garden – Page 2

Splendor in the Grass

October 25, 2014 by Melodye Shore

If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, Rejoice, for your soul is alive.
—Eleanora Duse

The threshold into my backyard seems impossibly steep. After four weeks of reclining on the couch, leg elevated, I am starting to climb the walls.

I need to dig my feet in the earth again, injury be damned. I need to spend time in my garden. So I practice crabwalking with my crutches, imagine in my mind's eye how it will feel to venture into the great outdoors. "With God as my witness," I tell my Facebook friends, "I'm gonna wiggle my toes in the grass before this weekend's over!"

And guess what?

I did it!

In feeling the sun on my face, a weight is lifted from my shoulders. I am not my present circumstances; I am fully present in this moment.

My zoom lens is my ally. It brings into my field of vision the tiniest of ants. Can you see it, too, nestled into that faded but still beautiful rose petal?

My Hawaiian Blue eyes are winking…a random sprinkling of Felicia Daisies make my heart sing.

"Someone needs to refill the birdbath," this goldfinch seems to say. I'll relay her message to my husband. =:)

I'm not yet able to shift my weight from one foot to the other. And besides, the ground isn't level. But my knee scooter helps me venture further, helps keep me from toppling over. And look! Here's a patch of lisianthus, standing tall.

Jane Goodall once said, " I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments of sadness or fear. That's what I believe, and the presence of that spiritual power is very, very strong in the forest." I agree with her, and I believe it's found equally in stands of palm trees and chapparel-covered hillsides.

I find joy in this tangle of Wendy's Wish, Indigo Spires and Black and Blue Salvia. And something else…

Hope, the thing with feathers…

A wee bit o’ Little Women

March 15, 2013 by Melodye Shore

I carried our rickety wooden ladder into our backyard, camera slung around my neck. And I don't know why it happened, but as I brought this blossom into focus…

…my mind drifted back to a passage from Little Women. I remembered the gist of it, but I looked it up, anyway. I wanted to get these words just right:

Hannah used to say, "I'd know which each of them gardings belonged to, ef I see 'em in Chiny," and so she might, for the girls' tastes differed as much as their characters. Meg's had roses and heliotrope, myrtle, and a little orange tree in it. Jo's bed was never alike two seasons, for she was always trying experiments. This year it was to be a plantation of sun flowers, the seeds of which cheerful land aspiring plant were to feed Aunt Cockle-top and her family of chicks. Beth had old-fashioned fragrant flowers in her garden, sweet peas and mignonette, larkspur, pinks, pansies, and southernwood, with chickweed forthe birds and catnip for the pussies. Amy had a bower in hers, rather small and earwiggy, but very pretty to look at, with honeysuckle and morning-glories hanging their colored horns and bells in graceful wreaths all over it, tall white lilies, delicate ferns, and as many brilliant, picturesque plants as would consent to blossom there.

A lovely passage, isn't it? And I'd venture to say that my garden (this gardener) portrays a wee touch of each character in Little Woman, wouldn't you?

Treasure-hunting

October 23, 2012 by Melodye Shore

Tricky politics…dIrty laundry…the sturm and drang of social media…

Ack! Does anyone remember that old commercial, "Calgon, take me away!"

I'm not one for disengaging–not for long, anyway. And never altogether. But when the walls press in and the air feels close, I find respite in my garden. It's not perfect, by any means. The hardscape's cracked, where the earth once shook and settled. The fence is weathered, and despite ~~my best efforts~~ their valiant efforts, some of the plants aren't thriving like they should. But if I squint my eyes just right and tilt my head just so, secrets oftentimes reveal themselves to me. And so it is that, with each changing of the seasons, I find new treasures there.

Is that El Sol I see, peeking his head through the drifting clouds? Quick, slide your feet into a pair of flip-flops–come treasure-hunting with me!

Faded rose, bejeweled by the rain

Sweet stock, on my bistro table

November-blooming azaleas, misted by the marine layer that blanketed my backyard

A rain-soaked fairy watches over his patch of flowers

What are you seeing in YOUR garden these days?

Thankful Thursday: Unexpected rain

October 11, 2012 by Melodye Shore

We've had unrelenting sunshine for months now. But — huge surprise! — I was awakened by a pre-dawn thundersttorm this morning, accompanied by streaks of lightning. And then raindrops, thrumming on the roof.

On the whole, I prefer sunny weather. But I'm grateful, too, for this cleansing rain.

Thankful Thursday: Focusing on the positive

July 12, 2012 by Melodye Shore

My writing is going really well these days, and I'm wondering if that might have something to do with the fact that I'm spending more time behind the camera lens. I'm not a proficient photographer by any means, but I'm making progress. I'm learning how to reframe certain objects, to allow more or less light for greater effect, to slow the shutter speed.

And I'm learning from my mistakes.

Without forcing the metaphor, I think these lessons hold true in a broader context. Things exist within and beyond our awareness, but we can only acknowledge (and grow to appreciate) those things we’re willing to see.

Perhaps your eyes were drawn to the splashes of sunlight on Caley’s body, her oversized ears and sleepy-eyed stare. Maybe your imagination led you toward the garden, instead, just beyond her countertop perch. Or, ha, maybe you zeroed in on the rain-spattered window. Camera or cleaning cloth: Which would you reach for first?

Here's another example, this one from the garden. Seeing my roses in bloom again…pure joy! I can almost forget the spindly, bareroot shapes they took in January, and the ~~thousand plagues~~ diseased, insect-ridden foliage of a few weeks ago.

Almost. But I won’t forget the lessons. As my friend Susan said, “So much of gardening is about letting go.” Hovercraft ~~mother~~ gardener that I am, I'm still working on that.

Widening the lens even further, I see parallels with Life Itself. Dark and light, death and rebirth….things shift in the blink of an eye, depending on (and regardless of) our focus.

This is not a random thought, inserted recklessly into my blog. It comes of grieving a friend of mine, recently murdered. It comes of being candid about things, good and bad, of trying to make sense of the unimaginable by exploring it from all angles.

A trusting soul, my friend didn’t recognize the stranger who came knocking on her door. As with this frilly purple flower, Death presented itself as harmless. Too late, she realized its true nature.

Am I more guarded now, after hearing the gruesome details? To some degree, I guess. Some people open their lives to strangers; others are more cautious. I fall into the first camp, but it’s a gamble, either way. And while I'm not one to dwell for long in shadow, I'll carry this experience like a flashlight, going forward.

In WISE HEART, Buddhist philosopher Jack Kornfield writes, “Pain is inevitable…suffering is not." My thoughts this morning are a contemplative nod to this "Noble Truth." They also come of seeing recent events in the context of Philippians 4:8, which is one of my favorite Bible verses. I’ve carried it in my heart for many years, and I'm finding comfort in it now:

Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Light in the Dark

July 3, 2012 by Melodye Shore

I worried that my gardenia wasn't blooming this year. But a sweet fragrance hung thick in the air this morning, and when I followed my nose, I discovered their hiding place.

Thankful Thursday: Raindrops on roses

April 1, 2010 by Melodye Shore

Dark clouds hang low on the horizon. Rain falls, heavy and cold.

The sun rides in on a flaming chariot, battles darkness for dominion over the skies.

Light is victorious, as always.

Petals glistening, my rosebuds burst into blossom–an expression of gratitude for this new day.

Signs and wonders

April 5, 2007 by Melodye Shore

I’m making lots of progress with my writing this week, hallelujah and amen! To what do I owe this recent success? The Fast Draft Express is one possibility, or it could be the purple bracelet I’m wearing. Or maybe it’s the ~~product pitches~~ inspirational email messages I’ve received from Daily Candy.

This first one arrived on Wednesday:

Subject: Holey Roller

Brothers and sisters, let us bow our heads in prayer.

The dark days of longing for sinfully decadent pastries are over. The day has come when we can satisfy our temptations with something holey. As in Holey Donuts.

[S]ince they’ve got a fifth of the fat and a fraction of the calories of regular donuts, you can indulge your lust without guilt. […] Amen to that.

Then – and I swear on my stack of gilt-edged Bibles, I’m not making this up – I got another one today!

Subject: Holy Crap

Every morning when you wake up at your beau’s …

You say: “Want me to run and get us some coffee?”
You think: I must get to a Starbucks loo stat.

He says: “Aw, thanks, baby, I’d love a latte.”
He thinks: Why won’t this chick poop in my john?

You’ll overcome your bathroom shyness with the Breeza, a deodorizing toilet seat.

Serendipity, synchronicity, a sign from the universe or a message from God — I’m one of those who finds metaphors in even the most unlikely places. Well, maybe not in a pastry box or under the toilet seat lid, but you know what I mean.

Come play in my yard!

February 8, 2007 by Melodye Shore

If you would have a mind at peace, and a heart that cannot harden,
Go find a door that opens wide upon a lovely garden.
author unknown

It’s definitely springtime here: goldfinches are fighting for space at the feeder outside our dining room window; doves are cooing and nuzzling on the back fence; and mischievous mockingbirds are dive-bombing the wrens on the lawn, trying as always to instigate trouble. Best of all, everything’s coming into bloom.

I ate a picnic lunch in my backyard today. It felt so good to be outside, soaking up the afternoon sun! Afterward, I took a walk through my garden, which I like to do when I need time for reflection, a sanctuary for quieting my spirit. And hey, look what I brought back for you — a bouquet of pretty flowers!

Left to Right, top row: grapefruit; pansies and violets, Marie Bracie camillias
Left to Right, middle row: Nucco’s Gold white camillia, Nucco’s Gold pink camillia; campanula and sea coral
Left to Right, third row: sun azalea; pansies in vintage Red Flyer wagon, with Posy’s sculpture, “Gus” in back; Japanese magnolia
Left to Right, bottom row: lace-leafed lavender; geranium; cyclamen in pot, with plenty of bistro table seating for anyone who wants to join me for a cup of tea!