Going To The Dogs...

Three guesses as to what this is...

Actually, I should have written,

as to what this was.

Here is a little poem

to help explain,

with apologies to Shelley.

To a Napkin

Hail to thee blithe beauty

Thou who art no more

In the golden morning

I found thee on the floor.

Thee graced the table daily

Thee brightened up the meal

Now thou art so damaged

With holes I cannot seal.

I stitched thee with such pleasure

And pressed thy seams with care

With guilt I do remember

I left thee on the chair.

I used thee with abandon

And dabbed the drops of gruel

The dog she up and ate thee

A fate that was so cruel.

Hail to thee blithe napkin

I'm sad thou art no more

I'll fold thine old companions

And close them in the drawer.

(May be sung with gusto to the very first musical strains of In the Bleak Midwinter, if desired.)

The guilty party is our 

Newfie, Tracker.

We have had her for several months

and she came with a warning label...

"Counter Surfer".

She is all of that, and more.

The bread basket is no longer in use.

Bread is now stored in a drawer.

The kitchen trash can is now 

a plastic bucket kept under the sink.

May I give you a money making tip?

Buy shares in Duct Tape

as the freezer drawer underneath the frig

now has to be taped closed.

I tried putting a heavy weight

and a dining room chair in front

of that drawer,

but she just moved them to one side

and helped herself

to bags of frozen peas,

pasta and blueberries.

The tape, thus far, is working...

when I don't forget to use it.

She is affectionately referred to

as "Speed Bump" as you

can tell by how big she is.

At 128 pounds, she takes up

a lot of space.

She is, however, the sweetest girl,

without a mean bone

in her body.

As is her darling cousin, Rett..

who sits outside as she tells me,

"I didn't do it. Promise!"

We do love them so.

They are such affectionate

and gentle beings

who enrich our lives.

Wishing all a glorious week.

Ellen.

Our Creek

...which is calm

in summer..

raging in winter..

the gift of gamboling

river otters was seen.

Cannot see them in this photo

but the circles

of water

show where they were.

Would that I could

be such a one.

Freedom with my mum

by my side.

Joy in the water

rolling with the current

my brothers

and sisters by my side...

...a joy

to the eyes and heart.

*******

Taken from our bridge

which I cross most days

to get the mail.

Sending love and thanks

for all of the lovely comments

and connection with you.

Ellen

Oh, My...

.....perhaps

the third time is the charm.

I have had 

a difficult time here

on my blog.

Let's see what happens. 

I wanted to put some photos up

from last week...

clouds that moved in

without any wind...

just drifting in

like silent dirigibles...

a gathering of clouds

that I wanted to put a name to.

They eventually merged,

married and stayed the whole week,

blotting out the sun,

and raining down on us.

I got to thinking (Whew, who knew..think, me?)

about the group terms for clouds.

I have spent an inordinate amount of time

giving names to cloud gatherings.

I do think that it depends

on your weather,

what you hope for

and what you want.

If  your are uncomfortably hot,

you might call them 

a comfort of clouds,

a relief of clouds, 

or a shade of clouds.

If your day wants no clouds,

and you are going out

to revel in the sunshine,

you may as well call them

a curse of clouds,

a doom of clouds, 

or a danger of clouds.

There could also be a

prediction of clouds,

and a harbinger of clouds.

Barring anything else,

and if one wants to be whimsical,

a person could refer to them as

a cobbler, a clabber, a slurry,

a meringue, a punctuation,

a plump....

or a douche of clouds...

or we could all revert

to that lovely time of childhood

and find magic in those clouds...

dragons, sheep, faces and images

of the joys of life when young.

As it rained all week for the most part,

I went looking for color around here. 

This green above...is the same leaf in the photo below.
Behold the beauty and magic of both sides now.

Does not this little maple seed

with the one behind it

look like a glorious insect?

p.s.

a beautiful book of group terms...

real and fanciful,

An Exaltation of Larks...

by James Lipton

I had an old copy years ago..

what is more lyrical than

an exaltation of larks?

Makes me happy,

as those of you who visit here do...

taking the time to say hello... 

there is such joy in connection.

I give thanks for that...for you.

E.

No Rescue Required

She is of this world,

but not in this world.

What she has right now

is what she wants.

She has music

and her beloved books,

pen and paper at hand

for the writing of poems,

stories and daily observances.

She has her sun-yellow canaries,

Heloise and Abelard,

and her ginger cat.

Her door may be locked,

but she has the key.

She has her spinning and weaving.

She is solitary but never lonely.

She is happy, but more importantly,

she is deeply content.

These friends bring her anything

she might need.

This is her home

and it is in her heart.

Ellen.

Two Mosaics....

....because I am attracted

to patterns and shapes,

texture and color.

A good week to all,

Ellen.

For Many Years....

....she has been right here.

I see her every morning, noon and night.

She was my mother's little

Calico Cat.

She sits on my daddy's dresser

right near his brushes.

His mirror and file lie close by.

She is missing one ear.

That is forgiven as she must be

close to 100 years old.

Daddy's dresser must be

at least that old.

I like to think that they talk

to each other every day...

that her small body warms

that which was his.

I like to imagine that while I sleep,

whispers of loving memories

float between them.

They both give me joy,

this dresser and this little cat.

I lost both of them in my

early thirties.

It was too soon,

but, isn't it always so?

The pain has been gone

for many years now.

Only joy remains.

I see them both in me

and in my children,

and that is such a blessing.

During the first year of their loss,

so long ago,

I kept having awful dreams

of trying to get to them.

Then one night I was given

the most miraculous gift.

In my dream

I was standing on the side of a road.

They drove up beside me

in a sports car...top down.

They were young and vibrant

and their faces were filled

with happiness and love.

They both said to me,

"It's all right, Sweetie."

They smiled, waved

and were off.

That dream-gift

will stay with me forever.

I am eternally grateful.

***************************************

Love and thanks

to all who stop by this wee space.

Ellen.

Wild And Weedy

  

One would think

that because we have a nursery

and it surrounds us,

that we would have

perfectly manicured and landscaped

surroundings.

Not.

But I cannot ever get over

the beauty of the weediness (weedy-ness?)

that surrounds me.

I am grateful for such humble beauty.

These girls have a manicured lawn.

Love to all on a Sunday
with thanks forever
to you who visit.
Ellen.