Spring has sprung

Spring has finally sprung!  Yes, yes my friends, spring had just sprung today! Oh, sunlight, what a spiritual powerhouse you are to my soul!  

This amazing sunshine, this most beautiful brilliance encompassing our blue world—what a delight to my heart these things are!

It almost feels as if a long period of darkness had finally lifted up, finally has my soul started to waken up from this long slumber, this sunshine bathing my body in precious gold. 

This ‘awakening of the earth’ always leave me with a new blank page in my life.  A new start, a new beginning.  Sunshine always making me want to clean up the house and change things around; pushing me out to the garden and start pruning and sweeping dead leaves. 

Every dead leaf still hanging on precious rose bushes needs to be removed by hand, for when new shoots starts to form on old green branches, I would not stand the view of dead mingling with new life... 

I have done this procedure for years, and every spring is the same, although I know this practice might be worthless in the end, I still insist of doing it… the results are always very satisfying and something of beautify to the eye... new red buds on clean bare green limbs!  What hopes this brings to my soul.

It is crazy crazy delightful light bathing my heart around here, however, a few weeks ago while walking the old streets of Venice I stumbled on a pothole, fell down and fractured my left ankle on two different places.  I can only do so much outside.  So this spring we will be calling someone to help us around with our gardening chores.

I am walking with a  huge boot on my left feet, yet I can’t stop myself from working inside the house as much as I can or can't... thus I’ve been nurturing my plants, changing things here and there... 

and my room upstairs has also seen a few changes too...

My gallery wall is up again...

And my big plants are loving this sunny window as much as I do...

I love this upstairs room... it makes me happy and the good thing is, I can decorate here as my 'other' nature dictates.  And I say 'other' because I have to very different decorating styles pulling the strings of my heart.  I would not decorate like this downstairs, but in my secret place of places, I am still a gypsy at heart!

Is nice coming here again!  Glad to see you all!

 

The essence of time

What is time?  Time is a flight in a night's dream.  It is the current on butterfly wings and the swift of movement on bird's wings, it is the writer's hand on the brink of nothingness and even on everything.

What I'm trying to say in human language is 'where has time gone?'  

I know I've been here. Same city, same house, same comfy chair under the Monstera tree... yet, it's been a full three years since I visited this space.  Time, it really is the swiftness in a butterfly's wings.  

And it is hard to believe that we are in the brink of another spring, for April it still seems very far away, it is still cold and dreary around here with yet more snow predicted on the forecast. My brain is telling me that time does not stop for anyone, it keeps pushing forward to whatever scheme life is to bring, but my body is tired and my skin thirsts for precious sunshine and happy days in the garden. 

So, for a longer now, I’d have to concentrate in what gives me pleasure inside—my plants. I’ll fill my house with plants, pretend I am a cat, get up on the chair and settle placidly under the desk lamp beside the chair… the cat will settle down and be serene, with a serenity that passes all understanding. And the tranquility of the cat will gradually come to affect the ‘real’ me and give my mind back the self-command it has lost. You don’t always want to believe you are a cat, you know, but again, I’d have to say that the effect of pretending being one works amazing things on your imagination… on your concentration is remarkable, very mysterious.

  

See you soon, hopefully ;)

Good bye Summer

The end of August symbolizes many changes around here—it means shorter days longer night, night time arriving earlier, temperatures beginning to drop and the garden beginning to decrease its growth.  Animals begin to prepare for the dearth of food that generally comes during the winter, by gathering supplies or traveling to warmer climates.  All happens that soon and that fast.  

Although I love the changes transpiring in late August, this always brings a certain sense of apprehension to my days.  I know that summer is over.  I know that soon, spending time in the garden, or having our meals outside will be ending, and that brings nostalgic feelings and that sense of sadness that comes with every ending.  

Sandals and fleece long skirts are to be replaced by sweaters and boots, leggings and scarves and I just can’t think of anything else other than how much I’m going to miss this place in those long coming up months…  

The garden it is truly a paradise these days.  The cooler temperatures have brought in new roses and mourning doves are still nesting its brood.  It is a confusing short period where spring-time and fall like weather mingles and join hands together.   

It feels like saying goodbye to a friend, and it feels like a quiet slumber and it is also the perfect time to look back with gratitude at all the sweet, summery moments from the last few months.

 

Summer reveries

Summer is winding down... although it is still pretty much considered summer by human standards, I know it is winding down already.  I can feel it in my bones and in the song the heart sings, by this time every August.

There is something of the marvelous, something of the 'unknown' lingering in the hot air, and I walk barefooted on soft, wet grasses and know it in my heart, that time is done.

Pretty soon I will have to start bringing things in... 

In fact, I have already started pulling out some of the houseplants I had transferred into the garden at the beginning of the spring, to get them acclimatized to the indoors again..

Soon, I'd have to pull out all the Elephant Ear bulbs and beautiful giant Cannas and put them to sleep for months to come...

I'd have to work extra hard to keep my Mandeville plant alive during the cold months

...and we won't have our Sundays breakfast or weekend dinners out here any longer...

I know I know, I'm getting ahead of time and ahead of me, but that's pretty much how things are around here every year round this time...

...time flights, hours, days, months melt away with the last heat of August

and again, I'd have to play inside and just be happy inside...

Which I'll be... I will be very happy here.  As long as I can be surrounded by a few (or a lot) green plants, I will be happy.  For now, I will continue enjoying the roses in the garden... because I have a lot of roses in the garden right now...

White roses, cream colored roses, pink roses, red roses...

I love to look at our downstairs bedroom from this view behind the Collette roses in the rotunda...

The Collette roses are done by now, but this is an amazing view in early spring when they are in full bloom...

Oh, today, I worked on a new project in the house... I converted an old mural into two side by side  canvas... and I'm so happy how they turned out!

OK, now that I am showing you the pics, I think I want them closer to each other...

what do you all think?

Have a blessed week friends!