Darkness continues to dominate, but slowly, slowly the light is gaining. Tomorrow's sunrise is a full five minutes before today's. That's progress! The ducks were very happy paddling around in the bog on a clear afternoon. I love the long reflections in the water and the monochrome effect of the grasses.
More snowdrops are popping up in my own garden. This pleases me as I'm hoping, one day, for a large patch of them. I see their nodding white heads from my kitchen window, bright against the mostly brown background.
The first hellebores were a bit battered by the snowfall a couple of weeks ago and now new buds are opening. The white ones are still a bit behind, but showing good progress.
Gladys Taber wrote, "There is, I have found, at least one good or lovely thing in every single day. Everyone has sorrow, endures difficult times, but loveliness abides if we look for it." Looking for the lovely things is a practice to develop, akin to thankfulness. In my garden today the tiny tiny mosses, much amplified in the photo above, are so intricate, even to the little hairs poking up from each petal. Amazing creations!
Inspecting the garden was a good thing today, but at just 5 degrees, a bit chilly for a lengthy stay. For my birthday a few months ago I received an orchid plant. It's been a delight ever since with such long-lasting flowers.
I never really liked orchids, preferring the blossoms more suited to our Canadian climate. When I lived in the tropics, I grew to appreciate the wide variety of orchids, from the large showy purple and white variety that grew profusely beside the road to the tiny 1/4 inch flowers forming huge clumps in trees for just a week or two in September-October. This orchid reminds me of those days and I can almost feel the intense humidity of the jungle when I look at them.
Are you a fan of orchids?
Perfect post! Great pictures of the ducks and the flowers....From a land so far away! I love the flowers! I enjoyed her!
ReplyDeleteOK, so when did you live in the tropics?!
ReplyDeleteI love my orchid. It is setting new buds.
We are frozen solid today, -11 C. this morn.
Love orchids. I do agree. Each day has something one can be grateful for…we only have to look.
ReplyDeleteI like orchids in other peoples' environments. They seem to elegant for mine! But they are quite lovely in the right spot. In my garden I need to snip some more thyme to dry before we get more snow. Not that it is predicted, but it's only February and in Michigan that can mean snow into April!
ReplyDeleteOrchids are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteComparing the jungle to Canadian weather is a bright contrast good for a cold winter's day.
There is more of winter to go here in Vermont.
The mention of Gladys Taber brings back years when I could read her articles in Woman’s Day as a young housewife. My mother loved her articles too, and one Christmas she gave me a cookbook by Gladys Taber. I rarely used the recipes but I loved the book. Sadly it was lost in the sale of our cabin. Thank you for that quote from her. I need to search out one of her books from one of the many used book sellers on Alibris. Our days are growing longer too, but sadly we will soon have DST imposed upon us and the progress will be thrown back an hour. I so dislike that government mandate! But I won’t end on an unhappy note….we have beautiful sunshine this morning here in central Texas. It is a lovely sight! Carol in Texas
ReplyDeleteThe Gladys Taber quote is lovely. I've not had any success with orchids, but I do admire them.
ReplyDeleteI've not had any success with orchids, but they are lovely.
ReplyDeleteYour photographs are all beautiful.
All the best Jan
I used to feel the same way about orchids, Lorrie. I remember asking RH when we were dating to never buy an orchid for a dance corsage for me--this was back in the day when girls wore corsages. I wonder if they still do? But when my son gave me an orchid plant for Valentine's Day seven years ago and it has faithfully bloomed several times a year ever since, I began to appreciate them. RH later gave me a purple plant and my grandson gave me a huge lavender one for Christmas so maybe I'll always have an orchid in bloom. I follow the directions and give them ice cubes once a week, even putting it on my calendar and they do well.
ReplyDeleteI wish our snowdrops would spread. Instead we have less every year. I suspect the drainage isn't the best where they are. I love mosses! Much of our back yard was moss at our old house but we have patches of it here. I can understand why some people spend their whole life studying mosses. I'm so glad you included some wise words from Gladys Taber. I remember this one! She was my mentor when I was raising my children, probably had more impact on my life than any other author at that time.
Yes, I am a fan of orchids. My boss used to have a beautiful orchid collection in her office that I would water when she was away.
ReplyDeleteRight now I have an orchid that has quit blooming. I haven't the foggiest idea of what to do next. Guess I'll google it. Oh what did we do before Google? Hugs, Latane
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to hear about the signs of spring emerging in your garden.
ReplyDeleteI love to admire orchids for their beauty but I find them too challenging to grow.
Hugs and blessings, Lorriel
Love seeing all these pretty plants!
ReplyDeleteI do love all the different orchids. We are lucky to have a conservatory and they seem to do well here. In fact we have become the orchid hospital for the family to help their orchids recover and flower again. I’m guess they like the bright light and the cold nights. B x
ReplyDeleteI remember we had a big Orchid as a present for our wedding it was a very big one. I love orchids but I’m not good at keeping them alive and flourish again. My daughter is very good at it. But there was one in the supermarket I have to rescue if it is not gone to the rubbish already!
ReplyDeleteI have a mix of admiration for those intricate blooms, along with a not so fond feeling for the look of the plant as a whole. In the right place it can look elegant.
ReplyDeleteThe sight of buds and flowers, fills us with pleasure, optimism, and gratitude. It makes us forget the cold and the
ReplyDeletecapriciousness of Nature's elements.
Hi Lorrie,
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I love your photos! :) My lenten roses are starting to open, too. I have an old-fashioned white one that my mom gave me from her yard, and it's blooming for the first time here this year. I agree with you that finding something lovely each day and being thankful are excellent practices to develop. I find that doing that makes me a much happier person. I love your snowdrops! There's a public garden near us that has a profusion of them in the late winter/early spring, but I've never tried to grow them myself.
Your orchid is lovely. I used not to like them, but after seeing some gorgeous ones in an arboretum one year, I like them much better. I enjoyed your post, Lorrie -- have a great day!!
Hugs,
Denise
The hellebores are beautiful, Lorrie, and so is your orchid. I hope you can keep it and get it to rebloom. I saw the picture of the woodpecker from a previous post and just sighed. I bought a woodpecker feeder, the right seed, but I still haven’t seen one yet. I keep trying!
ReplyDeleteIt looks really pretty. I feel as if I can touch them. Learning about lovely flowers are amazing.
ReplyDeleteFunny that you said that about orchids. I was never much a fan of them either, but as I have gotten older I do love them. Maybe because they actually bloom occasionally for us now.
ReplyDelete