Posts from the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

May 1

GOD WINKS

Reblogged from The Alzheimer Roller Coaster:

One of my daughters has always used the term, “God Winks,” whenever something appeared to be a coincidence. There are no coincidences,’ they are little nods of approval from God, but you have to be open minded and have an open heart to see them.

Today was a beautiful breezy, sunny day. A perfect day for pushing a wheel chair around the grounds of the memory care unit, for sitting on the patio and chatting.

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day

A young stud eating Blush Pink Nandina

I don’t have horses anymore. So why are there three horses in my front yard? Oh, I recognize those horses. They belong next door in the pasture. Yippee! They’ve come for a visit. Who says I don’t have horses anymore?

But what to do with them? Don’t want anyone, or the horses, to get hurt. We did not know their owner’s phone number or even name, could not find where the horses had gotten through the fence, and even if we’d had halters and ropes, they were friendly horses but not handled much.

When the dears decided they liked my Blush Pink nandinas, which I have struggled to keep from dying through two dry years and which finally are beginning to grow, I said to husband: “Get the fence cutters. I’ll not have them eating my bushes.”

Handy husband cut the fence to make a gate, and two of the friendliest critters were easily lured with oats and hay (on hand for my chickens) back home to their pasture. The third, a mare, was skittish, but dear husband remembered how to herd a horse, and so all three returned where they belonged. Nandinas were saved, I had enjoyed petting horses, we’ve now gotten to know our neighbors better, and I’m left with a gate to get easily into the pasture for rich manure for my garden!

Star magnolia, blooming far too early in this unusually warm winter. I do hope they don’t bloom one at a time.

Paperwhites. The horses loved eating these. By the time spring gets here, will I have any at all?

And this lone purple bloom. This plant was given to me two years ago, chosen as a surprise by my then fou-year-old grandson. I’m sorry I don’t recall the name of the plant. I treasure it, and am faintly surprised, given my lackadaisical gardening skills, to find it keeps on living. And a jewel of a bloom far out of it’s season in mid-winter.

But is anything truly out of season? We only think it is. If we will let ourselves, we can bloom at any time.

My deep appreciation to Carol of May Dreams Gardens for beginning Garden Bloggers Bloom Day many years ago, and leading me to take a look at the bounty in my own yard month by month. If you pop over to her site, you’ll find links to gardeners around the world.

Blessings,
CurtissAnn

Dec 31

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Just Now at Year’s End, Year’s Beginning

Another year comes to a close, stating the obvious. Writing the title of this post, I suddenly see: whenever there is an ending, there is a new beginning. Endings and beginnings go together. We may not care for the ending, sometimes an ending is horrible in that moment, other times it is a great relief to be done with something, but always there is some sort of new birth, and always the new birth comes out of what ended.

Sweetie-pie and I took a walk around to see the yard. These photos are from today. The hydrangea leaf buds above come out of the mild and, thankfully, fairly wet winter. Everyone told me it would rain every afternoon here, but people say a lot of things. That is buds from the native yellow rhododendron to the right. Last summer I pruned the straggly bush quite heavily. These new buds of life are at one of the cuts. That’s the way of life. A lot of growth has gone on below, in the dark soil, where I added compost and the rain soaked it down. All that comes on the bush comes from what was last year.

Look at this– it is an aloe bloom! The first I have ever in my life experienced.

I can name 2012 as my year of the aloe bloom. A surprise, a gift, a marvel. The information I found on the internet said that only well-cared-for aloe plants, ones that get everything they need just so, will bloom. Well, look at the plant this bloom came out of.

I sat the plant there last spring, and it has been on it’s own. It has struggled through drought and heat and cold–last night was 30 degrees. I don’t know what to say to it, except I have learned that miracles happen every day, if we will but see them.

As I write this, my grandson is over at the ancient Royal typewriter, banging on the keys. He brings me a piece of paper. It has faint imprints of red ink! My gosh, the thing has to be sixty years old! It was a gift from my dear father-in-law, gone many years now, and here is his 5-year-old great-grandson playing with it. Life does go on.

I have many hopes and dreams for the coming year. I’m sure you do, too. I pray that you get to experience half of them, maybe the most important is to keep on going and looking for the miracles.

Blessings,
CurtissAnn