the blue muse

So far, the month of June has been crazy-busy! And that is a good thing, being busy is the best way to stay out of trouble in my opinion.

And so, I put my head down and work, and put my head down and garden, and in between, I remind myself to breathe.

I am much farther behind in my garden than I anticipated, mainly because things are much worse out there than I thought. Mother Nature waits for no one when it comes to taking back her territory.

Work is keeping my very busy, and this makes me very happy. When you have a freelance business, work is good. Very good.

So, I am busy, but happy. Tired, but content. Sore (oh my aching back), but smiling.

I’ve always said I am a worker bee. Never the Queen.

Sometimes I wish I were, just for a day or two. But that’s not me.

And it’s not all bad, being a worker bee.

There are flowers, and honey.

It’s been a week of rain that never happened, perfect temperatures, much work, and little play.

I find myself smiling on this Friday morning, partly because I made it through those long hours of work, partly because it’s Friday, and partly because as I sit here looking out my window, there are flowers.

Pansies and lilies, peonies and lupines, roses and geraniums. The bold red of poppies and the creamsicle-orange impatiens I put in the darkest corner. The chartreuse of lady’s mantle mixed with the royal blue of salvia.

Grey is a color that hides in summer, just so green can get her groove back.

All week, my garden has been calling to me, and all week, I have needed to stay inside at my computer. But the view from my window makes it all okay.

I can do this.

Look what Mother Nature manages to come up with in just a few short weeks.

Oh, she’s good.

Doesn’t it just make you want to dance in the forest?

With faeries and wood sprites

dragonflies and fireflies

flittering fluttering butterflies

and a skirt made from lilies?

::

purple is the color

of living.

::

when she filled her house with peonies

and all was right with the world

::

wishing you a weekend filled with smiles

::

making me smile…

three sections of garden put back in order

three solid days of sunshine in which to do it

staying up very late to finish a book

clearing space, in my garden, in my head, in my life

sundresses and songs from long ago

a hummingbird in the house and then back out

morning tea with my back to the still-messy beds

vegetables planted and growing

a sense of slowly coming home

contentment

::

and a moment of silence

to honor

those who have served.

::

I went out to take pictures of the first roses of the year, and look who I found when I stuck my nose into this gorgeous-smelling rugosa?

I hope you’re not squeamish about spiders. If so, my apologies.

I’m not, I actually kind of like them, especially this kind, the garden spider. This is only the second time I have ever seen a white one, a few years ago I had a huge one living in my monkshood, white with light pink stripes. I thought she was beautiful.

This one was rather shy, he kept moving away as I got closer to take his photo, but finally after about 50 shots, he sat still and posed for me.

And somehow, I saw that other one as a girl, and this one as a boy. Go figure.

My weekend is beginning today. This is always my big gardening weekend, in my zone, this is pretty much when it becomes safe to plant without worry of frost, and then it is a race to beat the planting clock.

It is sunny and hot and I plan to spend the entire weekend, except for sleeping, out in the garden.

I probably won’t be able to walk on Monday, but it will be worth it.

::

Wishing you a fabulous weekend filled with surprises.

(And if you are afraid of them, I hope they won’t be spiders.)

for a hummingbird’s
celebration of spring and life
and endless cycles

it’s hard to imagine
what life must be like on the wing
of such a tiny, speeding bird

but it’s not at all difficult
to see why they are drawn
to the siren song

of summer

bloom

::

::

(title taken from joni mitchell’s for the roses)

Did you get to see the eclipse yesterday?

We couldn’t see it from here, and I must admit, I was a bit envious. But what a glorious weekend it was! I don’t think I’ve seen a cloud since last Thursday. It is finally starting to act like May: sun-filled, warm days, followed by soothing, cool nights. I spent both days outside all day, wishing I could stay out all night as well, still wishing to be a gypsy.

The garden is bursting into bloom, a little too quickly, but that’s okay. It’s going to take me well into summer before I get it back into any sort of shape, so I am trying to simply enjoy the process, thinking less about being finished and more about joy of having this space, my tiny postage stamp of paradise.

My naughty kitten killed a cardinal on Saturday. Last year, he didn’t bother the birds too much, but I think he has made such a dent in the rodent population that he has set his sights a little, er, higher this year. I am starting to feel bad about feeding the birds, it feels like they are being baited into a bad situation. Not sure yet what to do about that.

Just now I am sitting out back, listening to those same birds singing good morning to another glorious day, bumblebees and hummingbirds buzzing by, and that same naughty kitten purring on the bench next to me. I don’t have to look far at all to find something that makes me smile. To feel content with who I am and where I am.

And this is exactly why I have a garden.

Wishing you a Monday filled with smiles.

::

Linking up with Kim Klassens’ Texture Tuesday, stop by and join the fun!