Posted tagged ‘violets’

“The eyes of spring, so azure, Are peeping from the ground; They are the darling violets, That I in nosegays bound.”

May 18, 2017

My wish came true. Yesterday was sunny and hot, 75˚ hot. I’d complain, but Boston hit 90˚ so I’m content at 75˚. It will be the same today.

The morning has a languid feel to it. I do hear a single bird, but the rest are gone, probably perching in the shade. This room where I spend most of my time is a refuge from the heat as it is in the back of the house and stays dark and cool until the afternoon when the sun moves to the west and streams through these back windows.

I went to the dump yesterday, one of my three errands. Poor Gracie stayed home as the other errands would have meant her sitting in a hot car. I tricked her by bringing the trash bags out early then sitting down for coffee and the papers. She forgot all about the trash and hopped on the couch for a morning nap. She is now back to getting into her crate. Her back legs were iffy, but they seem fine now. She gets in the crate and sticks out her head for a treat. I never refuse.

When I was a kid, I gave my mother dandelion bouquets. She always gushed at the beauty of the flowers then she’d put them in a vase, usually a jelly jar, which exalted them from their weedy status. I remember making a wish then blowing the dandelion seeds and watching the wind take them.

In my mother’s backyard, she had lilies of the valley and violets growing on the top dirt shelf of a rock wall. Some of the lilies were blue from their contact with the violets. I dug up and took some lilies and some violets home with me so I could plant then in my yard. They have spread all over. The lilies are in a front side garden with only a few violets here and there among them. The violets in the backyard took a while to grow while the lilies dug in right away and are now in clumps around the fence and some trees. Every time I see them, I think of my mother and her garden.

“Life is all about timing… the unreachable becomes reachable, the unavailable become available, the unattainable… attainable. Have the patience, wait it out It’s all about timing.”

May 5, 2016

It is the rainy season. Calling it that is my way of coping so I have few expectations and it stops my whining. Damp and chilly again today as it has been the whole week. I see nothing but grey outside my window: a grey sky and empty grey branches. In the front yard, though, I can see flowers, white flowers. I can also see violets, ancestors of the ones originally from my mother’s garden.

I am sorry for the lack of a music posting the other day. My computer got weird, and I couldn’t get the music to post. It took me all day to figure out a solution. After I figured it out, I did my happy dance and scared Fern a bit. She ran away slunked close to the ground.

I’ve been watching the Red Sox. They have been winning, and the games have been exciting. For home games, the stands are fairly full but the fans are bundled as if for winter. I remember that game in Cleveland where the temperature was about 38˚. It is warmer than that but add damp to the mixture, and it is difficult to stay warm. Even the players are wearing long sleeves and jersey covers for their heads and ears. Xander Bogaerts, the shortstop, is from Aruba. He must think he is living a nightmare.

When I was little, the weather didn’t phase me though I did wish for snow a lot in the winter, more for a snow day than a sledding day. Adults are complainers. Kids take every day as it comes but somehow or other grow up to be people who complain: it’s too cold or too hot, too busy or not busy enough. Ask adults, they’ll tell you there’s never enough time. I don’t know when the change happens, when carefree kids become annoying adults, but I’m thinking it is a by-product of puberty.

I always had more than enough time when I was little. I figure it’s because I had few responsibilities. I had homework but never very much until high school. I had to change into my play clothes every day, but it’s a stretch to call that a responsibility. It took maybe 5 minutes of my time. I managed to fill most of my days and really didn’t notice time passing. I had plenty.

I’m back to having plenty of time sprinkled here and there with a few must-do stuff. I have to food shop, but Peapod delivers. I have to do laundry, but I wait until the last minute to do it and most times it sits in the dryer for a while. Roseanna and Lee come every two weeks to clean. All that’s left for me is to clean the animal dishes, change my bed and sweep a bit in between.

Today’s rain is just rain.

” People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”

May 19, 2013

The day is again beautiful with that deep blue sky and plenty of sun. The air outside has a morning chill which I think will get warmer as the day gets older. Gracie has been outside all morning and barking every now and then. I went out with her while the coffee was brewing and saw nothing to prompt the barking, but I’m keeping an eye out for a coyote. My friend saw one twice yesterday morning, and the second sighting was right by my house. None have been around lately as the rabbits are fat and greedy. Two were eating in my garden yesterday. When we have coyotes, we have no rabbits or skunks.

Next week I’m going to buy the flowers for my deck planters and the herbs for the window boxes and the herb garden. A few herbs are up already: thyme, oregano and chives. I need lots of rosemary, one of my favorite of all scents. I try to find summer recipes which call for the fresh rosemary, and I love rubbing my hand up the stems and then smelling the rosemary on my hand. Even the dead rosemary from last summer still in the window boxes had that great smell.

While I was driving the other day, all I could think of was how beautiful everything is. I saw the contrasting greens of the trees, the leaves finally out and unfolded, flowering bushes in so many different colors and a bright sun glinting through all the branches. The lilacs are out. I saw white and the usual purple. Mine too have flowered, but they are a deep, deep purple, a color I don’t usually see. My violets and lilies of the valley have flowers. Both plants came from my mother’s yard, from her back yard. Like her lilies, mine have taken over. The side bed is filled with them. I put a few in the backyard and they came up this year and have spread a bit. They can have the whole yard. Gracie won’t mind.

Having memories of my mother in the garden every spring gives me joy.

” People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.”

May 19, 2013

The day is again beautiful with that deep blue sky and plenty of sun. The air outside has a morning chill which I think will get warmer as the day gets older. Gracie has been outside all morning and barking every now and then. I went out with her while the coffee was brewing and saw nothing to prompt the barking, but I’m keeping an eye out for a coyote. My friend saw one twice yesterday morning, and the second sighting was right by my house. None have been around lately as the rabbits are fat and greedy. Two were eating in my garden yesterday. When we have coyotes, we have no rabbits or skunks.

Next week I’m going to buy the flowers for my deck planters and the herbs for the window boxes and the herb garden. A few herbs are up already: thyme, oregano and chives. I need lots of rosemary, one of my favorite of all scents. I try to find summer recipes which call for the fresh rosemary, and I love rubbing my hand up the stems and then smelling the rosemary on my hand. Even the dead rosemary from last summer still in the window boxes had that great smell.

While I was driving the other day, all I could think of was how beautiful everything is. I saw the contrasting greens of the trees, the leaves finally out and unfolded, flowering bushes in so many different colors and a bright sun glinting through all the branches. The lilacs are out. I saw white and the usual purple. Mine too have flowered, but they are a deep, deep purple, a color I don’t usually see. My violets and lilies of the valley have flowers. Both plants came from my mother’s yard, from her back yard. Like her lilies, mine have taken over. The side bed is filled with them. I put a few in the backyard and they came up this year and have spread a bit. They can have the whole yard. Gracie won’t mind.

Having memories of my mother in the garden every spring gives me joy.