In the land of lost words -

My latest choice of books arrived last week - delivered to the door like so many other things these days. Browsing for an hour or so in a lovely independent bookshop, perhaps curled in a wingback chair with some classical music playing very softly in the background, is on hold of course. Just when we really need beautiful books and tantalizing stories, we have to get our hands on them via a computer, a wait, the grey Prime van pulling up at the bottom of the driveway, the loud 'plop' as the heavy box hits the top step outside the front door. Slash open the box, pop some bubble wrap - you do that too don't you? New books are lovely. You have your own favorite chair, your own music to play if you enjoy quiet background sounds. If warm, sit by the open window, birdsong is everywhere these days.  Life is still good, very good if you allow yourself to grab and hold on to loving your favorite things be it cooking, painting, writing, listening. . . . . and of course reading.

If interested in the reasons for my latest book picks, read here.

From top to bottom of the stack:

In Patagonia - Bruce Chatwin
"An exhilarating look at a place that still retains the exotic mystery of a far-off, unseen land."
Having visited there twice, I've had this classic by the great British travel writer on my 
list for a long time - starting it today.

The Shell Collector - Anthony Doerr
A book of short stories so wonderful I couldn't put it down. After enjoying his novel
 "All The Light We Cannot See" so much, I just had to read this. . . . .loved it, 
and will be reading over and over when in need of a fabulous short story, beautifully
written.

Peregrine Spring - Nancy Cowan
"A Master falconer's extraordinary life with birds of prey."
Nancy (and her husband Jim, a work colleague of Bob for many years), are friends.
 I have visited their internationally known New Hampshire School of Falconry and 
felt the weight of an exquisite, huge raptor fly in and land on my gloved hand to eat. 
An experience like no other!
This book is going to be wonderful, educational, and I'm anxious to read it.

A Way to Garden - Margaret Roach 
'A hands-on primer for every season'.
I know Margaret well from her wonderful online blog and many
years as garden editor for Martha Stewart Living magazine. 
She also writes a New York Times column.
Margaret's weekly blog post from upstate New York is always full of fabulous 
gardening tips, podcasts with other well known gardeners, and generous
 book give-a-ways (I won one!).
Now I will be opening her book often, enjoying the beautiful photos and learning
 more about a hobby I love. After all, "A garden is a job for ever".

The Lost Words - Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris
The lovely surprise was that this is an exquisite oversized book which looks 
perfect left out to be picked up, opened, and to be in awe of because of the
 beautiful illustrations.
Publication of the most recent edition of the Oxford Junior Dictionary - widely
 used in schools around the world - dropped around forty common words
 concerning nature, as they weren't being used by children. "Lost words" 
included acorn, bluebell, fern, newt, otter, dandelion and willow. 
Words taking their place include attachment, broadband, cut-and-paste
 voice-mail and blog!

Powerful signs of the growing, and quite frightening to me, gulf between
 childhood and nature.
A picture book of the best kind - it is truly fabulous - and you will find me by
 that open window, listening to the birds, as I turn the pages during
 these days at home.

A weekend thought -

Wearing a mask inside your home is now highly recommended. 

Not so much to prevent COVID-19 but to stop eating!

Have a great weekend anyway dear readers!

Scribble Picnic. . . . . . One Of A Kind

Today I'm in a bit of a rush as there's much to do before going on a new adventure,

 details of which I'll post in the next day or so.

However, I promised Michael I'd be here for SCRIBBLE PICNIC today - but then
 MIA for a while!

Back in the day I used to paint/decoupage these tall terra-cotta rose pots.

Scenes from nature were always popular, I sold many in a quaint vintage/garden

 store on the way out of town where city meets country. I even had a sale in

 my potting shed one Spring day - same day I held a yard sale - people grabbed

up them and I took several orders for more.

This one - ONE OF A KIND - I kept for myself.

Some day, when I have more time, I hope to make more.

I took a photo, edited to a sketch, and as usual added color 

with watercolor pencils.

Here's the photo of my One Of A Kind pot.

Pop over to Michael's HERE to see what our little art group

has come up with for this week's fun theme. . . . . . and, dear Scribble Picnic

 friends, I'll see you at future Wednesday 'picnics' when I return.

The winter sun on my face. . . . . . . . .

It has been a very different winter around here as we've had so much

 sunshine on numerous unusually warm days. 

It's almost as if winter forgot to arrive in the Piedmont area of North Carolina!

Last night's below freezing temperature, with concern for the buds was thankfully

 unecessary, all is fine this morning. Cold again tonight so we're not out

of woods yet. . . . . .March can often be brutal.

To sit on the front steps with the more gentle winter sun on my face has been lovely.

Seeing the pansies in bloom and the tulips pushing up in the pots makes my heart sing.

Today the sun shines brightly and although by no means a hot

 day it will reach the low fifties. The fresh air is calling me outside to fill the bird

 feeders, clip the now over daffodil blooms, perhaps pull a few weeds - how

 come cold weather never stops them in their constant growth spurt? 

Dinner out tonight with dear friends, a quick neighborhood walk this afternoon

 will be a pleasant pastime before relaxing and sharing food with loved ones.

Speaking of neighborhoods reminds me I need to get out

 with my camera and write a little story about

 mine. . . . .things are a-changing quite drastically

 these days!

Hope your Saturday is special.

Reflections - and many thanks. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . to each one of you who left such generous

 and wonderful comments on Monday's anniversary post!

I have answered each of you there ~ hope you can

pop back to read and see how appreciative I am

of your friendship.

I feel fortunate to have known many of you for so 

long, and those of you who are relatively new here

will, I hope, stop by often.

Woody woodpecker prepares for Winter. . . . . . .

As I opened the blinds in the living room this morning, the first thing

that caught my eye was Woody, the red-bellied woodpecker.

He was extremely busy moving nuts and seeds from the bird feeder 

to crevices in the nearby crusty tree bark. Each short flight he alighted 

a few inches higher than the previous landing on the trunk, tucking

 his treasure into a ridge until he was high up the tree.

I went out later to check the situation but only saw a few empty

 seeds still stuck in the bark.

Could the squirrels have come behind Woody and stolen his stash?

Such are the wonders of nature.

Did you steal Woody's stash?

Heaped on the ground, the last of the fig tree leaves have fallen in grey crinkled piles.

They are not pretty - in fact Bob says they look like old women's winkled faces!

That hurt!!!

Forgive the somewhat unsharp pictures - my windows definitely need cleaning!
 Another addition to the ever growing to do list as the Christmas holidays approach!

Eastgate Pond - reflections for this week. . . . . . .

This week has been a sad one. . . . . for me, for you, for people everywhere, for the world.

 I don't need to reiterate the reasons, we all know what they are.

After picking up a few more groceries yesterday, I stepped away from the traffic and

 noise and walked through the almost silent park before heading home. 

The bright sun was starting its descent as it was just after 4 o'clock.

I was amazed and thrilled to see there was still color in the trees, color reflected 

in even deeper hues in the pond. The sky, though blue, was even bluer below

 the trees. It shimmered in the placid cobalt water and in large puddles remaining

 from the recent rains. The Canada geese and ducks remained in shallow water

 at the far reaches of the pond, unusual as the geese always come closer,

 hoping for tidbits of course, when they see people on the walkway. They preferred

 to be alone late in the afternoon.

 I tried to capture the colors best I could with my aging point and shoot Olympus. 

I feel we all need a little color to cheer us this weekend and Nature 

came through, lifting my spirits in a special way as I took the photos.

Hope they bring good feelings to you also.

These links are to my posts from the pond last January - there you can see the geese and mallards on really cold, icy days.

http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2015/01/woodland-walk-part-i.html

http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2015/01/woodland-walk-part-ii.html

I hope this weekend will be a good one for everyone. Hugs.

If only. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . everything was perfect in the world.

One afternoon last week I went to my dentist for a cleaning and check up.

The day was beautiful, indeed almost perfect. Earlier I'd gone to my 

physiotherapy session to be stretched, to cycle, to walk the treadmill, 

to do a lot of leg/hip exercises etc.  

Driving home from that session I was thrilled to see the dogwood blossoms

opening, new leaves greening, azaleas ready to burst through, and pollen yet
to arrive! Sturdy tulips and jonquils wafted in the breeze, drifts of white thrift 
and soft lavender creeping phlox spilled over curbs and garden walls.

A few people were mowing, the dull drone of machines tempered by the 

music of loud birdsong always so lovely at this season.

Ever thankful for Spring's arrival, this year it feels even more special after

such a long hard Winter. 

I said a little prayer. I was so thankful for that day.

Later, leaving the dentist's office, I came close to perhaps being seriously 

injured, even killed. I waited to pull out for a left turn onto a main road. The red light 

was very long but I waited patiently, no rush to get to any other appointments that day.

I saw the three lanes of traffic each way slowing both left and right, then stopping, 

and my light turned green. I started to pull out but something made me brake. 

To my left came a car at very high speed, continuing through the red light 

just missing me. I was shocked, but so grateful I had hesitated.

Everything is far from perfect in the world, especially currently.

We, the ordinary people don't really want much. 

Safety for our loved ones, and ourselves, comes at the top of the list.

Each day can be wonderful with simple things and good health.

Nature's abundance around us is so important. . . . . be thankful, 

perhaps with a special prayer.

My kitchen window where the pair of Carolina wrens are back and busy in the window box.

They're building a neat, snug nest under a clump of purple violas, shaded by a mini conifer.

Right now all is well. Stay safe dear friends, and tiny birds.

Heartfelt flowers and more. . . . . . . .

Especially for those of you in northern climes, dear friends all, 

a little almost Springtime color - I just know you're tired of being

blanketed in white!

This is my garden today. Little gems of early Spring are peeking from the ground, 

flower pots, and the kitchen window box. Pansies and Violas, bless their heart shapes.

Daffodils, just showing yellow petals, will soon be dancing in the breeze.

However, before all that happens, COLD, very cold bitter weather is expected

over the weekend - record low temperatures for this area in February - however a
promise of brilliant sunshine at the same time, for that we're grateful.

Mother Nature, you sure know how to flirt with our senses. . . . . 

and this weekend, our hearts.

Weekend Walking in Winter. . . . . . .

Sunday afternoon. 

Bright sunshine and quite warm.

We went back to the pond to see how it looked after the heavy rain we heard 

falling Saturday night. Our bundled up shadows fell on chilly water. The ice was gone, 

the water was much higher, and several Canada geese were being fed by passersby.

Colors were few, but when we found some they were bright and beautiful.

A nearby creek, its gunmetal water flowing quite fast, brushed the 

leafy edges as it twisted through a subdivision.

Winter walking can be pleasant . . . . . . . I'm doing mine while I can 

because I still think the worst weather is yet to come in these parts!