October 22, 2003 - 15 Years ago

This poem found me shortly after I learned of my brother's passing - 15 years ago today:

by Stephen Spender

In railway halls, on pavements near the traffic,
They beg, their eyes made big by empty staring
And only measuring Time, like the blank clock.

No, I shall weave no tracery of pen-ornament
To make them birds upon my singing tree:
Time merely drives these lives which do not live
As tides push rotten stuff along the shore.

- There is no consolation, no, none
In the curving beauty of that line
Traces on our graphs through history, where the oppressor
Starves and deprives the poor.

Paint here no draped despairs, no saddening clouds
Where the soul rests, proclaims eternity.
But let the wrong cry out as raw as wounds
This Time forgets and never heals, far less transcends.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, there is no consolation - nor will ever be.

South Stack, Wales

Ginja in the Sun

The Summer Thus Far - Hot!!

Hmm - seems to me there was an April post here, but it is gone. Very strange.

Muscari.
 I ran out of time to plant them in the fall,
but I was able to force with great success.
Will try again this year.

The earliest of my daylilies - Middendorfii - blooming at the beginning of June, lasting until the 3rd week.

My fearless towering Acacias,
in full bloom here in mid June,
my house is the barely visible one at the end near the pine tree.

Physical problems have forced me to slow down,
and find aids like this one.
Ginja found it quite comfortable!
I bought a second one :)

Perfect size too :)

I am accustomed to my purple Clematis, below, but this year,
like a miracle, a white one bloomed, just one single flower.
How is that possible, and a double (triple?) no less.
It was the only single clematis at the time - the purples had not even begun.

Smuggler's Gold - a solid beauty- a bit more yellow in real life.

Flowering Maple (Abutilon),
Winters in the basement, this past year was so neglected,
Cat Wrangler was sure it was dead and wanted to throw it out.
Truly, there were no signs of life.
After a month outside, tiny leaves appeared,
then later, came into bloom.

Jamaican Me Crazy

Outrageous - it sure is!!

Claudine

South Seas - after today's rain

And when it's so hot as it has been lately,
what else can one do, than lie belly up, and try to catch a breeze.
Alas, we do all all look this cute in the attempt

Ghost of me and Christmas - Past

Every year I have gloomy thoughts as I put Christmas stuff away,

and this year a little bit more so.

Having received a 35 year service award pin at work,

I am feeling mighty old - and tired.

Pain of osteoarthritis is causing much struggles to just get to the bus stop,

just to get out of my chair, etc. etc. 

Something in the word degenerative that is really really depressing. 

Like, how can you have any hope with that word hanging around.

To make matters worse, all my life I've been pretty much avoiding talking pills for aches and pains, only now to start taking them out of desperation, and realizing with utter astonishment and dismay, 

that I have no pain relief - none. 

Medicinal MJ?

My last hope, I guess.

And I hope soon.

Oh little tree in library,

How sweet you are each year!

(to the tune of O Little Town of Bethlehem)

Where?

Even Santa looks down in the dumps :(

My little tree got a new topper this year,

instead of the broken one, 

mended with paper clips for a couple of years (shocking!), 

and which I took home last year,

with every intention to glue it together.

But - A whole year passed...

Can someone say Amazon!! :)

I tell you, when it's as cold as it's been lately here in Quebec,

online shopping is just the ticket!

And if you stick to it, 

every day is Christmas when you get home and check the mail!

(Um, oops, just forgot my NY resolution).

In closing I share this neat image.

Cool make-over app at Facebook,

transforms photos into artsy creations,

like this old favourite - a frosty me,

taken at a frosty bus stop,

on a very frosty morning.

Happy New Year!

(Just don't wish me good health or any such malarkey, thanks, 

it's not in the cards for me!)