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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Friday, March 28, 2014

A song for Friday...a little something from the south



A few weekends ago I went to a 90 year olds birthday party and during
a slide show of her life they played a song by this band.
After I researched them a bit I became obsessed with quite a few of their songs.
After much deliberation I wanted to share this one with you.
The lyrics are akin with a Cowboy Junkies song called
'Misguided Angel'.
The tale of a daughter trying to reassure her mother of her 
undying love for the one her mother disapproves of.
So here for you, out of North Carolina,
Mount Moriah.
Have a listen here...
Have a great weekend y'all!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

The creek starts to sing...

There's nothing like finding a shady, cool spot by a creek or a river
during the height of a hot summers day.
But going up a creek at the beginning of spring is magical.
The jumble of log jams from rushing winter waters has settled in for the time being.
The bones of bears dinners lay strewn about in the woods above the shore.
Rich salmon feasts, now a thing of the past , lay like 
puzzles waiting to be pieced together again.
The tiny vertebrae so beautiful...inspiration for Antonio Gaudi for sure!
Things; flora and fauna alike, asleep for the winter
are now awakening, feeling the dawn on leaves,
petals, slimy skin and bright green moss.
 ...the delicate trillium one of the brightest faces in the woods...
...little wine cup fungus awaiting a fairies dinner party...
...false lily of the valley, lined up, soldiering along the forest floor
Like a book being opened...a new story begins again.
Last years dipper has decided that this spot under the bridge is 
a good, safe place to nest again.
One small ball of twig and moss, now dwarfed by its latest neighbor.
The tiny winter wren, hungry for love, trills out a song as big as the forest itself.
And the water!
Truly perky, alive, dancing over rocks in sensual glides and dives.
Going where water wants to go.
Flowing with abandonment to places great and small.
Settling into pools for armies of fish fry; a safe harbor to grow.
Sunlight speckles rounded rocks polished by the waters touch.
 Ghosts in the wood, man made and nature made alike...
Someone's lost belongings blending in, reminding us of our transparency here.
A lookout perched above the banks, on call for another summer at the creek side.
So I borrow this lovely space for a short time, drenched in the singing of the creek,
watching the world begin once again...
...things watching me perhaps from the shadows of the woods...
...rock hopping like a child through velvet greens, muted by birdsong.
Who knows what treasures and surprises I'll find this time around?



Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Little signs...

Oh, it's on it's way.
Spring!
The birds have begun singing in earnest in the mornings which are getting lighter, earlier.
As usual the robin's are the first ones up, bleeping in the day.
The tiny grape hyacinth is coming up...
 I put some in this little, old shoe polish bottle I found on the beach last fall...
 ...it has a bit of a purple tinge from the old glass it's made of which does that as it ages.
My friend Liz who knows antiques told me that you can tell glass is old like this because
of something (I forget now what...mercury maybe?)
 they use to put in glass that they don't anymore, maybe pre -1910.
Yes, that's a bit of sunlight shining through the tiny vase!
 Such a sweet and cheery sign of the new season...like little singing mouths praising the new day!
 Tiny willow buds still coming out...
 These are not the same as the big fat ones I got on the beach, but slender
little ones from the woods...
 Outside the rattlesnake plantain is making an appearance.
So named for it's mottled leaves. I believe it's in the orchid family but
doesn't produce much of a flower. It's a wee thing which has leaves only about
4" long at the most. It pokes through the mossy undergrowth of dappled forest...
 The small but mighty honey bees were VERY happy floating around in the sun yesterday...
 They're busy spring cleaning, removing the dead bees who didn't make it through the winter...
The kale which has survived all winter is about to flower which will
help the honeybees until more spring and summer flowers are out.
So don't cut down the kale just yet!
The fish in the pond have been resurfacing and playing amongst the new lily leaves...
And the garlic is coming up nicely too...a few small pruning of the leaves
will be added to dishes for some fresh spring flavour!
So there you have it...some small but encouraging signs alive and well!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Something New...

I just completed this little tribute to the Oryx...
 Also with a little nod to Margaret Atwoods book, 'Oryx and Crate'...
 ...with his trusty raven along for the ride...
 Introducing... 'Oryx and Kate' !
(now available in my Etsy shop)