Halloween Night

Every night a raven visits me

Every night I fly

As you read in yesterday's post, I am a true fan of Halloween.

Give me dark nights and a full moon and my imagination is set on fire!

Above is a picture of the leafless branches of my pear tree.

Here, with a little help from photoshop,

are some versions the picture inspired.

"A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently;

There is a whispering in distant chambers,

An unearthly hand presses the snib of the window,

The latch rises...

Ghosts were created when the first man awoke in the night."

~ J.M. Barrie ~

Beautiful Blogger Award *Blush*

Thank you to Sharon at The Lazy Womans Garden for this nomination!

Click here to check out Sharon's blog!

I'm new to awards, so luckily Sharon explained that to accept this award I must mention 7 things about myself and also nominate 15 other bloggers.

Ready?  Here we go:

1. I am very CRAFTY, not in the sneaky, lying way, but in the hot-glue-gun, making something out of nothing way.   I will paint anything that stays still long enough for me to paint it!

On the left: my daughter's candy cane nails.

On the right: my spice jars. 

 I need to buy more garlic & thyme!

Of course most of the things I paint are...  Flowers!

These smiling daisies hang above the door in my kitchen.

Below is a panel of faux stained glass for the foyer of our house.

2. My favourite holiday is Halloween.  When I have the time and a coven of 13 willing friends I like to throw a good, old-fashioned, fortune-telling, pointy black hat and broom, "Witches Only" party.

3. Tying in with my fascination for Halloween and being an author, I also love Murder Mystery parties.  I am currently re-writing one for my daughter and her friends.  It's so much fun doing costumes and makeup so they can really get into the character they will be playing.

This picture is from one of the first parties we did, (all girls playing 4 guys, 4 girls) my daughter is back row, left, playing a tech-loving playboy.

4. I have 2 indoor cats, who have suddenly fallen out of love with each other after 8 years together.  We don't know what happened (but suspect dementia) and now have to keep them physically apart at all times.

Welcome to the craziness that is our house.

The one outside the newly bought dog crate is the one who "snapped" and the one in the crate is very happy with his new, SAFE, home.  Luckily we have a 3-floor house and can let them run around separate from each other.

5. I live in Montreal, Quebec, where we have 4 distinct seasons, scorching hot summers, tons of snow in winter.  I love them all and wouldn't part with any one of our seasons despite the many gardening challenges.

6. I must go outside every single day.  It's my daily dose of inspiration.

7. My dream would be to own an entire mountain (preferably with a creek.)

My house would be situated at the very top!

Here are some of the blogs I follow!

I feel so lucky to have the chance to visit, chat with and get to know each of these fabulous bloggers:

1.  Ash  Houris in the Garden

2.  Lucja-Maria   Szkielkiem, okiem i sercem

3.  Nadezda  Nadezda's Northern Garden

4.  Bangchik and Kakdah   My Little Vegetable Garden

5.  Tammy   I Heart Florida Birds

6.  Rohrerbot   Las Aventuras

7.  Rosemary   Where Five Valleys Meet

8.  Stiletto   Stiletto
9.  Silvina Soave   Silvina Soave
10.  Digi-Irma   Irma's Natuurbeleving
11.  Lee May   Lee May's Gardening Life
12.  Joop Zand   Joopzandfotografie
13.  Jill   Chillin' With Jill
14.   Anna   Foto Anna Photography
15.  Foxglove Lane   Foxglove Lane

Little Hero

This was going to be a post about aging beautifully, with this rose as my example, but then something came along and changed everything.

Caught up with trying to get a focused shot of this rose,
I barely noticed the bug that flew into the picture.

What was the chance of it landing
perfectly in my (almost non-existant) depth of field?

Not only once, but three times,

in three different positions, in three different pictures.

This bug is my hero!
(I'm pretty sure those aren't wings, it's a cape.)

Look at him posing, so sure I am getting him in focus :)
I think he was sent to encourage me in my macro photography.

Thank you, little bug :)

Look Up

When we are young, we look to the sky in wonder.

So many questions and dreams,
each cloud offering a different answer.

We get older and life gets busy.
There's less time to look at the sky.

There are things to learn and things to do.

Choices are made and dreams float away, high and beyond reach.

Make time to look to the sky.

Draw inspiration from its blank canvas.

See its space, time and freedom.
Find and follow your Dreams.

Look at your feet.  You are standing in the sky.

When we think of the sky, we tend to look up,

but the sky actually begins at the earth.

~ Diane Ackerman ~

Rosebud

My hardy wild rose is ignoring the cold weather
and putting on a swirling cream and red show.

New buds continue to form,
but I am missing the bees that frolicked from flower to flower
just a month ago.

Although my first name is Rosemary, I've always felt more akin with roses than the herb and anyone who has been at the other end of one of my barbed retorts would tend to agree.

My husband loves to call me Rosebud
(makes me smile every time.)

Luckily he is fully aware of the ancient Persian Proverb:

He who wants a rose must respect the thorn.

Keeping the Light On

The butterflies have come and gone, yet my Butterfly Bush continues to bloom into the wet, cold days of October.

Maybe it serves as a lighthouse for butterflies who've lost their way.

A purple beacon of hope,

a chance to rest and refuel

before they continue their long journey home.

The Last Leaf

Here today, gone tomorrow...

The morning sun made it impossible to miss this last leaf dangling from the branch of our decorative crab apple tree.

    It reminds me of one of my favourite movies as a child called The Last Leaf, based on a short story by O. Henry:
    A young girl, dying from pneumonia and confined to her bed, decides she will die when the last leaf falls from a vine she can see outside her bedroom window.  The more the leaves fall, the more her health declines.
    An elderly neighbour, a frustrated artist who has never been able to paint the masterpiece he yearns for, comes to visit the dying girl.  Later that night there is a huge storm and everyone is terrified that in the morning the few remaining leaves will be gone.
    To everyone's surprise one leaf remains.  That leaf is there the next day and the next.  Inspired by the persistence of the single leaf, the dying girl has a change of heart and makes a miraculous recovery.
    The girl is saddened to learn that the old neighbour is in the hospital dying from pneumonia after being found outside, injured and cold, on the night of the storm.
    That spring the girl discovers that on the night the last leaf fell, the old man had climbed a ladder to paint a "permanent" leaf for her on the vine, his final masterpiece.

Sad and beautiful at the same time.

Pass It On

Have you had a kindness shown?

Pass it on.

'Twas not given for thee alone,

Pass it on;

Let it travel down the years,

Let it wipe another's tears,

'Til in Heaven the deed appears,

Pass it on.

~ Henry Burton ~

Yes, I'm still celebrating these ridiculously beautiful and ethereal clematis seed heads.  I hope you're not tired of seeing them yet :)

Now that my garden has been cut down and bundled up for the winter, I'll be taking my cue from Mother Nature and doing a little hibernating myself, posting only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the Spring.

Choice

"We don't see things as they are,

We see them as we are."

~Anais Nin ~

In each picture you will see the same grasses at the same time of day.

The only thing that changes is the angle of the camera,

letting in more, or less, light.

Green, gold, sunshine...  What do you see in the first picture?

Gold mixed with shadow, the seeds have gone dark.

Do you feel restful or are your eyes drawn to the downward arc of the staffs?

Here's a test for you.

Light against dark, do you see hope or impending danger?

Gold against a blue sky, the seeds stand out strong and bright,

making you feel...

And finally shadow, darkness, staffs swirl and cross each other chaotically.

Something cold and bleak or the peaceful end of a glorious day?

Letting in more, or less, light,
How you feel,

It's your choice.

Ruby-red Wow!

This Pinkie Winkie Hydrangea is a beauty for all seasons.

Summer 2012

Fall 2012

In the spring it's creamy white with pink-blushed tips.

Now, it's a ruby-red WOW!

There is one last colour transformation to come...

Look at Me!

Mmmmmm, this purple phlox is quite dreamy close up.

It was struggling to get my attention from behind these late blooming rudbeckia hirta,

shouting out a purple-y, "Look at me!"

I'm glad I decided to give them a closer look.

Stop, Thief!

I didn't know tennis balls were on the menu...

Kidding, of course.

I believe this is a walnut.

But the squirrel is still a thief!

One Last Goodbye

This red sunflower is looking positively weepy :(

The season has come to an end.

Here are some of the very last flowers in my garden.

To steal a line from Cinderella,

"Do I love you because you're beautiful,"

Or are you beautiful because you're the last one?

This is my "beauty" corner because both the clematis and the hollyhock have put out their last blooms at the same time.

Just about to cut down the browned-out section below, when "boing" out pops a flower!

One last elegant goodbye...