ruby crowned kinglette

shadows • light

the morning light, filtered through 80 year old glass. glass with all the imperfections that come from the impurities and bubbles and unevenness inherent in building materials that old.  those imperfections are what make it difficult to see through in perfect clarity but also what make the light so beautiful as it glows against the plaster walls; movement in the stationary.

and then there is this, the transition between here and gone.  ice, cold and hard until warmed by the morning sun light then slowly melting away; the movement of the day.

a new season seemed only hours away on sunday afternoon. each day i lie in bed and listen to the robin and black-capped chickadee greet the morning, but not yet the spring.
maybe tomorrow.

{on a wednesday}

the struggle for beauty is what i see.  a belief that a coat of rust, markings left from insects and frosty nights, intentional growth that looks like tangles or the loss of color does not diminish but makes more beautiful. it is what makes us human too, this struggle. this belief.

more of the world's wednesday observations ....

the end of pink....

you have been seeing a lot - A LOT - of pink lately.  i am not sure how to explain it.  sure, i like pink, but i like lots of other colors too, and some a whole lot more than pink.  so for now, i bid pink a fond farewell, at least for a short while.

making amends, and horses

you may recall the very mad bee in my house a couple of weeks ago... well, i think i have been able to make amends, if not with him then at least his kin folk.  my dortmund rose is nearly in full bloom and there seems to be lots of pollen - and lots of pollen is making lots of bees very, very happy... and heavy. 

so then, mr. bee, please accept my apology, i think you are going to be(e) quite content now.

and... two new horses. one for a young friend to give to her sister. i am leaving it up to her to give her a name...

and a second one whose name is honey - because.... well, she is sweet as honey.

farm report 2007

i am trying an experiment this year, growing some potatoes in a garbage can.  if i remember correctly i planted these three weeks ago, if i am not remembering correctly it was four weeks, but i think it was three.  i don't recall where i heard that you could do this, but, ciscoe, a local garden guy has instructions here, and here,  and the more i googled the more i found that there are variations of this method out there.  the idea is for every 4 inches of growth you then cover 3 inches with compost, or straw, or peat (my choice). i haven't yet had the opportunity to add the peat, but it looks like today might be the day, at least for the middle plant.  i set 5 seed potatoes, the one in the middle is a 'desiree', two opposite one another are 'butterfinger', also called the swedish peanut, and the other two are 'rose finn apple'.  i don't know what to expect, but it will be fun.

i almost missed my window of opportunity to run around the neighborhood to find apple blossoms to pollinate my little tree. i think i have been at least two weeks behind in the season so i was surprised first to see my blooms blooming, and then to see that most others in the neighborhood almost spent. but, it worked and it now looks like i have thirteen or fourteen future red delicious on the tree.  last year, between the raccoons, rats and my dog i got zero... we shall see how it goes this year.

as you might expect, i shall keep you posted.

this guy was mad, m. a. d., mad

i heard him as i put some water on to boil... i thought is was the sizzling of the drops on the burner.  it was him, screaming at the window at the injustice of it all.

he has been freed to circle the house and if he comes back inside i promise to release him without tormenting him further with the incessant picture taking.

identification upate: bombus melanopygus or orange-rumped bumble bee  

something spring

i was getting tired of seeing the bread here every day this week, so you must have been too... i have been busy with other things so not much to talk about here, expect how lovely this little crabapple is.  i got it last fall from the city of seattle and their effort to have more trees planted in the city.  this one isn't actually planted yet, but will be soon.

have a wonderful weekend. i will, and even have two more loaves of bread in the works!

red friday

it's the last day of 'colour week'.  thanks julie.  i love these world wide participations... it is always so great to see how everyone interprets colors and themes.  these glass flowers showed up in my bird bath one week, the robins don't seem to mind... one day i will have to remember to ask amy and gary (my neighbors) if they offered them up.  and, these too are right by the steps up to the front door.

 

yellow thursday

more color within 5 feet of my front door... so far, everything this 'colour week' has been right around the steps into my house, who would have guessed? 

tomorrow? red.

pink wednesday

in honor of julie's 'colour week'.... this ranunculus also graces the entrance to my house this season.  such beautiful flowers with their dark, dark centers.

tomorrow? yellow.