When a young man's fancy

From Locksley Hall

byAlfred Lord Tennyson

In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish’d dove;

In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.Well, I don't know if Ghen's thought are of love, or dancing, or what. He certainly looks handsome in his tuxedo.

Ghen is my nephew, and lives with us. His mother is my sister, MB, my faithful reader and frequent commenter to this blog. Your boy is all grown up, MB. Here he is with his prom date posing near the river in Mayville. Prom is still a big deal, as it was way back when I was in high school. It's something about the high school experience that crosses generations. My Dad was prom king way back in the 1940's, the prom theme then was Stardust. Now, that is a lovely song. When I went to prom the theme was Stairway to Heaven...........not on my top ten list.........





Just a few years ago, in the spring my thoughts frequently turned to gardening. I knew all the greenhouses within 50 miles, and planted lots and lots of flowers. Even years before Dave and I married, I was constantly planting, moving, dividing, watering, etc. Early in our marriage, we called May the month of "planting frenzy", just when we though we had every thing planted, one of us would bring home another tomato plant, or just one more perennial.


Since I opened the shop, I no longer have the "gardening drive". Sad, but true. All my creative energy is spent at the shop, or thinking about the shop.......I get my "color fix" from yarn instead of flowers. Dave plants almost everything and cares for the yard almost by himself. I do cut the grass.............

This shrub is blooming in my yard right now. It grows like a weed, and is very hardy. Dave dug out a few roots when his mother's farm was sold.........and I am so glad he did. When I was a child, we had the same kind of shrub on the farm. It has small yellow flowers, woody stems and an incredible spicy fragrance. A few branches brought inside makes the house smell wonderful.


The scent takes me right back to being a kid, a Catholic kid. May is the month to honor the Blessed Virgin. At school, at church and at home we had a "May altar", with a statue, and fresh flowers as often as possible. We also did May Crowning.

Bring flowers of the rarest

bring blossoms the fairest,

from garden and woodland and hillside and dale;

our full hearts are swelling,

our glad voices telling

the praise of the loveliest flower of the vale!

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

The lilacs, tulips, phlox, and bleeding hearts are all blooming, so much spring all at once!

Like youth, abundant, and fleeting.

Birds

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Yesterday I saw an unusual bird in my yard, I am sure it was as a Hooded Warbler. Very distinctive markings made it easy to identify. The spring migration allows us to see birds that are just passing through, a good chance to spot species not seen at all other times of the year.

I am by no means a "bird watcher". I love to see unusual birds, but I really don't go out of my way to find them.

My Dad taught me to appreciate nature wherever we found it,,,,,,doing chores on the farm, taking a ride, whatever. I learned so much from just hanging around him,,,,,it never seemed like a "lesson", just fun facts. Thanks, Pops!

A few years back in the spring, a flock of Scarlet Tanagers gathered at the ledge, near my parents farm. These beautiful birds were all perching on the limestone rocks, there was at least a few hundred birds! I will never forget that sight.

Earlier this year, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flew into our window and died, The tiny bird was so beautiful, much prettier than this photo that I got off the net. I did take a snapshot of the bird, but Dave said it would be tacky to put a picture of a dead bird on my blog. He's probably right.

Have you seen any unusual birds lately? I'd love to hear about them.

At Random

Sometimes life is just a random string of oddities,,,,,,,,,,,



Definition of RANDOM

1. Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective: random movements.





This morning, Dave spotted eight turkeys, walking single file in the empty lot across the street. What was weird is that they were walking away from town! We live at the edge of this small town,,,,,,,where were they coming from? Had they found food or shelter IN TOWN? Weird.



Of course, by the time I got outside to snap a photo, the turkeys were too far away for the camera to capture. You'll just have to trust me, they are in the shot. I did run outside in my jammies on a 25 degree morning........... This next picture is an exercise in randomness, I just took a shot of my favorite crochet hook, (I am sooooo glad to have it back) a basket, and the book that I am reading for a discussion group. My friend Lynda is leading the group..........open to all, want to join us?

Then, while trying to be completely random.......... I did THIS,,,,,,,,,, I put three dark stripes symmetrically placed in my stash afghan! I did it randomly! Now it looks planned........

So, if something happens randomly , but doesn't look random............and you planned a random look ( is it even possible to plan a random look?),,,,,,,,do you rip it out and do it over MORE RANDOMLY?