Love In A Cottage

A cottage small be mine, with porch

Enwreathed with ivy green,

And brightsome flowers with dew-filled bells,

'Mid brown old wattles seen.

And one to wait at shut of eve,

With eyes as fountain clear,

And braided hair, and simple dress,

My homeward step to hear.

On summer eves to sing old songs,

And talk o'er early vows,

While stars look down like angels' eyes

Amid the leafy boughs.

When Spring flowers peep from flossy cells,

And bright-winged parrots call,

In forest paths be ours to rove

Till purple evenings fall.

The curtains closed, by taper clear

To read some page divine,

On winter nights, the hearth beside,

Her soft, warm hand in mine.

And so to glide through busy life,

Like some small brook alone,

That winds its way 'mid grassy knolls,

Its music all its own.

Love in a Cottage ~ Daniel Henry Deniehy 1828-1865

Optimism

Over the past few days, I've made several trips to Nashville.
I'd like to say it was for fun, rendezvousing and partaking of all a big city has to offer, but truthfully, it was to visit with a doctor about my ongoing knee and heel problem.
Not just any doctor I might add, a special doctor, whose credentials list him as one of the Tennessee Titans football -team physicians.

I'm hoping his expertise will give me a better outlook, take me off the side-lines, and help me get back into the game of life.
After all, there's only so much porch-sitting a person can do.

April Blooms

Just as we thought any dangers of late frost had passed, we've been once again issued a frost warning.

All the potted flowers sit snugly atop my kitchen counters, the whole house looks and smells like a florist's work-room.

Outside there are more blooms than sheets to cover them, so I'm afraid  it's "Every Man For Himself", and fingers-crossed they will all survive this latest cold snap.



April Showers Bring May Flowers

I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers:
Of April, May, of June, and July flowers.
I sing of Maypoles, Hock-carts, wassails, wakes,
Of bridegrooms, brides and of their bridal cakes.

Robert Herrick 1591-1674

Rabbit Tails

' Once upon a time there were four little rabbits and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter.
They lived with their mother in a sandbank, underneath the root of a very big fir tree.'
~ Beatrix Potter :The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Bird Bandit

Some birdie has been very, very busy stealing moss-liner from the window boxes.
I trust it serves her nest well.

Late Bloomers

Our Iris have finally bloomed.
It seems as though they are always late bloomers, long after most others in the neighborhood have put on their Spring show, ours slowly awaken.

They are from antique Iris stock, handed down from family member, to family member, these particular flowers being over a half a century old.
Tended with love and shared amongst the generations, from great grandmother, to great granddaughter.

The Tennessee State Flower

May your blooms be floriferous and in good form,
Distinctive, with good substance, flare, and airborne,
With standards and falls that endure, never torn.
May you display many buds and blooms sublime,
In graceful proportion on strong stalks each day,
Gently floating above the fans and the fray.
May you too reach toward the moon and stars,
Bloom after bloom, many seasons in the sun,
Enjoying your life, health, and each loved one,
Until your 'living days are artfully done.

~ Georgia Gudykunst

Sweet Wild Rose

My Wild Rose.

I had a garden, which I kept
With busy hands and tender care;
And once, while carelessly I slept,
Fanned softly by the drowsy air,
A wild rose to my garden crept,
And blossomed there.

O, sweet surprise. It seemed to me,
Some fair hand, my heart to bless,
Had brought it there, from wood or lee.
It came unsought 'twas loved no less;
I stooped and touched it tenderly,
With soft caress.

I grew to love it passing well;
While strange exotics, rich and rare,
With heart of gold and crimson bell,
Paid grudgingly for constant care,
My wild rose, as in a woodland dell,
Bloomed fresh and fair.

I watered not, I did not prune,
I tied it not with cord or thong;
Yet, morn by morn and noon by noon,
Through days of summer, hot and long,
And underneath the midnight moon,
From branches strong.

Hung clustered blossoms sweet and red;
And day by day and week by week,
I trod the path which toward it lead.
Whate'er my mood. I did not speak,
But close against bowed my head
And pressed my cheek.

I think of it with sudden thrill.
Now wide lands lie, deep water flows,
Smiles many a vale, looms many a hill
Between me and the garden-close;
Yet fondly I remember still
My sweet wild rose.

~ Ellen P. Allerton. Walls of Corn and Other Poems 1894

Easter Surprise

My sweet daughter surprised me with this Mason's Pink Vista pitcher for Easter.
I have dishes to match, but this piece is much more difficult to find.
I'm grateful we have the same taste, it makes gift-giving so much easier. {wink}

Patience Is A Virtue

I tried having a little talk with the Perennials earlier in the month, when the sun was shining, and temperatures soared to a balmy eighty degrees.
"Keep your heads below ground for just a little while longer my pretties, Mother Nature is playing a trick "
Did they listen.......No, and when the buds started popping out all over, I got Spring fever, and followed suit by planting the annuals too.

Now we are under a frost warning for the next two nights, it's taken the better part of two hours, covering plants with bed sheets, and newspapers, buckets, and bushel baskets.
All to be uncovered in the morning, and re-covered tomorrow evening.
The entire garden looks like a makeshift landfill.
Will I ever learn.

Timeless Treasures

It seems I tend to surround myself with objects that bring back memories of my childhood in England.
One collection in particular is English Staffordshire Ware.
One look at those pastoral village scenes, and I'm transported back to my grandmother's kitchen, where her cupboard displayed shelf upon shelf of these timeless treasures.

I can see the kitchen table covered in a freshly-starched embroidered tablecloth, the milk-jug sitting atop, awaiting the first of many pots of tea served throughout the day.
Treasured memories of gentler times........

Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.

Running errands today in the big city of Nashville.
On the way home, I passed by one of the older wooden-framed churches, just up the street from where we live.
I glanced over, and there on the front lawn was this live display, young men, re-enacting in part, the suffering of Jesus Christ, and the two criminals on either side.
A poignant display, I was overcome with emotions and wept, and pulled over to the nearest spot, to pray.
I can't remember a time when I was so deeply moved.
Atonement was made for our sins.

A Visit With The Easter Bunny

ALL I EVER NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE I LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY

Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.
Walk softly and carry a big carrot.
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
There’s no such thing as too much candy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Some body parts should be floppy.
Keep your paws off other people’s jellybeans.
Good things come in small sugar-coated packages.
The grass is always greener in someone else’s basket.
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare.
To show your true colors – you have to come out of your shell.
The best things in life are still sweet and gooey.

~ Author Unknown