, would appreciate the beauty of these words, as she walks through difficult days. And perhaps my friend Rapunzel might pray this with or for her mom.

Navajo Night Chant

O you who dwell

In the house made of the dawn,

In the house made of the evening twilight ...

Where the dark mist curtains the doorway,

The path to which is on the rainbow ...

I have made your sacrifice.

I have prepared a smoke for you.

My feet restore for me.

My limbs restore for me.

My body restore for me.

My mind restore for me.

My voice restore for me.

Today, take away your spell from me.

Away from me you have taken it.

Far Off from me you have taken it.

Happily I recover.

Happily my interior becomes cool.

Happily my eyes regain their power.

Happily my head becomes cool.

Happily my limbs regain their power.

Happily I hear again.

Happily for me the spell is taken Off.

Happily I walk.

Impervious to pain, I walk.

Feeling light within, I walk ...

In beauty I walk.

With beauty before me, I walk.

With beauty behind me, I walk.

With beauty below me, I walk.

With beauty all around me, I walk.

It is finished in beauty.

It is finished in beauty.

It is finished in beauty.

If only healing were this simple... but I believe that a spirit receptive to beauty and healing, and to prayers spoken in earnest is an important part of the equation. I first read the line, "Feeling light within, I walk" in an Alexandra Stoddard book. The entire chant, in many slightly different versions, appears many places on line. This version was found here.






photos by Aisling, July 3, 2008 a rainbow of blooms in the garden 1) Orange butterfly weed 2) Pink Yarrow 3) Yellow Black-Eyed Susan

Wordless Wednesday - A Face in the Grass

Sijo, my nine year old son, took this photo of a face he made from grass clippings on June 30, 2008

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