Walk In This World Like A Spider

Like most people, I have an irrational fear of spiders.

I'm fine as long as they are not on me, running toward me and I can see where they are.  That seems like a lot of conditions for me to be "fine" with them...


Nature offers us many parables for our lives.  Spiders remind us to walk this world with balance and consideration for the impact we can have on others.



Even more profound, spiders can change a universe, rebuild that which is broken, and consume that which has tangled in its web.


Be careful how you touch other people's lives.

Petal From a Faded Rose

Love is sweet in the morning

when the breeze of summer blows

But will fade and die

when the winter's nigh

A petal from a faded rose

From the song:

Petal From A Faded Rose

Let Your Light Shine

Don't Be Afraid Of The Light That Shines Within You

By Luka Bloom

So many lives in shadows

With so much to give away

Brilliant dreams in waiting

To see the light of day

We step up to the wall

At the dawn of springtime

And when we go our way

We let the light shine

Let your light shine!

Mum's the word!

Happy first day of Fall.

Let the glorious colours begin!

A Peanut-A-Day Makes the Chickadee Stay

This little chickadee (one of my favourite birds) doesn't look too happy.

He should be. I just filled up that feeder with fresh new peanuts.

Maybe he didn't want his photo taken or maybe I startled him...

It's okay, when you are as cute as he is you can get away with anything.

The Return of the Pollen Prince

It is now September and even though the day is sunny and warm, temperatures can drop suddenly and without warning at this time of year.

I was privileged to see the Pollen Prince off on yet another dangerous mission collecting valuable gold for his Queen.

Notice, on his head, the glowing yellow Crown of Allegiance demonstrating to all, his hard work and determination.

I dared not disturb him, for should it suddenly turn cold his wings would not be able to carry him home and he would remain stranded, far from safety, left to die a slow and agonizing death.

Safe journey home Brave Prince!

Give a Weed a Chance

This is the time of year when weeds get away with... I was going to say murder but maybe that's a little dramatic. They get away with growing.

The weed: a gardener's enemy. They take the place of our most prized plantings, sucking the nutrients from the soil, making us look lazy and uncommitted.

In the habit of pulling out weeds before they have a chance to get established, I am always surprised to find out that: they were even there at all, they can grow quite tall and they have flowers.

Given the chance to bloom, those flowers can sometimes be surprisingly beautiful.

When your other plants have given up, stopped flowering and dropped their leaves, the weed can provide you with something to marvel at.

Give a weed a chance and it will prove it deserves a place in your garden, your September garden.

The Circle of Life in Pink

Pink... beautiful, feminine, eye candy.

Bubblegum, flamingos, lipstick, cotton candy.

You're blushing!

This wonderful bouquet of wild roses has it all:

* the young bud pushing up through the center, dark, vivid, intense, full of promise.

* three flowers in full bloom, each a work of art, open, on display, proud.

* one whose time has passed, folded, diminishing, faded beauty.

The family unit, a circle of renewal, beauty in each stage!

Bad Hair Day?

Bad hair day or bold fashion statement? Maybe a rebellious teen just trying to be different...

I can't help seeing faces in my sunflowers!

The ones I plant grow up to 12 feet tall and sometimes I feel like a child standing in a crowd of adults.

Their flower heads can span 10 inches in diameter and when they grow to full-size, those heavy heads will droop, looking down at me like a doting parent.

They have bad hair days and make funny faces, but in general have a very sunny disposition.

I love my sunflower family.

Ruby-Red and Ripe

"A world without tomatoes is like a string quartet without violins." - Laurie Colwin

There's the July tomato and even better, the August tomato, growing on the vine in the hot sweltering sun.

Hmmm, the September tomato...

It doesn't sound particularly appetizing, but there it is ruby-red and ripe, defying the season.

September's Bounty

You would think September is the time to close up the garden, instead there is still plenty going on.

Right now the Concord grapes are just about ready to be picked, that's if we get to them before the birds and raccoons do.

A lot of people don't like these grapes because they find them too sour. You should try my little cheat taste: pop a grape in your mouth and press with your tongue just enough to let the juice out, DO NOT chew the skin or the grape's green center.

Enjoy the wonderful, sweet grapey-taste and just spit the rest out.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Hollyhocks are amazing plants.

My garden is filled with a lot of very tall flowers. I guess I like the feeling of being surrounded, or even better, being dwarfed by them.

Hollyhock begin growing in the early spring and by July they are easily over 5 feet in height. In August, their flowers turn into seed pods but the stalks continue to shoot up producing a new flower or two at the very tip. Sort of a "ha ha, look at me" to the other plants.

The early bird gets the worm but it's the last flowers that get all the glory.