I will not be able to work outside this morning.
When I look out the windows this is what I see.
It has been so dry, we had begun to water.
This was a valuable rain, as I now consider water to be
the "new gold".
Maybe I am paranoid after last summer's drought.
But it came, and none too soon.
We had a line of multiple booming, flashing, thunderstorms and hard rain moving through the garden during the night and early morning. It was noisy. I snuggled deeper, and slept dreamily. It reminded me of Celia Thaxter's little poem:
More rain,
More rest,
More babies in the nest.
If you have never read her little book,
An Island Garden by Celia Thaxter
With charming illustrations by Childe Hassam
Copyrite 1894
complete with garden diagram and plant list,
it can be found here where you can read it on your computer. It is worth at least a quick look. An Island Garden
15 comments:
I love when the rain comes at just the right time.
Your morning glory is the most beautiful blue.
Your morning sounds a lot like mine. We had much needed rain last night and this morning.
I have a little book called The Sacred Round...poems from an Island Garden by Thelma Palmer. I was thinking it may have something to do with the book you mentioned, but I was wrong. There was a poem, years ago, in Family Circle magazine, that I loved. I sent a letter and got this little book of poems from the author...Thelma Palmer. She autographed it for me and wrote...May the watercress grow lush and green up your creek. May your well overflow, and your roof never leak. Thelma Palmer.
Thought I would share.
Balisha
Daphne: Yes, it is a wonderful gift when that happens. The blue morning glory is the one called 'Heavenly Blue'. I grow it in memory of my maternal grandmother who had it growing up several strings at the west end of her porch. Now I wish I had paid more attention to how she held the ends of the string to the ground. They ran from the ground up to the end of the porch ceiling.
Deb: I am happy that you received rain. Some areas are getting too much, but we were getting quite dry.
Balisha: That is precious! Thank you so much for sharing that story and information. I searched for Thelma Palmer on Google, and found a great amount of information about her. I had never heard of her. Thank you.
You're right Barbee, there is nothing more soothing than a good soaking rain - Its been dry here for a couple of weeks, and it was a relief on Sunday to have a cold, rainy day.
Also, I'm not sure if its just my computer, but the photo at the top of your blog is too big, and doesn't fit on the screen.
good tohear you have rain. I am hoping it will rain here soon as my water butts are empty and I resent paying to water the plants.
Ross: Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. My sister-in-law and her husband are going to S. Africa in a few days. He is a theoretical physicist going to speak at a meeting there where it seems there is great interest and growth in that field.
Regarding the photo at top of my page :) You are the first person to mention that and I wonder if anyone else even noticed it - I didn't. But your eye for perfection probably was affronted.
I see on my screen that it goes off the right hand side all the way to the edge of the screen. I wonder if it looks too bad, or if I can get by with leaving it. I wish it went off the left side as well. I wanted it to be as large as I could make it. I see other people's blogs with headers like that and it looks very good. Hmmm, I see yours fits inside the frame. Guess I will have to work on it.
My son does a lot of the photography and resizes them before he puts them on my p.c. He did a lot of research before he settled on the size to make them. He makes them large for the new breed of screens that are so large and are getting larger in the future.
Eventually, I understand, we will not have monitors at all, and the large TV screens mounted on the walls that I am beginning to see, will be our screens. He said he didn't want my photos to be small on them. Ah, youth, looking toward the future. And, here I am, an old plug-a-mugga trying to keep up with the present. I appreciate all the help I can get. Thank you for pointing that out to me. Now I have to decide what to do.
Does anyone else have any comments about that large photo at the top of the pages?
patientgardener: I see you had a lot of rain for a while, maybe it will be back soon. I keep seeing the term "water butts", so I finally Googled it and found it is what we call rain barrels. Oh, me, I wish we could all speak the same language all over the world. I read once, that Webster was probably the greatest rebel of them all; when he created our dictionary, he changed the meanings of words away from the British meanings. A lot of help he was! :(
Where are your Sister-In-Law and Husband going in SA?
I think the optimum size for a picture is normally 800x600 pixels? Apparently, (and I'm no expert either) when the photos are too big they take longer to download. Some people with slow internet connections may get frustrated waiting for the photo to download and go somewhere else. The trick is getting the optimum size/clarity ratio.
I loved your previous picture that you used for your header - it looked like a little piece of perfection. But I know what its like when you feel the need to change the scenery.
He will be in Capetown area for 2 weeks. They are also going to Johannesburg, Polokwane(Pietersburg is old name?), Kruger Natl Park. Also, to Malawi where they have been before, to check on friends and projects.
Thank you for the info about photo sizes. That looks helpful.
Re: the header photos. Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed the spring photo. I received many nice comments about it. It will be back next spring. My plan is to change the photos with the seasons. Spring is past, summer is here (maybe not by the calendar, but to me it is), autumn and winter photos await in the wings. One thing I like about living here is experiencing the four seasons. I know, I complain about some of the weather that comes with them. And, I frequently envy what gardeners in milder climates can do. Shame on me!
There's nothing like a good rain when you need it, & nothing like a good rain when you don't. I'm glad you got yours. My garden's been getting more than enough, but still not too much, unlike those to the north, south & west. How did I get so lucky this year? Your photo of the Morning Glory bloom captures the blue so well, it's lovely.
MMD: Thank you! Isn't that the most wonderful blue!
Changing the subject: We lived in Ft. Sheridan for two years back in the sixties. I heard it is gone now. Have you ever heard of it? It was a nice location, but rough winters as we could almost throw a stone from our window into frigid Lake Michigan.
This is the best time of year to go to the Kruger National Park - they are bound to see a lot of game (its dry so the animals often congregate around watering holes) Cape Town is always beautiful - but cold this time of year!
The header looks much better like that. Thats a great idea - showing the different seasons. Here in Durban we don't have much of a change in the seasons, and I always envy the autumn foliage of cooler climes. (Not so much the winter though!)
The Morning Glory is beautiful...
Ross: Multiple thank yous! I will pass along the info about S. Africa to my family so they will know what to expect. Now I need to get busy. Thanks again for the help with the header. It looks correct in Internet Explorer, but in Fire Fox it is still a tiny bit out of the frame on the right hand side even though I shrunk it to 660 pix wide and checked the box where it said Blogger would shrink it to 660. I may try shrinking it again when I have time.
Beautiful Morning Glory! How I wish I had some of my own.
Sharon: I love the blue, too. I know they come in other colors, but I have never grown them, because I can't resist the blue.
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