"Now, thank God, everything is finished; perhaps there are still things to be done; there at the back the soil is like lead, and I rather wanted to transplant this centaurea, but peace be with you; the snow has already fallen. . . . Well then make a fire in my room; let the garden sleep under its iderdown of snow. It is good to think of other things as well; the table is full of books which…
"Most people, early in November, take last looks at their gardens, and are then prepared to ignore them until the spring. I am quite sure that a garden doesn't like to be ignored like this. It doesn't like to be covered in dust sheets, as though it were an old room which you had shut up during the winter. Especially since a garden knows how gay and delightful it can be, even in the very frozen…
Foliage-viewing – Annual failure to slake Winter’s color thirst. In her haiku Carol Purington captures a season and the necessity of trying to prepare for the monochromatic winter landscape. She captures the colors, creatures and songs of every season at Woodslawn Farm here in western Massachusetts. This haiku is from her book Woodslawn Farm. To see what other muses are abroad and inspiring us, visit Carolyn gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago, the host of…
He who bends to himself a joy Does the winged life destroy; But he who kisses the joy as it flies Lives in eternity’s sunrise. Eternity by William Blake The golden days of summer are flying. Soon the hills will be a tapestry of rich color. I've already had to put a quilt on the bed. Many thanks to Carolyn gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago for hosting Muse Day and giving us…
Malabar Farm Book Review (of Malabar Farm by Louis Bromfield 1948) by E. B. White “Malabar Farm is the farm for me, A place of unbridled activity. A farm is always in some kind of tizzy, But Bromfield’s place is really busy: Strangers arriving by every train, Bromfield terracing against the rain, Catamounts crying, mowers mowing, Guest rooms full to overflowering, Boxers in every room of the house, Cows being milked to Brahms and Strauss, Kids arriving…
A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King, But God be with the Clown-- Who ponders this tremendous scene-- This whole Experiment in Green-- As if it were his own! Emily Dickinson We had our moment of madness at Sunday's Rose Viewing, and I am not fool - or clown - enough to believe the roses are all my own. With the help of my friend and Dickinson scholar, Martha Ackmann, I…
Midsummer Morning One big white peony enough for a bouquet. by Carol Purington My tree peony blossom is pink, but it is big enough for a bouquet. Carol's haiku are so evocative that I must include another on this Muse Day Monday. End of the row The child's strawberry basket still empty. This haiku seems to me a perfect depiction of a child's innocent greediness and the sweetness of summer. Thank you Carolyn…
Bounded by strand above strand of song -- the robin's acre This haiku by a local poet, Carol Purington, who lives one town over in Colrain, is from her book Family Farm: Haiku for a Place of Moons. Carol was struck by polio in her childhood and has lived in an iron lung for most of her life, but she has found a way to connect the limitations of her life with the boundless energies of her family…
When You Open a Bookby Rory Matthews (age 12)When you open a bookA journey beginsIn which many people can takeWhether they read poetry or novelsEither is fine.Both take you to lands unknownFrom fiction to sci-fiOr drama to actionMaybe Moby Dick or Swiss Family RobinsonOr even a Wrinkle in Time.From one galaxy to anotherOr on a big wooden shipWith mast and allAll you have to doIs open a bookand each page is a journey for you.My grandson Rory has…
"If we are to describe the gardener's March according to truth and old tradition we must carefully take note of two things: (a) what the gardener is supposed to do and wishes to do, and (b) what in fact he does, not being able to do more!"So spake Karel Capek in his delightful book The Gardener's Year published in 1931. No less true today.Seduced by the brilliant sun and the mild temperatures we've had for the past few…