The Poet at the Breakfast Table

Book Share Fridays:
"The Poet at the Breakfast Table" by Oliver Wendell Holmes

Better late to share, than never!

Tis the Fairy Lady

The fairy lady wears her disguise by day - I am sure of it!

What secret could the hummingbird tell
if only she would rest a spell
Her wings they carry her through the day
She searches out nectar any old way
But when the sun moves to the west
She finds a corner in which to rest


Photo by Arthur Rackham
Photo by National Geographic

The Larkspur Listens

I don't really need an excuse to celebrate flowers - but I found one! Birthday flowers. Not the kind you receive as a gift..., rather, the month you are born in has been given a flower in honor of it.
Have you heard of this? I know about the language of flowers, but birthday flowers are something new to me.
For example, the July birthday flower is larkspur - it's meaning is "lightness and levity." A perfect description for a summery occasion, as well as a flower.
Here are some larkspur beauties~ (the very last stunning photo is of the 'Baker's Larkspur,' which sadly has become an endangered species. To read about them and find out why they are endangered, go here.) Photos are from flowerinfodotorg)




The red rose cries, 'She is near, she is near;'
And the white rose weeps, 'She is late;'
The larkspur listens, 'I hear, I hear;'
And the lily whispers, 'I wait.'

-Alfred Lord Tennyson

Summer Dance

Blooming Fire

Blooming fire.
An accessible burning bush.
I touch the flame.
There is no wound.
Instead a healing balm.
It's beauty penetrates.
Glowing warmth.

High Life in Verdopolis

Book Share Fridays: "High Life in Verdopolis" by Charlotte Bronte

From the book: "A story from the Glass Town Saga...Presented with facsimile illustrations from the manuscript and drawings by Charlotte Bronte herself.

This was written by Charlotte at age seventeen. I found it at a bargain book sale for 5 dollars, and was so happy to see some of Bronte's juvenelia in book form, that it had to come home with me.

The illustration on the cover is a watercolor (c. 1834) by Charlotte that she copied from "William Finden's engraving of Byron's 'Maid of Saragoza,' a source of inspiration for the Angrian heroine, Mina Laury." (original is shown below)

My One Weakness

This came in the mail today...wrapped up all pretty like an old fashioned package~it made me feel a little bit like Dorcas Lane, or Anne Shirley.


As I tore off the brown paper, I saw beautiful scenes on the other side of it.
Not being familiar with Trader Joe's beforehand, you can imagine how happy I was to see this beautiful paper, since one of my addictions is ephemera...





I tucked in some more...



...and was rewarded with this~



A 1947 copy of "Little Men," by Louisa May Alcott, and a gorgeous 1948 illustrated copy of one of my favorite books, "A Tale of Two Cities," by Charles Dickens.
Simply loverly! Old books..., "my one weakness."

Summer Offering

By Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

Walking In Cemeteries

In the "Anne of Green Gables" series - in the book, "Anne of the Island," (if I remember right), Anne spends a lot of time walking in cemeteries. Or maybe I should say she walks in a cemetery.

Yesterday, I went walking in a cemetery...(I always find it charming, captivating, and a learning experience). The mark and history of individual souls written out like beacons, on heavy stone slabs. A few carefully chosen words that tell about a persons whole life. Sometimes they capture the whole life in one sentence, perfectly~

I could spend a whole day just reading headstones and listening to the stillness there.


The cemetery I went to had jackrabbits running around - and a caretaker was off in some nook and cranny, completely unaware of me, whistling a tune as he worked. There were old knobby trees that have seen many years, and lovely little sequestered benches.




Allowing me to step back to another time and place, while connecting past to present. Enchanting.

Immense Journey

Book Share Fridays: Immense Journey by Loren Eiseley

Eiseley has been described as, "The Modern Thoreau" of his time. That was enough for me to want to learn more about his works.

Loren Eiseley Society
Wikipedia

Carousel Ride

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time
We can't return we can only look
Behind from where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game

--Joni Mitchell

A Thousand Words

Just read an excellent post at this website. Loved it so much, I wanted to share it here.

The soul requires time amongst the wildflowers,
to hear what they are whispering to the wind.
Their stillness speaks a thousand words.
Photo Credit - Darrell Gulin

En Vogue

En vogue, beau, à la mode, magnifique!



Ces dames parlent de l'ancienne époque française de Marie-Antoinette. Ainsi, en vogue de leur temps, et belle à voir maintenant. Je me demande ce que les dames victoriennes dirait vraiment regarder en arrière!?. Celui-ci semble avoir besoin d'inspection plus poussée!

Translation~
These ladies speak of the old French era of Marie Antoinette. So en vogue for their time, and beautiful to see now. I wonder what the Victorian ladies would really think looking back!?. This one seems to want further inspection!

In the Middle of My Moors

"He said the pleasantest manner of spending a hot July day was lying from morning till evening on a bank of heath in the middle of the moors, with the bees humming dreamily about among the bloom, and the larks singing high up overhead, and the blue sky and bright sun shining steadily and cloudlessly." ~ Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights)





I don't have moors, but I do have a rose moon. Pink as well as blue skies. New roses growing around an old birdcage. A path of very tall trees. Wildflowers that are sprouting, and dreams of a raised vegetable garden. Bees, birds, and butterflies. A dragonfly who visits at dusk. And fine sunsets every night.

"Maybe this was made for me
For lying on my back in the middle of a field" ~Sara Groves

My Love Affair With England

Book Share Fridays: My Love Affair With England by Susan Allen Toth

From Library Journal
Over the last 30 years, Toth has regularly vacationed or taught in England. Here, she reflects on some of the country's endearing qualities that draw her back time and again. Each of the 20 chapters addresses a single subject from the intricacies of "the tube" to remote village churches.
-Jo-Anne Mary Benson
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.