Faceless St. Patrick's Day Photos

As I captured the wearing of the green today with my camera, not too many students even wanted to show their faces. It made the pictures much more interesting as I focused on the wearing of the green.

In a Word: Green

 “Green is the prime color of the world, and that from which its loveliness arises.”    Pedro Calderon de la Barca

 On this eve before St. Patrick's Day I honor green: 

 

 

 

 

In a Word: Song for Rainy Season

 Elizabeth Bishop is a genius when it comes to taking a simple subject and creating illuminating poetry. She can take just the right words and create images of beauty from something that could be dreary like rain. I needed to read about rain for it's beauty today.

Song For The Rainy Season by Elizabeth Bishop

Hidden, oh hidden
in the high fog
the house we live in,
beneath the magnetic rock,
rain-, rainbow-ridden,
where blood-black
bromelias, lichens,
owls, and the lint
of the waterfalls cling,
familiar, unbidden.

In a dim age
of water
the brook sings loud
from a rib cage
of giant fern; vapor
climbs up the thick growth
effortlessly, turns back,
holding them both,
house and rock,
in a private cloud.

At night, on the roof,
blind drops crawl
and the ordinary brown
owl gives us proof
he can count:
five times--always five--
he stamps and takes off
after the fat frogs that,
shrilling for love,
clamber and mount.

House, open house
to the white dew
and the milk-white sunrise
kind to the eyes,
to membership
of silver fish, mouse,
bookworms,
big moths; with a wall
for the mildew's
ignorant map;

darkened and tarnished
by the warm touch
of the warm breath,
maculate, cherished;
rejoice! For a later
era will differ.
(O difference that kills
or intimidates, much
of all our small shadowy
life!) Without water

the great rock will stare
unmagnetized, bare,
no longer wearing
rainbows or rain,
the forgiving air
and the high fog gone;
the owls will move on
and the several
waterfalls shrivel
in the steady sun.

In a Word: Simplicity

 "Year by year the complexities of this spinning world grow
more bewildering and so each year we need all the more
to seek peace and comfort in the joyful simplicities"

Woman's Home Companion (1935)

 

My World

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not."  -Georgia O'Keeffe

For the moment here is my world for all of you to enjoy!

Sibling Assignment #148: Surprise!

 Here is the sibling photo assignment I gave for the week: "Pick a theme like simplicity, serernity, happiness, or another theme word. Go for a walk and only take pictures that fit into your theme. Create a set of ten photographs and write about the theme. " I will link the siblings' posts when they are complete.

 Today I picked the theme of surprise and as I did a walk through our greenhouse I was constantly surprised. Even though the greenhouse is a favorite place of mine I don't often spend as much time as I would like there. Today I did. The vivid red color of these blooms surprised me.

 As I did the walk I noticed what plants were doing this month. Some were still blooming. Many needed deadheading. I was surprised by the deep, rich color of this Martha Washington geranium.

 Other plants needed to be pinched back. I was surprised by the size of the blooms on  this plant. 

Another thing I accomplished while taking photos was to propagate plants. Geraniums are an easy plant to propagate. Each year I try to find new plants that are unique because of leaf or bloom color. The next year I propagate them. I also love scented geraniums. You can never have enough of those. I was surprised how well the variegated plants did over the winter.

 It was fun to putter in the greenhouse. I enjoyed cleaning clay pots with lovely music playing in my ears. I was again surprised at how many empty clay pots I found that I can now fill! The sun was streaming in. Lily, one of our many cats, joined me for awhile. I had hoped Annie would keep me company when she wanted in, but she didn't last long either.

 I did an inventory of tools and relocated a few lost ones. That is always a surprise! I also found the Cougar Gold Cheese tins that I use as saucers for my plants. It was fun to dig those out again.

When I turned plants around that had been facing the window, I was surprised over and over again by the beauty of the blooms. The blooms on this white geranium were showstoppers.

 It was a lovely way to spend a big chunk of the day, plus I felt like I accomplished something!

I was surprised when I checked the clock and it was past five o'clock. I plan to return tomorrow and enjoy more time in one of my favorite places.