Notes from my Garden

Inspiration comes from everywhere. I had a plan for this month's Note Card Party, but then in church on Sunday, an image was shown on the screen and all my plans flew away. This one took a little preparation and good weather. I taught yesterday, so I prepared last night and hoped for a sunny morning. Wind flapped against the house most of the night and I wondered if Plan A would have to be resurrected in the likelihood of rain. How happy I was to see the sun this morning!

Easter greetings in English and French. These were fun to do. The preparation involved writing the cards.

And a box top so you know what you're getting! I'm looking forward to visiting at Vee's Party this afternoon - you're welcome to join in. Vee's new rules allow for new photos, not just ones previous published. This is a good thing, I think.

A Bit of Spring Cheer

It's time once again for Vee's Note Card Party. This is such a fun event. I chose spring flowers as a theme and all of these flowers have been seen recently on my blog, although I chose different images for some.

I collect quotations and had fun paging through my book where I keep them. Some of them are written on scraps of paper and lie loose in the pages. I keep meaning to glue them in before I lose them. Do you collect words?

And finally, the "box top" for the set of "note cards." For all of these photos I used the Vignette option in Picasa and then the Polaroid option. Some of the Polaroid borders turned out larger than others and I can't figure out how to make them all uniform. Anyone have any ideas? 

Join the party at Vee's - pleasant, interesting and kind people attend. You'll be made very welcome.

February in my Garden

Imitation is the best form of flattery, they say, and for this post, I blatantly imitated Sharon of My French Country Home in making a mood board of what's happening in my garden these days. I went out in between the raindrops and took a few clippings of shrubs and flowers. A very few flowers.

Viburnum and moss seem to go together well.
 

Snowdrops on a salal leaf. 
 

More viburnum. Such delicate little flowers.

Everything is fresh and damp after all the rain we've been having. The slugs are happy, too. I discovered a tiny one on a leaf, probably wondering where he was.

These are my offerings for Vee's Note Card Party, held each month. Click on the link to join in or view other note card possibilities.

Time for a Cuppa

"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.

"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended ton: "so I can't take more."

"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take more than nothing."

Lewis Carroll

  

Meanwhile, let us have a cup of tea...Let us dream of evanescence, and linger in the beautiful foolishness of things.

Kazuko Okakura

  

The cozy fire is bright and gay,

The merry kettle boils away

             And hums a cheerful song.

I sing the saucer and the cup;

Pray, Mary, fill the teapot up,

           And do not make it strong.

 

The mere chink of cups and saucers tunes the mind to happy repose.

George Gissing

  

Tea time. Dull grey clouds, dark driving rain, cold skies with a hint of blue all call for filling the kettle with fresh cold water, standing in front of the shelf with the varieties of tea, and brewing up a pot of warm delight. 

Tea and stitching, tea and reading, tea and blogging, tea and talking, tea and thinking. Such a versatile beverage!

These are my offerings for Vee's Note Card party. The last image would be the box cover, and you'll see I sneaked in another photo. 

You can be certain that I'll have a cup of tea to hand as I peruse the other party attendees' photos. Here's to tea!

 

December Note Cards

 Are we in a time warp where everything is speeding up? I can't believe it's time for Vee's Card Party once again. Photography has taken a back seat to other things lately. This first photo is of a lamppost at Butchart Gardens, in front of the bare rose gardens.

Also at Butchart Gardens, a lovely bronze sculpture adorned with a wreath and a bow.
 

Christmas in a teacup.
 

A toy tractor bringing home some Christmas greens. This last is from 2012.

Thanks to Vee for hosting this warm and friendly gathering each month. 

 

 

November Skies: Vee's Note Card Party

Vee's Note Card Party sneaked up on me this month. I haven't taken as many photos as I would like. So I went through past November archives and found a photo featuring a November sky for each of the past four years. 

Pinky greys and blues coloured the early morning sky in Parksville in 2010. 
 

Garry Oak branches and leaves against a cloudy sky (2012).

Stunning gold against impossible blue (2011).
 

Silvery greys reflected in the ocean (2013). 

Seeing the variety of sky colour in these November photos encourages me. Not every day is dreary and grey. The sun does shine! In fact, sunnier days are forecast for the rest of this week.

Edited to add: This morning was beautifully sunny, but now, just after noon, the sky is dark and ominous. This does not bode well - we're having our "new" driveway concrete poured this afternoon. Will let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, I'm planning to visit Vee's Party and chat with all her guests. It's always a fun time. Everyone is made very welcome.

Vee's Note Card Party: October

 Do the months seem to be marching by more quickly than ever? Here it is October already - and time for Vee's Note Card Party. 
Monday, Canadian Thanksgiving Day, followed two days of turkey dinner and getting together with family. It was all wonderful. Our plan to put the Little Misses to bed before eating dinner went off without a hitch. We laughed ourselves silly around the table and lingered long in the living room, slouching on couches, stretching out on the floor, talking, talking, talking. 

I took a walk in the afternoon, by Rithet's Bog. Ducks swam slowly in the late afternoon sun, and leaves glowed red and yellow. Soon the branches will be bare.

 

Reflections of grasses in the water are barely disturbed by placid ducks. Such a glorious afternoon. 

This photo was taken three years ago, in Port Alberni, with my old camera. I've always loved the weathered blue bench that contrasts with the carpet of yellow and brown leaves. 

Please join the party. Visit Vee's blog to see more collections of photos that we think would make great note cards. 

Vee's Note Card Party - September

It's time for Vee's Note Card Party - held once a month. Lots of great photos there and lovely people to visit with. 

This month I'm featuring dahlias. They are such great flowers to have in a garden because they bloom and bloom - for several months - dying off only with the first frost. Hopefully that's a month or more away for us.

When we moved into this house 11 years ago, Pat and Wendy lived across the back fence. That first day, they handed over a plate of lemon bars, which led to many more conversations. And they grew dahlias. Rows and rows of them. They supplied several florists in town, and often handed bouquets of them over the fence. It was because of them that I because interested in growing dahlias.

During the two years we lived up Island, Pat and Wendy moved away because of Pat's health. He later passed away. I don't know where Wendy is living now, but I never look at a dahlia without thinking of them and their kindness.

The photo above is the only one previously posted on my blog, and sadly, it's the one dahlia that I lost last winter. I'm going to look for a replacement because I love the watercolor effect on the petals plus that gorgeous deep color.

Thanks once again to Vee for hosting this linky party.

Note Card Party - Mountains

Make yourself a cup of tea, grab a cookie or two, pull up a chair and join us for Vee's Note Card Party! Here's where we display 4 photos previously shown on our blogs that we think would make great note card photos. 

"poems of geology" (Norman Maclean)

My regular blog readers will recognize these photos as I've shown them all in August. Above, Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things" (Henry Miller)

 I never tire of this photo. It's definitely going to be enlarged and hang somewhere in my home. Lake Louise in the morning mist.

"It isn't the mountain ahead that wears you out, it's the grain of sand in your shoe" (Robert W. Service)

 This rather daunting-looking mountain has a trail up the other side, not visible in the photo. Its shape evokes its name - the Big Beehive, with Mirror lake at its base.

"I lift my eyes to the mountains; where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121

 Lastly, Lake Agnes with Mount Whyte (left) and Mount Niblock (partially hidden on the right) in the background. 

So there you have it. Mountains. Thanks, Vee, for hosting the Note Card Party once again.

Beach Views - Vee's Note Card Party

For this month's selection of photos previously published on my blog, I went back a few years. These were taken with my old camera and I can see a huge difference between these older photos and the ones I now take. These shots bring back memories of the short time we lived in Parksville, 2 hours north of our current home. It wasn't an easy time, but walks on the beach provided solace.

That heron in the top photo looks like he's waiting for the ferry to arrive.
 

 An ocean-tossed still life of rocks.

 This open shell on the beach looks like a heart. It reminds me of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's book, Gift From the Sea, and the chapter on being open and vulnerable to life.

If I were one of these Canada Geese, I'd be the last one - gingerly stepping into the cold water behind everyone else.Which one would you be - leading the pack, in the middle, or very last?

A visit to Vee and her Note Card Party is always interesting, always enjoyable. You're warmly invited.

Poetic Peonies

It's once again time for Vee's Note Card Party. This month I chose peonies - mostly from last year when I bought armfuls of them for Little Miss S's baby shower. I've included parts of a poem by Mary Oliver underneath each photo.

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
   to break my heart
     as the sun rises,
        as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

 

and they open--
   pools of lace,
      white and pink--

 

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
   and tip their fragrance to the air,
     and rise,
       their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
    gladly and lightly,
      and there it is again--
        beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.

 

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
   and softly,
      and exclaiming of their dearness,
       fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
    their eagerness
      to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
        nothing, forever?

Vee's Note Card Party is always a fun event, and a great way to get to know some new bloggers. Thanks, Vee, for hosting.