Friday Favourites: Beautiful Things in May

 

May is the month when Spring is fully present. Everything is full and green. Tiny fruits are forming on the apple and fig trees, and there is an abundance of green strawberries. Tight rosebuds promise blooms in June. I love it all. 

When we moved into this house a couple of decades ago, there was little landscaping and few flowers. One rosebush and one peony shrub, a flower of which is seen above. It's an early bloomer and I've enjoyed just one lush and ruffled blossom on the mantel this week. There are scads of buds on the other bushes and I'm watching them closely. Peony season is so very short and so very beautiful. 

While collecting my jacket and bag from the hall closet in preparation for going shopping, I noticed this rather disheveled robin perched on a rock near the street. His mate was watching nearby, but carried nothing in her mouth. That's a big bunch of dry grass he's carrying and perhaps he alighted there for a rest. I waited by the window and didn't open the door until he left, not wanting to disturb him. He flew off with his cargo, his mate close behind. I wonder where they are building their nest.

We've had a lovely week beginning with very warm sunny days at the beginning of the week and cooler temperatures with some clouds at the end of the week. Perfect gardening weather. The tomatoes in my greenhouse are growing tall and lush. I usually wait until after the last full moon in May to plant them out into the garden, but that's not until May 31 this year. (May has had two full moons!) I'll very likely put them out in 10 days or so. Dahlias, too. I have some that I started in the greenhouse, but others that were left in the ground are growing quickly, so perhaps they know something I don't. Or they might get a chill. I'll keep an eye on the night temperatures. 

Solomon's Seal is a native plant that I became acquainted with just a few years ago. It grows in a shady part of my garden that catches the evening light and highlights the delicate bell-shaped flowers. I hope it feels very at home there and wants to spread!

While working outdoors, the slightest wind brings the sweet scent of wisteria to me. It grows over the garden shed and we are firm with pruning for it can ruin buildings over time. Self-seeded columbines grow through the flower beds. All but one are pale lilac, with one dark purple variety growing in a corner. I scatter the dark seeds hoping that more of them will grow. And my daughter gave me some pretty pink seeds, but alas, I don't have much luck with them. 

My flower beds are quite wide and I need to get in behind to properly weed and prune. I asked Tim to cut me some thick fir tree rounds to use as stepping stones for a path through one section and we set those this week. My garden is not finely manicured for I like a bit of wildness. The black tube is the watering line and it will soon be covered with plants. 

Despite wanting to spend most of my time in the garden, we do need to eat. After seeing a couple of recipes online, I prepared Chicken in Orange Sauce one evening. It came together very quickly and was delicious. 

Here's a coda to the peony shown in the first photo which was taken earlier in the week. I came downstairs this morning to find the majority of petals fallen in a heap. It looks as though the flower just had enough and let them all go at once. 

A quick report on the berry planting - after a very warm day in the field last Saturday, all of the blueberries and raspberries are planted. Tim worked several days this week with our daughter and son-in-law getting the irrigation system up and running. So far, so good. Now to be patient for a few years for the berries to grow. Which do you prefer, blueberries or raspberries? I'm partial to both. 

Most Aprils I read The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin. Here's a link to a suggested tea time with references to the novel. 

A Teatime Ode to The Enchanted April - Victoria

Whether you have tea in the garden or elsewhere, I wish you a weekend of delight and beauty. 

Friday Favourites: Spring in the Schoolyard

 

 We're in a lovely pattern of sunshine with a bit of breeze alternating with a cloudy day and rarely, a bit of rain at night. I'll take it! The weekend ahead is supposed to be even warmer - a bit of a heat wave according to the forecasters. 

Everything is responding to these glorious days - trees, flowers (the wisteria wafts over the garden when I work outside), and the plants in my greenhouse. Nights continue to be cool, so I cover the dahlia and tomato plants with a light cloth, and in the daytime I open the greenhouse door or the heat becomes suffocating. 

There has been a grand uptick in the variety of birds visiting my garden recently. I have only seen a Varied Thrush occasionally, usually in winter. They have a trilling song that is lovely to hear. 

Late one afternoon I saw a flash of yellow settle on a branch in the birch tree. Goldfinches are native here, but I have never seen one in my garden. He stayed for the longest time, flitting between the feeder and the birch tree while Tim and I watched him. What a treat!

I've been thinking about Springs in my childhood, and of all the outside games we used to play once winter had passed. Recess times at school were always too short for us. 

Hopscotch, Skipping Rope, Balls and Jacks, and Bouncing Balls kept us occupied before school, during recess, and after school. The bouncing balls were about the size of a tennis ball, but much softer. I was trying to remember the songs we sang as we bounced, without much luck. However, even while I was asleep my brain kept working and I awoke at 4:22 (thanks, Brain) to remember

"One, Two, Three, O'Leary

Four, Five, Six, O'Leary

Seven, Eight, Nine, O'Leary

Ten O'Leary ..." 

and I couldn't remember the ending. So I looked it up and discovered several endings, none of which rang a bell with me. I also learned this:

"Aleerie is a very old (Scots) word that means holding your leg crooked.

You bounce the ball three times, then bounce the ball under it when you

come to the word "Aleerie."

I wonder if what we sang was closer to "aleerie" than "O'Leary." And I also wonder how it came about that I, living in far off Canada, came to sing and play this rhyme as a young girl. 

This Bald Eagle nest is not in my garden, but highly visible from my youngest daughter's property. Lately, there is always one eagle on the nest and we suspect that soon we will see fluffy eaglet heads peeking over the top of the nest. 

When I walk through the school grounds I notice chalked Hopscotch boxes on the hard surfaces. They look exactly like the ones I used to draw with my friends, with chalk, or with a stick in the dirt, as needs be. Occasionally, I'll still hop through the boxes. 

Skipping was immensely popular. There were shorter ropes for individual skipping, but it was much more fun to have a long rope turned by two people while others jumped in and out according to the various rhymes we sang. One was 

I had a little puppy

His name was Tiny Tim

I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim

He drank all the water, he ate all the soap

The next thing you know, he had a bubble in his throat.

In came the doctor (a friend jumped in)

In came the nurse (another friend jumped in)

In came the lady with the alligator purse (and another)

Out went the doctor

Out went the nurse

Out went the lady with the alligator purse.

And everyone jumped out in the same order they jumped in. Then there was Double Dutch skipping which was trickier with two turning ropes to avoid. And Chinese skipping which involved a stretchy band fastened around two people's legs, and a complicated variety of jumping in and out of the bands. What fun we had!

One day when I was six or seven, I came home from somewhere with a set of jacks and a ball. I had no idea what to do with them. My mother's eyes lit up and she plopped herself down on the kitchen floor and proceeded to show my sister and I how to play jacks. It was a good activity to play alone or with friends. 

There is sometimes a great outcry about the lack of play among the younger generation, but from what I observe on our street, in the school yards, and of my own grandchildren, imaginative and active play is alive and well. 

For Tim's birthday a month ago, one of the gifts he received was 70 cookies, provided by our three children. One of them calculated that each should bake 23 and one third cookies, so they did. Peanut Butter Cookies, Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies, and Chocolate Cherry Cookies were stored in the freezer and pulled out as needed. I haven't had to bake for the month. However, we had guests this week, and the cookies are now gone, so I baked Apricot Almond Bars, but used Cherry Raspberry Jam in place of the Apricot Jam. They are good with any kind of jam. 

This weekend we will be planting an acre of blueberry and raspberry plants at our daughter and son-in-law's property. They are putting in a U-pick farm. It will take a few years before it gets going. Fortunately, there is a large crew coming to help plant. Tim's been over there this week getting the rows ready. I'll be in charge of the little girls. The weather is predicted to be beautiful. 

Wishing you a most lovely weekend. 

Friday Favourites

 

Spring is singing in my blood today, and the lure of April is 

abroad on the air. I'm seeing visions and dreaming dreams,...That's 

because the wind is from the west. I do love the west wind. It sings 

of hope and gladness...

L. M. Montgomery

We're enjoying a lovely stretch of sunny weather. I've done a little puttering in the garden this afternoon and did some hand watering of sweet peas, spinach, and lettuce. The strawberries are beginning to bloom, a most promising sign. 

I've been thinking about lists and how much I like to make them. It's apparently innate, as our brains don't like open loops, according to this article. I write lists of things to do, groceries to purchase, meals to make, seeds to plant, and more. More often than I like, when I go to the grocery store, I discover that I've left the list on the kitchen table. However, just the act of making the list helps me remember and I usually come home with everything I need. 

Recent lists I've made just for fun include Memorable Places Where I've Swum, and All the Houses I've Lived In. 

I started a novel called The List of Suspicious Things by Jenny Godfrey, but had to stop reading it because it dealt with violence against women, with some graphic scenes. It is a fictionalized account that takes place in an historical setting in 1979 when the Yorkshire Ripper was active. 

I've not completed a book in the past week, but have dipped in and out of a number of compilations.

The Country Commonplace Book

by Miranda Mills

This book, organized by the seasons, is full of recommended reading lists, a few recipes, poems, and short selections. I love it!

The Quiet Center

Women Reflecting on Life's Passages from the Pages of Victoria Magazine

This book of essays was published in 1997, and continues to inspire me. Most recently I read Pansies for Remembrance by Judith Thurman. She began telling of her mother's love for pansies, then moved on to a visit to Italy where she first heard of Isak Dinesen (Out of Africa), and finally to Dinesen's garden in Denmark. 

When I have finished this post, I will begin re-reading The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim, a spring classic. 

We took our friends to Butchart Gardens earlier in the week. Daffodils of many varieties continue to bloom, and Tulips! Great swaths of colour with beautiful underplantings. 

I've never seen Tulips like the ones above, almost spider-like! They made a striking display. All of the above photos were taken at the Gardens. 

Spring has a special effect on us in the valley. The whole 

beautiful world invites us out, and we have an urge to wander. The gentle, rolling hills, the clear, winding brooks, the bright, rushing streams: all are filled with the rhythm of life and we move with it too.

Gladys Taber, Stillmeadow Calendar

At our daughter's property, bluebells grow in waves of blue among the green of their wild areas. Their long term plan is a Blueberry and Raspberry U-pick farm. Tim helped fence their three-acre property to prevent deer from chewing on the plants which are due to arrive next weekend. 

Tomorrow is my father's 92nd birthday. I left a gift with my mother when we visited 10 days ago, and I'll certainly be calling to congratulate my dad. Now I'm off to read my book, and perhaps make a cup of peppermint tea, a lovely way to wind down the day. At 8:30 the sky is streaked with colour and the light is softly fading. 

Waterfalls and Cracks in the Earth

 

It feels like Spring has truly arrived. We've enjoyed some beautifully warm and sunny days, and even the cloudy days are warmer than they were. Hooray! 

Last week Tim and I went camping, not too far away from home. It's a different pace of life, and we did some wonderful hikes. One of them was to Ammonite Falls, seen above. We meandered for quite some time before finally finding the correct trail. The trail-makers built stairs which made the descent to a small river and ascent up the other side more doable, but my goodness - I counted at least 200 steps, steep ones! My leg muscles burned! The view of the waterfall was a great reward, but then we had to retrace our steps and do those stairs another time! 

The woods are full of damp green scents, the trills and chirps of many birds, and the blooms of delicate flowers like the Trilliums (trillium ovatum) above. They are native here and take a very long time to grow and bloom. Picking them is highly frowned upon, and was once illegal. I think it should still be so. 

Another day, also cloudy, we hiked to The Abyss, a crack in the earth's surface caused by an earthquake long ago. The area is pure stone and I can imagine the loud cracking sound of rock when it split. The length of this crack is about 150 feet (45 metres), and its width about 16 inches (40 cm). Its depth varies, and I don't know how anyone would get out if they fell in. There are few warning signs, but hikers are cautioned to keep a close eye on children and pets. 

We walked along the shore and stopped to watch this determined gull trying to eat a rather large starfish. He dropped it, picked up, chewed on it, and repeated the sequence several times before finally flying off with the starfish in his beak. Perhaps he didn't want his failure witnessed. 

The view from our campsite overlooking a deep bay, the Strait of Georgia, and the coast mountains beyond. We watched ferries, container ships, and even a cruise ship enroute to Alaska, along with plenty of bird life in the river estuary. So much life!

Wood anemones were seen here and there, so lovely with the play of light and shadow. 

We've had guests this week, friends from our Ecuador days who now live in New York State. How we laughed over old times and experiences. It was wonderful to catch up with them. We walked and talked and ate and that was about it for two days. Now back to real life!

How unspeakably the lengthening of memories

in common endears our old friends

George Eliot

Five on Friday

 

One: Waking up to birdsong is delightful. In the darkness of early morning I hear a faint sleepy song that grows louder as the minutes progress. By full light the song is full and strong as if the Robin says, "wake-up, wake-up, don't waste a minute of the day!" I usually fall back asleep during the concert, happy to listen and not respond.

Also delightful are the prunus blossoms. Earlier, the single flowers bloomed, now it's the double ones. Some are creamy pale pink, others brighter. I love them all.

Two: In the woods Mahonia shows off its yellow flowers. A faint fragrance wafts by. I am enjoying my walks so much these days although sometimes the wind is sharp and I zip my jacket up to my neck for warmth. Today, however, there was little breeze and I welcomed the warm sun beating upon my back. 

Three: I've read a variety of books recently, all very different, and enjoyable. A bit of a departure from my usual fare.

The Hopkins Manuscript

by R. C. Sherriff

Published in the 1930s this dystopian novel deals with a moon gone crazy and the aftermath of it hitting earth. This is one man's tale, discovered centuries after the event. The story illustrates how wonderful life can be when people work together for a common goal, and also the terrible consequences of human greed and lust for power. Rather pertinent to today.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

by Toshikuzu Kawaguchi

This is a lovely quiet novel involving a bit of time travel and how hearts can change even when circumstances do not. 

The Place of Tides

by James Rebanks

Rebanks, a Yorkshire farmer, spends 10 weeks helping two women on a remote Norwegian island as they prepare for the eider ducks and collect eiderdown. I found this a fascinating account of connection to land and sea, and to a way of life that barely exists any more.

Four: I am always enchanted by the appearance of Fawn Lilies. They last for such a short time, clouds of stars alongside woodland paths. It has struck me once again how everything blooms in its time, in a steady and reliable procession through the months and seasons. Things may vary by a week or two, but always, the fawn lilies appear and are soon followed by camas lilies and bluebells. 

Nature's blooms are somewhat predictable, but for humans, early and late blooming is more varied. And I like to think that there are blooms to be had throughout life's seasons, from youth through old age. 

Five: The first apple blossoms appeared on a weathered tree in a clearing in the woods. Likely planted long ago as part of an orchard, this tree and several others are not cared for, but faithfully produce blooms and often fruit. Apple blossom always reminds me of my childhood. Not far away from our home a row of apple trees grew in an empty lot, likely a remnant of an old orchard. The sight of all the pink and white apple blossom has stayed with me. We used to break branches off the trees to carry home and place in a vase of water. They never lasted long, but how beautiful they were. 

We took a short trip this past week involving three days of camping in our trailer. It was fun to get away, hike, and visit with friends. When we arrived home, there on the porch was a box containing the proof copy of my book. How exciting! We've changed a few things and I've ordered another proof copy. I'm anticipating a publication date towards the end of May. Hooray! I'll keep you posted!

Friday Favourites

 

As she crossed her little bridge to the adjoining road, she sniffed

the moist morning air and felt a lift of her heart. The air was 

full of green, damp smells, a sign to her of the warming and

the coming of spring.

Iona Wishaw - Framed in Fire

Spring can be deceptive. Warm bright sunshine beguiles me outdoors, but then a sharp wind off the ocean has me huddling into my coat collar. But the parade of blossoms and the constant birdsong remind me that we have come through another winter and daffodils give way to tulips, then peonies, and so on. I came home from a couple of days away and found violets blooming in the garden. I do try to keep them under control for they spread easily, but I don't have the heart to eradicate them. How pretty they are. They also look nice decorating a cake. One year I sugared them and they kept for a long while. 

Our Easter was wonderful. Songs and readings at church followed by a dinner with the family and an egg hunt in the garden. The children did the egg hunt after the main course and before dessert, giving them time to run off some energy. 

When it came time for dessert (unbaked cheesecake with a berry sauce), young Cora said she didn't want cheesecake. Instead, she held up a piece of kale she'd picked in the garden and said she would eat that. I think by then she was full of Easter chocolate and didn't want anything else sweet. But kale in place of cheesecake? 

We made a trip to the mainland this week to see my parents and siblings. It was good to be together. My parents are doing well, living independently in their own home and doing their own cooking and cleaning. They volunteer still. I take a cooler full of prepared meals over for them to put into their freezer for the days that they don't feel like cooking. My sister shares meals with them, too. 

The ferry ride was beautiful both ways. On our way out, I noticed a dark curving shape breach the water to the side of the ferry and many passengers went to that side and watched a pod of Orca Whales swimming by. I never tire of such a sight. 

This evening I went out to check things in my greenhouse. On the way back indoors I stopped to watch a Golden-Crowned Sparrow on the ground. He was very bold and didn't seem at all fearful. How lovely it was to watch him pecking on the ground and hopping here and there. 

There's a carpet of forget-me-nots (myosotis scorpioides) under the rosebushes just now. The yellow centres indicate that there is pollen available for any busy bees, and the white centres are a warning that all the pollen is gone. Rather efficient, I think. 

Blueberry bushes are also blooming, indicating a good crop of blueberries if all goes according to plan. There have been fat bumblebees buzzing and I hope there are many more pollinating insects in the days to come. 

I'm a wee bit late with seeding my vegetable patch this spring. It's been so cold and damp that I didn't want to be outdoors and I'm sure the seeds would not have done well. I've begun my tomatoes indoors, and it will be the end of May before they go out after being transplanted once or twice. 

We returned home this afternoon. Tomorrow will be filled with housekeeping duties, coffee with a friend in the afternoon, and shopping for groceries. 

I recently listened to The Lake Isle of Innisfree by Yeats recited by Luke Nolan. I love the line "and live alone in the bee-loud glade." The video is less than two minutes long and you might enjoy listening, too. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

A Saturday in April

 

Today feels like Spring! Sunshine, birdsong, no wind, and everything bursting into leaf and bud. I have waited for such a day. Ah April! The Red Currant bush along my walking path is such a beautiful bright pink. My garden is not a large one and it seems that every plant I admire I want to have, but simply cannot. I take great delight in admiring others' gardens and plants growing in the wild, like the one above.

Soft petals swirled around me as I walked under this gorgeous prunus tree. I anticipate its blooms each spring. Such a cloud of loveliness. I thought of how beautiful the world is and how safe and helpless I feel in my own small corner of it while elsewhere bombs and guns destroy and kill. Beauty has power, creating an ache and a longing for wholeness. If only evil men would take the time to let beauty seep into their souls. 

Weeping Willow trees remind me of my childhood. A very large one grew between a farmer's field and a road not too far from my home. I, and other children loved climbing it. How high we felt looking down over cars passing underneath. The acid green of spring waving in the wind brings it all back. 

I stopped to watch a bright American Robin splashing exuberantly in a bird bath. Such flapping of wings and spraying of water. He perched on the edge to dry off, cocking his head at me with little fear. How loud the robins are in the morning. I hear them at first light and think what a lovely sound to wake up to, then fall asleep again.

Some of my recent reading. The Beatrix Potter Gardening book and The Country Commonplace Book are both ones I dip in and out of. Spring by Michael Morpugo is from the library and I'm enjoying his account of Springs present and past in his corner of Devon. A few Cadbury mini eggs and a pair of bunnies also look springlike. 

This week I dyed a few eggs with purple cabbage, cranberry juice, turmeric, and tea. I keep them in the fridge most of the time, but for tomorrow's Easter Dinner they will be part of the table decoration. We're hosting the family. Everyone contributes something, so it's not too much work for anyone. There will be a "treat" hunt, not just chocolates, for the littles in the afternoon. I asked the 15-year-old if she was still interested in an egg hunt and she didn't hesitate to say, "yes!"

I wish you all a most Happy Easter as we celebrate Jesus' Resurrection bringing hope and joy.