Intricate Simplicity

“Every dew-drop and rain-drop had a whole heaven within it.”

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It was one of those mornings when I woke up and instantly wanted a pair of fuzzy socks and a flannel robe.  The chill had me rushing to make my java and itching to reach some state of comfort and warmth.

Looking out the kitchen window while rubbing my palms together for warmth, I followed a squirrel across the fence and I admired the herbs and they reached skyward.  

"Burr," I thought.  "Fall is approaching."

Just then my coffee finished its brew cycle and Little Peep-ster "ruffed" for potty time.  Grabbing my java I followed her to the patio, enjoying the rising steam as the warm coffee mingled with the cool, damp air.

While I stood, cupping my toasty morning kick with two chilly hands, I noticed it.

Gently-- and with amazement-- my eyes traced a helter-skelter, zig-zag path through the lawn.

They were everywhere.

Every single nook and cranny, every tree and every shrub and every plant....

Everywhere.

Woven in the most intricate and beautiful patterns, hundreds of dew-covered spider webs made their day-break debut.

The absolute beauty and exquisite detail of such creations completely captivated me and before I realized it, Charlie and I had traded warm coffee and cozy socks for wet and soggy bare feet.

With old pajamas and bare tootsies we canvassed the lawn, pausing to admire the construction efforts of the spider.

Invisible except for the dew, the spider webs created the most gorgeous decor.

As the sun reached higher into the morning sky and the golden rays gave warmth to the day, those magical water droplets vanished, leaving only a sticky reminder of the morning wonder.

I knew it was a beautiful sign.  

A sign reminding me to search out true beauty and to look for the silver lining.

Starting From Seed

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree, yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so."

~The Bible 

I started on St. Patrick's Day weekend.  

Ever so thoughtfully, I purchased my seeds and planed how to arrange them in the rows and rows of squares.  I made sure to place the seeds at the proper depth and to provide the perfect amount of water and sunlight.

Somehow (somehow), it worked.

Truth be told, I'm very fortunate.  As it turns out, the window in my classroom practically creates a greenhouse effect for my precious seedlings and plants.  Combine the abundant light with a well-placed heating vent and I have the perfect recipe for germination.  

See, I wasn't kidding about the fortunate part.  Lucky me.

Therefore, about a month ago, a brought these munchkins home, as to acclimate them to the outside temperatures.  You see, it's very important to gently introduce seedlings to outside temperatures and conditions.  To have re-potted them and placed them outside would have stressed their fragile stems, leaves, and root systems.  

As you can imagine, it proved quite the theatrical number as I would run outside, in the dark, in my pajamas to bring them in for the night.  Because, as you can probably imagine, it wasn't until I was snug in my bed with the pillow perfectly fluffed and the warm quilt tucked under my chin that the notion hit me--"The herbs!"

Typical.

All of my antics wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the sweet old lady who lives behind us. You see, she lives alone and has 24 hour care and a constant stream of nurses watching over her-- who never sleep, just so you know.  I don't even allow myself to imagine what they must think of me.

None-the-less, the herb garden is in full swing.  I find particular delight in it this year, as almost everything I have planted I grew from seed.  

Let me just tell ya something.  Seeds, although more tender and difficult, are much cheaper than plants.  You can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be repeating this seed planing thing next year, and the year after that, and the--well you get the idea.

 This hummus- a crazy, improvised recipe- goes down as the first of many delicious treats from my little herb garden.  

Just Because

There are exactly as many special occasions in life as we choose to celebrate. 

 ~Robert Brault 

Because the sun was warm and beautiful and shinning, and because my "to-do" list lacked "to-dos" (huge lie), and because I had a small bag of potting soil, and-- oh yea-- because I had these tiny pots stashed in the top of my closet.... 

...I decided to plant.

And then, after filling three little pots with dirt and chamomile and sage and tomato seeds, I took a gander around the lawn, evaluating the state of blooming affairs.

 Much to my delight, the $0.50 peony bulbs I purchased last summer on clearance sale in a tattered, falling apart bag, have emerged, stretching towards the sky and, dare I say, even boasting one small magenta bud.

I never would have thought.

See the little cluster of yellowish ground cover? 

You do?

Good.

I just saved myself a good $20 at the greenhouse.

Why, you ask?  Well, wouldn't you know that this stuff goes for about $3.75 per four inch pot.  Insane.

Ever the frugal girl, you'll never believe what I did.  No, I didn't steal or pinch off a clipping.  Shame on you for thinking such a thing. (tisk-tisk and batting eyelashes) 

Rather, last fall as I emptied my pots and cleaned the patio for the long winter stretch, I pulled a clump of this Creeping Jenny out of a flowerpot and threw it to the ground.  Yep.  That's it.  I swear.

Now, I can spend those pennies on something more fun this year- perhaps some eggplant seeds? Or another  Stevia plant?

Time will tell.

Oh, the lavender survived!  It survived!  

Again, more garden amazement.  This little plant friend proves, yet again, that passed-over greenhouse garbage shouldn't be ignored.  

Last year, after paying less that $1 for this sweet herb, I planted it, watered it, and cared for it, all the while watching as nothing really happened.  Then, during my fall clean-up, I cut it back, saying a little wish for it and hoping that it would survive the winter.  

Would ya look at that new growth?  

 Miracle.  For sure.

The Summer Diaries #9- Bye Bye Carbon Footprint, Hello Awesome Find

"Continue to surprise those who would put you in a neat demographic. Be insistently curious."

~Gordon Gee

One never knows what the day will hold. As Ollie (the new bike) and I set out on our morning errands, we never expected to see a gumball machine wave at us from the shinny window of the antique store.

After doing a double take, almost crashing, and quickly looking around to make sure that no one had spotted us, we continued to frolic about the town, stopping at the bank, post office, health food store, and pharmacy.

"A real, vintage, old-fashioned gumball machine...could it really be?" I continued to wonder.

With all of our errands done, we stopped, Ollie and I, and made that nifty gumball machine ours. It's also worth noting that rather than toss my broken bicycle basket, I fixed it this morning with some strong binder's twine. Yay for making-do and saving myself $20.

For The Birds, With Love

"The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply that they have perfect faith, for faith is necessary to have wings."
- James M. Barrie

For months now, I've been collecting my yarn scraps. It amazes me how at much mass these tiny pieces, little remnants of this and that, add up to.

I'd knit and purl and snip. I'd bind-off and finish a project and snip. I'd sew on buttons and snip. Each snip of my childhood Fiskars scissors yielded another morsel of soft nesting goodness.

I don't remember where I saw this idea, but I certainly won't claim it as my own. It might have been in a Birds and Blooms magazine, but I can't say for sure. Either way, right then and there, I decided to start saving my yarnish and stringish scraps.

And save them I did.

A very special jar served as a home to many colorful artifacts of projects gone-bye. One day, when the yarn could no longer be squished or squashed, I decided to begin making my "Nest Helpers".

All this required was a ton of yarn scraps and a few suet holders. My kind of project, wouldn't you agree?

So, the way this works is simple. All you do is save yarn scraps (or other things like twine, ribbon, string) and then stuff the scraps into a suet holder. Easy.

Then, hang the Nest Helper outside and watch as your little feathered friends enjoy choosing their favorite colors and textures to make the perfect, soft, and colorful home.

Earth Day

"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect."

~Chief Seattle, 1855

A few days ago, while I was doing 10,000 things at once, I listened to a television program on MSNBC on the topic of Earth Day and "going green." While I won't go into details of all that I learned, I specifically remember one person saying: "The Earth isn't a thing. Earth is a living being."

For some reason, that notion really struck me. It made me want to be even more kind and gentle to this delicate land I am lucky enough to use and play on.

Therefore, in honor of Earth Day, I began germinating an avocado seed. Why not help oxygenate the air, right? I know. Genius idea! grin

If all goes well, in a few days this seed will crack open and a root will begin to emerge. Hopefully, in due time, I'll be able to move it, along with a few other avocado friends to an outdoor location on my patio. I need to create a few of these little plants in order to produce any of the fruits~ good ol' pollination and such.

So stay tuned to track the progress of my new avocado family. And, don't forget to do your part, too. Take some time to do something nice for this amazing planet!