Happy Changes In My Garden, Solar Lights and Standing Planter Box

 

Two of my Christmas gifts from my sons on display in my garden. The solar flood light and the peacock sculpture on the right are the new additions. The peacock on the left and the bird bath are long time garden features. The floodlight is actually subtle, not blazingly bright, and casts a romantic mood in my backyard. It is on from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. You can't see too clearly but the birdbath is about 30 years old and is made of cement with pebbles embedded in it. Kind of old school, I love it. Behind is an old pink rose waiting to bloom.

I have considered buying one of these raised planters for a long time but they are a bit pricey and a hassle to put together. This is another surprise Christmas gift from my sons. Yes, they do treat me like a princess. Now I can grow vegetables while standing up. No more kneeling or leaning over to garden for this senior lady. 

I soaked Chinese sugar pea seeds overnight and planted them. I have an old wooden raised garden bed that is one to two feet high that is close to falling apart and I changed it to a flower garden. This week I planted seeds of zinnias, knee high sunflowers and knee high sweet peas. I bought the seeds from Eden Brothers and they arrived quickly, within a week. Yes, I live in a temperate climate. Nights have been about 40 degrees and days are reaching 70 so I can plant some seeds. 

As I sometimes say "Gardeners and Christians are hopeful people." We plant a tree or a seed or share a Scripture and wait in hope.

Paintings That Bring Me Joy, and I Am Hosting a Zoom Group

 When I was in college I had a passion for visiting art museums and experiencing paintings and sculptures of great beauty, which led to my change of college major to Art History. I visited the Louvre perhaps 20 times, the Rodin studio, the oval room in Paris containing paintings of Monet's pond, the rooms in the Louvre full of tiny Netsuke sculpted objects, the Egyptian rooms at the Louvre. My husband and I discovered the rooms at the Tate Gallery in London with the Pre-Raphaelite paintings, and that group of artists became my favorites. Here are some paintings in several genres that I like.

This above artist, Sophie Gengembre Anderson,  is new to me, she is noted for her paintings of children and women. This painting is "Picking Honeysuckle" and Anderson was a French born British artist, 1823-1903.

I love horses and paintings so combine the two and I find this painting,  "Whistlejacket" painted by George Stubbs in 1762, a winner. The painting of the horse is life size.

 Do you like the above painting? "Rome, Castle Sant Angelo" by Camille Corot, 1826-1827. My  husband and I spent several days in Rome and stayed near the Castle so saw it often.

Above is "Pretty Baa-Lambs" by Ford Maddox Brown, 1852. When seen in person his paintings are jewel like and Brown is in the Pre-Raphaelite artists group I like so much. Each of their paintings has a story, often from history, fable, poetry, Greek and Roman myth, Shakespeare or the Bible.

The above is "Women in the Garden" by Claude Monet, 1866. I hope you enjoyed this journey through some favorite paintings by a few of my favorite artists.

ZOOM and me hosting

I didn't tell you before but I volunteered to host Zoom meetings for a group of three women. We met 14 months ago, as a Zoom group for women over 55 who were finding isolation hard. Then we started meeting outdoors in a coffee shop with a huge patio and gardens across the street from the Pacific Ocean. Then, in covid's erratic way, for safety we needed to meet on Zoom again. The woman who had hosted us on Zoom left the group. I did not know if I would succeed but I did. Not too shabby for this senior lady to figure out the Zoom hosting.

 

Pussy Willows and a Poem "Laughter" by Hafiz

 

Are pussy willows found all over the world? Many grew near my childhood home in Wisconsin, and I treated myself and bought two bunches at Trader Joe's. My friend told me they last a very long time if you do not put them in water, so I am doing that.

They are so soft, like velvet, like a kitten's paws, a bunny rabbit, or like my dog's ears.

Terry Hershey in his email newsletter "Sabbath Moments" (I get his newsletter for free every Monday) quoted Hafiz, a poet from Iran who wrote in the 1300s.  I found a poem by Hafiz I like and here it is. 

LAUGHTER

What is laughter? What is laughter?
It is God waking up! O it is God waking up!
It is the sun poking its sweet head out from behind a cloud
You have been carrying too long, veiling your eyes and heart.
It is Light breaking ground for a great structure
That is your real body, called Truth.
It is happiness applauding itself and then taking flight
To embrace everyone and everything in this world.
Laughter is the polestar held in the sky by our Beloved,
Who eternally says,
"Yes, dear ones, come this way, come this way toward Me and Love!
Come with your tender mouths moving and your beautiful tongues conducting songs,
And with your movements - your magic movements
Of hands and feet and glands and cells - Dancing!
Know that to God's eye, all movement is a wondrous language,
And music, such exquisite, wild music!"
O what is laughter, Hafiz?
What is this precious love and laughter budding in our hearts?
It is the glorious sound of a soul waking up!