Time in the garden

To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves. -Mohandas K. Gandhi 

 It's always amazing to me how gardening is a metaphor for life. Spring always brings new beginnings, new desires, new dreams. I seemed to have ignored my blog, just as I put away the fruits of my past gardens. Allowing the blog to lay dormant over the winter, and now that springtime is in full glory here in Michigan my thoughts have returned to it just as I have tended to my spring time garden. It's not to say I haven't been busy-so many new sea glass designs-I'll share them with you soon! But, in the mean time here's a few pictures of my just planted garden.  We went to the plant sale on Belle Isle this Saturday-I love supporting the agroscience students. They grow a wide variety of plants-including tons of heirloom tomato varieties.

 Plant sale at Belle Isle

 A few of the plants on the deck-I hope we can move them when we get the deck refinished!

 My 3 year old blueberry bush-I think we will have enough blueberries for a pie this year, that is if I can keep the birds out!

 This might not be the garden of my dreams-but in my little spot I have  tomatoes, peppers, beans and herbs-enough to keep me happy.

You just can't feed the body-you have to feed your soul too.

It's A Handmade World: A Glimpse of Spring

It's A Handmade World: A Glimpse of Spring

If your looking for some spring gifts, or just some inspiration, how about going over to the blog It's a Handmade World. She put together a blog post where artisans with handmade goods can post there items. This weeks theme is spring. It's quite a collection.

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.  ~Proverb

Red Winged Blackbird

 

What's your harbinger of Spring? For some it's a robin, but here in Michigan we get robins that stay all winter. For me it's the first red-winged blackbird that I see.I look forward to seeing the birds and hearing their distinctive call. I got a bit curious about my favorite spring bird and found out some interesting items about him on this entry:

The blackbird has long been associated with omens and mysticism. Its color, alone, has evoked both fear and promise. Although called a blackbird, only the males are black. Females usually have a streaky, brown plumage. Not all blackbirds are black. One variety has a yellow head and throat which stands out strongly against the black plumage. The yellow and black coloring has long been associated with the Archangel Auriel. Auriel is considered the tallest of the angels, with eyes that can see across eternity. This being oversees all of nature and all of the nature spirits. Auriel has traditionally been associated with the summer season.

Another variation of the blackbird is the red-winged blackbird. This bird has a red path on its wings, with a dash of yellow as well. These colors connect this bird to the level know as Binah in the Quabalistic Tree of Life. This is the level associated with the Dark Mother and primal feminine energies. This bird has ties to all of the creative forces of nature. On the Tree of Life, black is the color for Bnah and red is the color for Geburah (Mars type of energy). Yellow or amber is the color of the path that connects the two, and it is the path of Cancer, the mother sign of the zodiac. The red-winged blackbird is thus a totem associated with the stellar energies of Cancer.

Who knew? My astrological sign is Cancer, maybe that's why I like this bird so much. Anyway, I hope you like my harbinger of spring. Do leave a comment and share with me what you consider to be a sure sign of spring. I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

"It's spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!  ~Mark Twain"

Until later,

Enjoy your day.

How do you know it's almost spring?

Most people think spring rains, the crocus popping their little heads out of the ground, the birds returning...but not in our house! My partner, Bob and I think... TROUT SEASON! It begins April 1st here in Michigan-catch and release fly only until April 30th. A sure sign that spring is on it's way is when we bring out all the "trout stuff" and start going thru our fly boxes! Like a couple of kids dreaming of sugarplums dancing in their heads-we get almost giddy thinking of wooly buggers, copper johns, blue winged olives, caddis nymphs-oh it makes a girls head swim! We went to Bass Pro Shops today to spend our Christmas gift from Bob's sister-here's some of the lovely things we got!

OK-maybe it's not what you dream about-but it's a sure sign of spring for me!