When I think of the word, "bring" I am reminded of abundance. Thoughts of the simple rituals of conveying thanks and gratitude come to mind. The acts of giving and offering are also conjured. For me, the idea of "bring" is connected to the reciprocal idea "receive". It's an endless cycle and exchange of more than just physical objects, but also ideas and words.
So, today... I bring and present to you, a few images from this weekend. Snapshots of abundance and simple living:
A year ago, we planted the hellebores. We carved out a circle in the earth and put not only plants, but our best intentions. Here are two of the jade blossoms, turning to seed... gifts to be returned to the earth, for another season.
When I first got the peonies, they came as brown little hairy sticks. It seemed impossible that anything should come from these. But I planted them in the ground and crossed my fingers. The sticks grew leaves. Then there were buds. Eventually with the aid of some ants, the tightly packed buds burst into fuchsia explosions of petals.
Another of the sticks, from the same bag, developed into a different sort of peony. Petals of cream and pale pink surround in a fluttering corona a center of canary dotted in the very middle with a spot of red.
I found luck in the weeds, in the form of a four-leaf clover. It's not a "true" clover. It's actually a plant called wood sorrel. However, the leaves usually come in sets of three and finding one with four is unusual. I used to pick these as a child, eating the sour leaves.
It's just beginning to be strawberry season here. I don't think that there's any comparison to picking a strawberry you've grown yourself and plucking it in your mouth on a hot day. The flavor is ten times that of a store bought strawberry. The sweetness and tartness seem to stain the tongue with the taste of summer.
We decided to cut up some of the strawberries and mint and infuse them in vodka with a little bit of brown sugar. It's waiting in the refrigerator for the perfect summer early evening to be served over ice and enjoyed while watching fireflies twinkle and bats diving in aerial acrobatics. Above, Babette sidles up next to our Mason jar for a sniff.I bring to you these images, as they were brought to me... moments sublime.
6 comments:
That Vodka sounds fantastic!
Beautiful post Andrew! The word 'Bring' is wonderful choice to reflect upon. I love the connections you made between the word and your 'simple living' photos. Your post left me gazing out the window in deep thought. Thank you for the escape!
Beautiful flowers and thoughts! I absolutely love fresh, homegrown strawberries, as well as other fruits and vegetables...having grown up in the country where we always grew our own, it is a fabulous sense memory to taste them and be transported back :) Thanks, Andrew!
Sounds good to me! YUM! Beautiful post!
Hi Andrew,Mmmmm strawberries,my Nana grew them and made preserves then baked her own bread in the old wood stove, we would toast the bread on top of the wood stove then slather the toast with fresh butter we made ourselves and top it off with the preserves :P yummy what i wouldn't do to have that taste in my mouth just one more time!
take care ttfn L:)
Those flowers are beautiful! I wish they would grow over here.
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