Look and See

A favorite Mary Oliver poem

Look and See

This morning, at waterside, a sparrow flew

to a water rock and landed, by error, on the back

of an eider duck; lightly it fluttered off, amused.

The duck, too, was not provoked, but, you might say,

was laughing.

This afternoon a gull sailing over

our house was casually scratching

its stomach of white feathers with one

pink foot as it flew.

Oh Lord, how shining and festive is your gift to us.

if we only look, and see.

Living in the Alberta Arts District I find many murals

in my neighborhood.

The picture above is a mural I snapped while walking there. 

As the snow gently falls out my window this morning,
I am dreaming of waterside walks and to find that eider duck.
This week I tried to find him by the pond and sip a cup of tea as I watched.
I did get my picture of tea in the wind by the waterside,
but brrrrr, so very cold that those ducks were tucked safely away.

Come on Spring!
We need your joy; so we can once again walk on the wild side.

Garden Quotes 2019

These are the things I prize

And hold of dearest worth:

Light of the sapphire skies,

Peace of the silent hills,

Shelter of the forest, comfort of the grass,

Music of the birds, murmur of little rills,

Shadows of clouds that swiftly pass,

And, after showers,

The smell of flowers

And of the good brown earth -

And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

~Henry Van Dyke

And for me, daffodils in springtime!

m.miller

The Seasons of Tea

Drinking tea in each season is my delight.

Changing the cup I use is also seasonal along

with the teas I choose to drink.

It is fun to match the season with a cup and tea to savor.

You will see that many of my cups are from Johnson Bros.,

they are sturdy for everyday use and I do love their transferware patterns.

This is my favorite springtime teacup.

In the cup for this season I most love Darjeeling teas.

They are like a taste of springtime, fresh with a slight floral taste.

This is a favorite summertime teacup.

In summer I love Oolong teas or I might sip some

tea from my garden. Lightness is the tea of the day.

My fall teacup has a turkey residing inside.

 I love something a little smokey, maybe Russian Caravan or

even a Puerh in the cup.

For winter this is the teacup I most often use.

In the cup is Yunnan Gold, it is a richer tea than summer's teas.

What fun to think seasonally when drinking tea.

Happy sipping whatever season it is.

Happy weekend, dear friends!

A Winter Walk

Yesterday morning the sky was blue and I had to go to the secret garden for a walk.

I was hoping I hadn't missed the crocus blooming, but what I found

were mostly hellebore and snowdrops.

There were a few other things beginning to bloom.

As I walked along I realized I must have been the only person to visit this magical

place all morning.  The snow on the bridge had no footprints until I walked there.

The witch hazel was in full bloom.

I had never seen a big tree of witch hazel.

Do you see snowdrops on the left and hellebore on the right of the path?

There were still many soft purple crocus, but most were afraid to open

to the cold or were battered from the winter weather.

 Snowdrops did delight my heart.

And a walk with the beauty of a blue sky in winter

was amazing!

It was a walk on the wild side, the side of nature

with no one around, just the silence of the garden.

At Bishop's Close, a garden in Portland that if you don't know it's there

you would miss. No signs marking the way.

Garden Quotes 2019

More than anything,

I must have flowers,

always, always.

~Claude Monet

Me too!

Teatime at Clockwork Rose

 A friend messaged me recently on Facebook and asked if I would like

to go to tea at Clockwork Rose in Beaverton, Oregon.

Now you know me well enough that I don't turn down a chance to go to tea.

Thus you could find me traversing the crazy traffic to meet a friend.

Clockwork Rose always has these cute little pies in the tiny tins.

There was a chicken potpie and a quiche, plus cucumber and egg salad sandwiches.

Then the wrap added a pretty touch of green to the plate.

I do love a good sausage roll, but I had never had one here.

It was good with a dab of mustard.

I had a hefty black tea that kept me awake a good portion of the night,

but I won't complain. I knew what I was doing. I take full responsibility.

I nibbled one scone with clotted cream and jam,

plus the creamy goodness in the glass at the top of the pyramid.

The other scone and sweets came home for another day.

Breakfast will include a sweet or two.

But most of all it is time spent with a new friend getting acquainted and chatting.

A time to linger over multiple cups of warm tea and delicious goodness.

Time well spent on a cozy Thursday afternoon.

Dance in the Moonlight

When I saw the lights twinkling in the trees

I wanted to find the fairies

I wanted to dance

I wanted to swoon under a full moon

I wanted to have a feast at the table

I wanted to step lightly

I wanted to sing

But most of all I wanted to join you by the fire,

share stories of delight,

and just savor each moment of the evening.

Can you imagine what you would want to do?

Would you sit by the fire, sip on a glass of wine or something warm,

wrap in a cozy blanket or dance under the moon?