~ Boxing Day Herbs ~ In A Vase On Monday ~

I love adding perennial herbs to my shrub and border gardens. Not only do they add their heady fragrance, they also provide unusual color and texture to the gardens, and most are evergreen in this region.

img_7323

Here are some favorites served-up in a tin and presented in front of a Christmas themed display on my buffet.

img_7334

Along with the common and official names I’m providing symbolic meanings for each from the “Language of Flowers”. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalisis) symbol for love, remembrance and good luck, is budding and has a couple open blossoms on the stems. Sage (Salvia officinalis) represents long life, esteem and health, and makes a nice tea to settle the stomach. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) signifies activity and provides some small-leaved texture to the arrangement, while lavender (Lavandula), looking like it’s covered in frost, offers serenity, grace and calmness.

img_7333

Cheers to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for a reason to wander my mostly drab and damp gardens on this cloudy Boxing Day!

 

 

Posted in flowers, Gardening, In a Vase on Monday, landscape gardening, nature, pacific northwest, plants | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

~ Skywatch Friday + Weekly Photo Challenge: Path ~

As I drove out of my neighborhood on the last day of autumn, light white/grey cumulus clouds — barely visible on the horizon — drew me to pull over, get out of the car and take some shots with my iPhone.

img_7317

            Over these sixty-seven years, I have traveled many paths. Invariably, what stops me in my tracks is the stunning beauty of our fragile little planet earth.

 

IMG_5267

Path

skywatch

Posted in Art, nature, pacific northwest, photography, Poetry, Skywatch Friday, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

~ Winter Solstice ~ Wordless Wednesday + WPC: Anticipation ~

big-storm-on-the-rise

Snowstorm on the horizon.

 

 Anticipation

Posted in nature, outdoors, pacific northwest, weekly photo challenge, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

~ How The Trump Stole America ~

With many apologies to Dr. Seuss
(Hope this goes viral)
HOW THE TRUMP STOLE AMERICA

By John Pavlovitz

In a land where the states are united, they claim,
in a sky-scraping tower adorned with his name,
lived a terrible, horrible, devious chump,
the bright orange miscreant known as the Trump.

This Trump he was mean, such a mean little man,
with the tiniest heart and two tinier hands,
and a thin set of lips etched in permanent curl,
and a sneer and a scowl and contempt for the world.

He looked down from his perch and he grinned ear to ear,
and he thought, “I could steal the election this year!
It’d be rather simple, it’s so easily won,
I’ll just make them believe that their best days are done!
Yes, I’ll make them believe that it’s all gone to Hell,
and I’ll be Jerk Messiah and their souls they will sell.

And I’ll use lots of words disconnected from truth,
but I’ll say them with style so they won’t ask for proof.
I’ll toss out random platitudes, phrases, and such,
They’re so raised on fake news that it won’t matter much!
They won’t question the how to, the what, why, or when,
I will make their America great once again!”

The Trump told them to fear, they should fear he would say,
“They’ve all come for your jobs, they’ll all take them away.
You should fear every Muslim and Mexican too,
every brown, black, and tan one, everyone who votes blue.”

And he fooled all the Christians, he fooled them indeed,
He just trotted out Jesus, that’s all Jesus folk need.
And celebrity preachers they all crowned him as king,
Tripping over themselves just to kiss the Trump’s ring.

And he spoke only lies just as if they were true,
Until they believed all of those lies were true too.
He repeated and Tweeted and he blustered and spit,
And he mislead and fibbed—and he just made up sh*t.

And the media laughed but they printed each line,
thinking “He’ll never will win, in the end we’ll be fine.”
So they chased every headline, bold typed every claim,
‘Till the fake news and real news they looked just the same.

And the scared folk who listened, they devoured each word,
Yes, they ate it all up every word that they heard,
petrified that their freedom was under attack,
trusting Trump he would take their America back.
From the gays and from ISIS, he’d take it all back,
Take it back from the Democrats, fat cats, and blacks.
And so hook, line, and sinker they all took the bait,
all his lies about making America great.

Now the Pant-suited One she was smart and prepared,
she was brilliant and steady but none of them cared,
no they cared not to see all the work that she’d done,
or the fact they the Trump had not yet done thing one.
They could only shout “Emails!”, yes “Emails!” they’d shout,
because Fox News had told them—and Fox News had clout.
And the Pant-suited One she was slandered no end,
and a lie became truth she could never defend.
And the Trump watched it all go according to plan—
a strong woman eclipsed by an insecure man.

And November the 8th arrived, finally it came,
like a slow-moving storm but it came just the same.
And Tuesday became Wednesday  as those days will do,
And the night turned to morning and the nightmare came true,
With millions of non-voters still in their beds,
Yes, the Trump he had done it, just like he had said.

And the Trumpers they trumped, how they trumped when he won,
All the racists and bigots; deplorable ones,
they crawled out from the woodwork, came out to raise Hell,
they came out to be hateful and hurtful as well.
With slurs and with road signs, with spray paint and Tweets,
with death threats to neighbors and taunts on the street.
And the grossest of grossness they hurled on their peers,
while the Trump he said zilch—for the first time in years.

But he Tweeted at Hamilton, he Tweeted the Times,
And he trolled Alec Baldwin a few hundred times,
and he pouted a pout like a petulant kid,
thinking this is what Presidents actually did,
thinking he could still be a perpetual jerk,
terrified to learn he had to actually work,
work for every American, not just for a few,
not just for the white ones—there was much more to do.
He now worked for the Muslims and Mexicans too,
for the brown, black, and tan ones, and the ones who vote blue.
They were all now his bosses, now they all had a say,
and those nasty pant-suited ones were here to stay.
And the Trump he soon realized that he didn’t win,
He had gotten the thing—and the thing now had him.

And it turned out the Trump was a little too late,
for America was already more than quite great,
not because of the sameness, the opposite’s true,
It’s greatness far more than just red, white, and blue,
It’s straight, gay, and female—it’s Gentile and Jew,
It’s Transgender and Christian and Atheist too.
It’s Asians, Caucasians of every kind,
The disabled and abled, the deaf and the blind,
It’s immigrants, Muslims, and brave refugees,
It’s Liberals with bleeding hearts fixed to their sleeves.
And we are all staying, we’re staying right here,
and we’ll be the great bane of the Trump for four years.
And we’ll be twice as loud as the loudness of hate,
be the greatness that makes our America great.
And the Trump’s loudest boasts they won’t ever obscure,
over two million more of us—voted for her.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , | 6 Comments

~ Season’s Greenings ~ In A Vase On Monday ~

When we moved into our home thirty-three years ago, I discovered a copse of holly (Ilex aquifolium) in the back yard. As I worked the grounds, whenever I found other holly starts, I transplanted them into the copse. Now the stand has grown to be taller than my two-story house, as you can surmise from this shot of today’s vase sitting on the (second floor) deck railing in front of the holly grove. I love that it provides year-round shelter and habitat for many native and migrating birds.

img_7307

Back to the vase!  I tried four other options but this inexpensive highball glass filled with water worked best for these top-heavy stems.

img_7307-version-3

The chartreuse of Mexican orange (Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’) adds lightness and contrast to the posy, and a branch of heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica) fills in with clusters of bright red berries.

img_7308

Once again, thank you Cathy at Rambling in the Garden, for giving me an excuse to slog through the slush of my environs to find beauty near my doorstep!

december-15
“Of all trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown”

From Sharp’s English Folk-Carols (1911), the publication that first established the current words and melody:[1]

Posted in Gardening, In a Vase on Monday, landscape gardening, nature, pacific northwest, plants, trees | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

~ Anticipating a New Horizon ~ WPC: Anticipation ~

Last week’s photo challenge “New Horizons” folds nicely into this week’s challenge “Anticipation.” Right now I’m anticipating the close of a real-estate deal which will result in the acquisition of a condominium at Longbeach, Washington USA.

img_6643The view looking from beach dunes toward the condominium complex,

img_6616

and each time I crest the trail to the ocean, I’ll behold a new horizon!

 Anticipation

Posted in Beagles, dogs, nature, outdoors, pacific northwest, pacific ocean, weekly photo challenge | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

~ Wordless Wednesday + WPC Horizon 1 ~

img_6531

New Horizon

Posted in weekly photo challenge, Wordless Wednesday | Tagged , | 2 Comments

~ In A Vase on Monday (oops make that Tuesday!)

Actually, I gathered the flora for this vase on Monday, however the day ‘got away from me’ so here is the finished product on Tuesday.

img_7268

Heather (Calluna vulgaris) is a shrub I have always loved — perhaps from my Scotch heritage and the song “Heather on the Hill.” It is in full bloom here, and I’ve added some of the berries from Black Mountain Huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) a native to my gardens. The vase is one I purchased from Orcas Island Pottery. Here’s to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden  for helping me see what is still lovely in my early winter gardens!

http://www.orcasislandpottery.com/

Posted in flowers, Gardening, In a Vase on Monday, landscape gardening, nature, pacific northwest, plants | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

~ Silver Thaw ~ Skywatch Friday ~

A snow, sleet and ice storm pelted our region yesterday afternoon on through today. It is expected to be over soon, but the temperature is still hovering just above freezing.

img_7222

Here is a shot I took on my walk today, looking up into a grey wet Pacific Northwest sky through branches encased in ice.

skywatch

Posted in nature, pacific northwest, Skywatch Friday, trees | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

~Korean Feather Grass ~ In A Vase On Monday ~

Every guide to growing Korean Feather Grass  Calamagrostis brachytricha says to plant it in full sun. For whatever reason, my plant is thriving in almost total shade!

img_7203

Today’s arrangement includes Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’ and Red Twig Dogwood Cornus sericea for color and contrast, presented in a large clear vase to show off the dark purple foliage of the Penstemon.

img_7198

To see what’s blooming in other gardens, visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden .

Posted in flowers, Gardening, In a Vase on Monday, landscape gardening, pacific northwest | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments