A Poem for Thursday..."Here a Button is Missing"...

This is my safe place.

Looking out of the old blue french windows with which we honoured the wooden hut. 

 We call it

"The summerhouse".

I miss it so much in the cold winter months.

This winter especially...with so many situations to worry about in the news...on the streets...in the world.

It takes so little to tip the balance of peace.

In families...in countries...in the soul, the heart, the spirit.

So when I read Gunter Grass's poem.."Open Wardrobe", and the little line about a lost button...

....it caught on a hook in my brain....and I thought how little it takes to tip the scales 

and unbalance our lives.

A button is missing and

I’m missing the button.

My coat can’t be shut.

The air is chilly

And I want to close my coat.

I chose a coat today

And a button is missing.

“So search the floor”, they said.

I search the floor under the coat stand.

Such a small inconvenience

And really insignificant at such a time.

But a button would close the coat

And a closed coat is protection.

The dark floor hides what it finds

Squirrels away secrets

Like magpies.

How little we need if we lose a button.

.

Geraldine Snape

March 2022

Good news...the plum tree has excelled itself with it's sweet white blossom.

Other news...the weather has changed and I can only pray that the blossom is not destroyed...

It takes so little.

Stay well.

x

…"here a button is missing"...prompt from...

"Open Wardrobe" by Gunter Grass.

.

A Poem for Thursday...The Fall

The Fall

Watched rusty leaves turn brown

bend over in the autumn winds

hang on a little longer then fall

and lie in all their glorious

shades now safe from any

sudden squall that might

blow unexpectedly and hit

the birch trees. Old trees 

in the grove. Too tall for

this small garden.

Watched chestnut and oak trees
 against the end wall where 
conkers fall and squirrels

scurry to hide them all in

shallow holes for springtime feasts.

And acorns where striped wasps 

once flirted, laid eggs and changed

the cupped balls to magic creatures

we foolishly name galls. 

All this

from a saggy chair, through blue

painted doors, an autumn shawl flung

lightly round old shoulders. Recalling

the shout of children in the field

once young, now tall with lives

uninterrupted by the thwack of ball 

on bat or cry of yield.

Ahead of the game...it's only Tuesday.

The Knothole

When the weather permits , I still like to take myself down the field to the summerhouse and as there is no wifi...there's no chance of being able to hear anything at all about the state of the world!!

This afternoon I sat in the old blue and white striped sofa and listened to the hypnotic buzzing of a fat bumble bee looking for a cosy hole to overwinter.

He must have found a suitable one as the buzzing stopped and the quiet was almost tangible.

The Knothole

In the darkened knotholes 

Of the summerhouse roof

A bee searches for a winter retreat.

Then the steady hum of its wings

Grow  quiet 

With  the blessed finding

Of its chosen one.

While the earth grows still

As it turns with the season.

A Poem For Thursday

The Blue and White Ikea Sofa

It's seen better days
The old Ikea blue and white striped sofa bed.
But there I sit
Opposite the sky blue french windows
And look out on to the garden.
It has the best view
of all the seats
In the wood framed building
We call the summer house.

Once it housed single mums
Held the pain easing smoke
Of skinny roll-ups
That was before we came to a more mature understanding
Of teenage girls and their babies.
Before councils asked what colour they would like
The kitchen to be.
As if a different colour on the cupboard doors
Could ease the the terror of listening alone
To a baby cry and cry.


But the garden is looking good this year.

Walking the Labyrinth.

We made a labyrinth in the back field many years ago...I think I had read a book about them and then the film of The Da Vinci Code came on the scene.

A labyrinth is not a maze...no no ...

A maze is somewhere to get lost in as you try to choose the right path to make it to the centre...

...no...

 a labyrinth has only one path and that you follow until you reach the centre...and then you are centred!

Mazes are very popular around here...the farmers make a bit of extra money by turning their maize fields into mazes!!

Labyrinths are more likely to be found in gardens and on Cathedral floors...and are often used as a place of meditation. 

Well if I'm a bit stirred up about something ...

...I will often trek down the field to it and have a very slow walk into the centre...

...it's amazing how calming that walk can be...

I follow the laid out pattern and stop at each turn...

...and have a little think about whatever it is that is earworming into my thoughts and disturbing me.

Each turn gives you a new perspective ...north, south, east and west...

...and as the seasons change ...so do the views...

 ...the pond...

 ...the woods...

...the birch trees...

...the summerhouse...

...the final view...

...and the path itself......

The sleepy garden...

 

I've been taking pics of the garden and back field for the potter  as he is still in hospital

 just to let him see the way the garden is going to sleep for the winter this year.

I think it gets more beautiful every year. 

It was an unofficial local tip when we took it over more than 30 years ago.

But Alan has used the wood available to make the fences and arches around the site.

... the summer house at the far right...

...the old barrow just about holding together...

 

...the herb garden...

and

...the little sun spot at the bottom of the herb garden...

 

...autumn colours  ...

 

...autumn leaves...

 

...the gingko tree of eternity...

 ...canary creeper seeds falling for the show next year...

 ...another viewing spot for the roses...

... winter food for us and...

 
 ...winter food for the little field mice who live in the compost heap...

...a goodly crop of leaks this year means great soups...

 beautiful end of year colour.

The Francis House Childrens' Hospice Bash!

Well what a day!
The weather changed overnight from monsoon...

.... to mediterranean.
                         

                   ...only joking!

Friday was all hands on deck

as the tents arrived to be raised in place.

this one close to an electric supply for the musicians...

..this in the first garden...just in case the weather turned...

...well it is the north of England after all!

The goods were brought in for the various stalls ...

..two super hanging baskets were donated to be raffled off throughout the afternoon...

and the toys...is that what they are?...
eventually on Saturday found a relaxing spot in the sun !

Cakes came in "bucketfuls"...well no,  really in tins... oh yes and a package of painted cookies for the pop up afternoon teas from the gloroius Amelies House and Neviepie Cakes!

BUT....  it rained all day Fiday, and got increasingly heavier until by midnight I hid my head under the bedclothes and informed the potter...that I would never allow myself to be in this situation again....
...he mumbled and fell asleep...and amazingly, so did I.
....to awake to glorious sunshine..
What's that song again?..
..oh yes....

 "What a difference a day makes,

twenty-four little hours,

brought the sun and the flowers,

where there used to be rain!"

I prepared the three areas for the pop-up afternoon teas.

...the summerhouse..

..the american swing...
..sounds like a 30s dance!

..and the Indian tent... this was my favourite area...loved it!

Helpers arrived to set up stalls....

Issy had thought long and hard about her table...guessing the teddy's name was fun! 

...others lugged heavy boxes of books...

...kept the kitchen organised...

..printed  up notices...
...techie son on the job!...

...manned the cake and drinks servery...

...and set up to give us some entertainment from the music tent.

The four friends were everywhere!

At two o'clock  the gate was starting to get busy...
     ....and we were off on the 2011 garden party bash!

...to be continued....

The Garden Party

It's Wednesday already.
Saturday is nearly upon us.
I say the same thing every time we do this.....
"Don't let me say, 'Let's have a garden party again'!"
The family smile benevolently

I will be glad if I never have to see a scone mix again!

Cakes are in boxes for the pop-up afternoon tea rooms......
this little beauty is the famous "Alan Snape Chocolate Special".

Three sites for the pop-up afternoon teas.
The Summer House,

the American Swing and The Indian Tent!

......bunting is gathering from friends...

Signs and wonders...no actually...plates and cups for thirsty punters

and

Plants are arriving for the plant stall.
A knock at the door...
and these three enormous ...are they toys? ...are presented for, "guess the name!"

The neighbourhood has been informed.

So now it's all up to the weather...

.....and we're in St Swithin's 40 days...

 so I hope he will be kind to us!