Raindrops on Peonies, Whiskers on Kittens

...OK, so it is the wrong song! (Indiana peonies)
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"Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
~ Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "April Rain Song"

In Spring, when the rain comes, the humidity is pulled out of the air and condensed into droplets that fall on our gardens; we are left with a cool refreshing feeling. The sparkling droplets on this peony tell the story of life; of thirst, of thunder, of water and relief and and adorn each petal like diamonds. These are the rains I love, the drenching, slow, soaking rains that feed the earth.

Not so with the Summer rain that seems to add as much water to the air as it releases with hot steam rising off the sun baked pavement. The air after the rain is as muggy and heavy and oppressive as before and we feel its weight. No, I don't care for the Summer rains, except as relief for the flowers. Give me those cooling, refreshing rains of Spring.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "rain".

News Update: Mom has been in the hospital for a week now. For a while it looked as if they might have to go back in to her knee incision and irrigate and debride the wound. However, it looks as if she had some excessive bleeding into the soft tissue that is resolving slowly but steadily. Antibiotics have been given as she did have some fever and blood is a perfect culture medium. (Sorry to those who are grossed out by medical language.) If he is satisfied with her progress, she will likely be transferred back to the rehabilitation facility on Monday for at least two weeks there. Basically, she is bored.

The house closing is still set for Friday so this week is going to be hysterical. Nyssa and I bought rugs, room size rugs for the downstairs so the furniture in storage can be moved in. I can't remember what it looks like, the furniture so this should be fun. Walk through is Tuesday or Wednesday. I have many phone calls to make and estimates for fencing to get and I must, really must hear those magical words.... "the loan is approved and set"... no later than Tuesday!

I feel stomach knots coming on again. Rug pictures and story will follow sometime this week!

(end of post)

God Paints In White

White tulip. Norfolk Botanical Garden.

"White ... is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black ... God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white."
~ G. K. Chesterton

"Like the musician, the painter, the poet, and the rest, the true lover of flowers is born, not made. And he is born to happiness in this vale of tears, to a certain amount of the purest joy that earth can giver her children, joy that is tranquil, innocent,uplifting, unfailing." ~ Celia Thaxter, An Island Garden, 1894

The sun was bright this day and made shadows of petals on petals; leaving the background darkened to black with the light. I can feel the warmth of that sun in this picture.

As for an update regarding my mom, she is now in the rehab facility and will be there for at least 21 days. Dad makes his trips back and forth a couple times a day and I am headed in that direction. The hard core therapy starts tomorrow. She is supposed to come home on the day we close on Stephen's house. Moving will be a slow process for both her and the house. All in all, I think she is doing a little better with this knee than the first; perhaps that is because she knows what to expect. So, now I am off to have lunch with them there and explain to her why I am limping. Joy.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "white" and PhotoFriday topic "purity". (end of post)

Red Fire

A red glowing fire through a veil of tulips. Norfolk Botanical Gardens
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"Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid." ~ Jules Feiffer

The tulips are almost gone for the year; like the daffodil, they wither and fade quickly. Soon the red lily will bloom, at least I hope so. We have planted a grouping of reds next to the whites this year.

Today I purchased three plants; red grape tomatoes, red bell pepper (I double checked to make sure it wasn't hot pepper...fool me once and never again!), and a red tomato named "Goliath". I hope this refers to the size of the tomato and not the plant. Then there are the roses... two bushes, both are loaded with buds that will soon burst forth in brilliant soft red petals. And soon Dad will fill the planters with red begonias, mixed with white.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "red". (end of post)

A Nose For Trouble

Mr. Rhett's nose knows all things about cat food.
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A morning kiss, a discreet touch of his nose
landing somewhere on the middle of my face.
Because his long white whiskers tickled,
I began every day laughing.
~ Janet F. Faure

Mr. Rhett's nose and whiskers sniff and twitch to see where that food is. He loves the canned goodness that the thinner members of the household get to eat and he can smell it from the back bedroom. What a sensitive, serious nose you have there bud! But that face.... it is always dirty.... oops, I see specks of ...is that kibble on your face? Have you been chewing on the cat food bag again? Go wash your face!

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "nose". (end of post)

Easter Dogwood

Flowering dogwood. Cornus florida, 'Cherokee Brave var.'
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The Legend of the Dogwood
At the time of Christ's crucifixion, the dogwood tree was as tall as the oak and other forest trees. Its wood was so strong and firm that it was chosen for the cross. The tree was very distressed to be used for such a purpose and Jesus understood. He told the tree, "Because of your regret and pity for my suffering, I promise this: never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used for a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints. And in the center of the flower, brown with rust and stained with blood, will be a crown of thorns – so that all who see it will remember it was upon a dogwood tree that I was crucified, and this tree shall not be mutilated nor destroyed, but cherished and protected as a reminder of my agony and death upon the cross."
~ Author Unknown

Easter in Mississippi (and Virginia for that matter) means tulip trees, azalea blooms in rose, red and white, wisteria, forsythia and of course the dogwood. The tree grows wild and some homes are graced with five or six having pink or white blossoms. These are glorious in full bloom! This picture is of a small pink dogwood in our neighbor's yard, although it is the darkest pink I have ever seen. In fact the petals are almost red; it really speaks to me of the Easter season.

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "Easter". (end of post)

Small Wonder

A teeny tiny red spider on the small fruit of the catchweed or bedstraw plant.
See bird feather for scale. (Click picture for larger view)

"Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain." ~ Henry David Thoreau

The bedstraw or catchweed (Galium aparine) plant is running rampant behind our fence. It produces these small prickly fruits that measure 4-6mm across. I took this picture with the bird feather as a background to show texture and give a sense of scale, but didn't see the passenger attached to the small stem until I downloaded to the computer. It is some sort of tiny spider, bright red and no more than 1.5 mm in length. For travel purposes the creature picked a perfect place to land as the spiny fruits are extremely sticky and end up as little burrs on shoelaces, jeans and in dog hair. This is truly a "small wonder".

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "small". (end of post)

Petals Pink

More pink petals... variety unknown.
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"It is at the edge of a petal that love waits." ~ William Carlos Williams

Five equal petals of pastel pink, and rose colored eyes. I love these pink flowers that were growing in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Now if only I knew what they were. I have considered garden flox, impatiens and even a form of vinca, but I don't know what they really are. So, any gardeners out there, if you recognize these gorgeous blooms, let me know... please!

This has definitely been the week for pink... pink hearts for Valentine's, pink candy M&M's, pink roses and two photo memes with the topic, "PINK". I think it must be the Valentine Syndrome, or Cupid trying his best to keep active. It seems that love is in the air and I really don't mind. With the snow and ice up north and the cold wind around here, I can use all the pink I can get.

Submission to SeeItSunday for the topic "pink". (end of post)

In A Dark And Weary World.......

....a candle lights the way. (rebel)
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"How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world." ~ William Shakespeare

Have you ever compared the light given off by candles? More specifically, have you ever compared the light from candles of significantly different sizes? For twenty years I used candles as a mantle decoration for Christmas and had them in all sizes from extra tall and slender to short and squatty and all heights and circumferences in between. The red candles mixed with fresh greenery and holly made a lovely mantle piece and the glow of the candles with their flickering light brought a peace and serenity to the chaos that can accompany the holidays. But the light output from each candle was the same; it made no difference if the candle was twelve inches tall or a tiny votive, the light it produced was the same. Only trimming the wick, changed the flame. So it is with us. Some may be wealthy or famous or accomplished while others are poor or just an average person who works hard but never seems to get ahead. These things don't determine our sphere of influence; the number of people whose lives we touch, whose way we make a little easier. It is only how bright our light shines from within that determines how much darkness we can banish in this world. In the long run, it's not how much "wax" we have on the outside; but rather, how trim is our inner "wick". Shine brightly!

Submission for SeeItSunday topic "candle". (end of post)