Louis, I agree with your observation. Covert_Operations'78's allusion to "The Secret Garden" added an air of magic to this already beautiful scene. Is this your garden? Blessings
Yes, this is my garden, a postage size area of grass, a new row of conifers and a handful of small shrubs. It was overrun with dandelions so I had it replaced entirely a few weeks before these Spring showers came. The new grass has thrived on the constant measured rain and I have my fingers crossed that the weeds will stay away for some time.
Ha ha! Louis, I have a freezer bag filled with dandelion seeds...want some for your lawn? Don't even ask why I collected these seeds this year. I don't have a garden but I am quite certain that if I ever do, I'd want dandelions everywhere. (My neighbours will probably hate me.) I've read that the greens have great nutritional and medicinal properties. Everything is good for something.
About Trinidad, I can only tell from the newspapers since I haven't chatted with anyone there since the elections. I sense cautious hope in some people, relief in others, some renewed confidence in Trinbago's chances, very little cynicism from what I've read but it's early days and I don't read everything so I'd say we are still holding their list of promises close and checking them twice, waiting to find out who'll be naughty or nice. I'm optimistic. I'm looking forward to seeing some wheels break free of their ruts. Blessings
Some time ago a columnist for the NY Times wrote about his temptation to replace his unkempt lawn, frowned upon by his neighbors, with dandelions. Given what you wrote above, you might be kindred souls :) I hurriedly did a search for the article which you might have enjoyed, but I couldn't find that url for you.
Dandelion leaves (raw) are very high in vitamin K, higher even than broccoli or lettuce, according to the handout I was given at a medical appointment recently. I would stay away from dandelion wine, though. It is putrid and gave me the worst hangover of my life.
Thanks for your comments on Trinidad. I too look forward to some radical changes not only in policies but in mindset.
I know what you mean. Which comes first, the policies to change mindset or the mindset to formulate viable policies?
Thanks for looking for that article to give me a laugh. That alone makes me smile.
Are you sure that ALL dandelion wines are awful? Tread carefully now. You are very close to trampling on my childlike belief in the goodness of all alcoholic beverages made by the wee people.
Dandelion and rose hip wines are made under juniper hedges and aged there in birch bark vats, occasionally stirred gently with sycamore keys before being bottled in hollowed acorns with caps that are sealed shut with pine resin. Was your wine made by the wee people or was it a knockoff made by unskilled humans?
About your beautiful lawn, promise me that whenever you can you will lie flat on your back (on a blanket if the grass makes you itch) and just be still and look up at the sky. I started over winter to lie flat on my back in the snow on the frozen lake and it was wonderful. After a while, when your eyes have had their fill of delicious sky, they will close and you might even fall asleep. When I did it the first time, the thought struck me that children do this all the time as part of natural play and there I was negotiating with my adult self to allow me the liberty to be little again between the immense earth and the even greater sky. Try it, if you haven't already. Blessings
I admit to a bad case of stereotyping, Guanaguanare. I should have allowed for that qualitative difference between the distillations of the Little People, especially if their names are Guinness or Jamieson, or Mac's of all clans and the dandelion wine of the admittedly amateur who made the glasses I drank. I should also have taken into account that there had been various other brews and distillations in the program that evening.
Idyllic as your suggestion is to lie on my grass and observe the sky, I am afraid I have to decline making that promise because I might not be able to rise to my feet after the contemplation. But, I used to do that in my university days in fields of heather, wild buttercups and other grasses. Do you also make "Angels in the snow" as you lie on the frozen lake?
Sometimes I think developping countries like Trinidad, should halt all activities for a period each day to mass educate the citizens with the objective of raising their awareness of good governance, prudent consumerism, healthy lifestyles and so on. A crash course is needed.
I enjoyed your latest post about the Huntington Library Gardens. Like your post about the trains, it brought back memories of life in CA. I especially liked the pairing of quotations from Shakespeare with the various sites around the Garden.
10 comments:
How delightfully green and verdant everything is! Just like something out of Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden"!
Your extensive repertoire of literary references often elevates what would otherwise be very ordinary settings or narratives. Thanks.
Louis, I agree with your observation. Covert_Operations'78's allusion to "The Secret Garden" added an air of magic to this already beautiful scene. Is this your garden?
Blessings
Hello Guanaguanare,
As always your visit is very welcome.
Yes, this is my garden, a postage size area of grass, a new row of conifers and a handful of small shrubs. It was overrun with dandelions so I had it replaced entirely a few weeks before these Spring showers came. The new grass has thrived on the constant measured rain and I have my fingers crossed that the weeds will stay away for some time.
How is Trinidad doing since the election?
Ha ha! Louis, I have a freezer bag filled with dandelion seeds...want some for your lawn? Don't even ask why I collected these seeds this year. I don't have a garden but I am quite certain that if I ever do, I'd want dandelions everywhere. (My neighbours will probably hate me.) I've read that the greens have great nutritional and medicinal properties. Everything is good for something.
About Trinidad, I can only tell from the newspapers since I haven't chatted with anyone there since the elections. I sense cautious hope in some people, relief in others, some renewed confidence in Trinbago's chances, very little cynicism from what I've read but it's early days and I don't read everything so I'd say we are still holding their list of promises close and checking them twice, waiting to find out who'll be naughty or nice. I'm optimistic. I'm looking forward to seeing some wheels break free of their ruts.
Blessings
Guanaguanare,
Some time ago a columnist for the NY Times wrote about his temptation to replace his unkempt lawn, frowned upon by his neighbors, with dandelions. Given what you wrote above, you might be kindred souls :) I hurriedly did a search for the article which you might have enjoyed, but I couldn't find that url for you.
Dandelion leaves (raw) are very high in vitamin K, higher even than broccoli or lettuce, according to the handout I was given at a medical appointment recently. I would stay away from dandelion wine, though. It is putrid and gave me the worst hangover of my life.
Thanks for your comments on Trinidad. I too look forward to some radical changes not only in policies but in mindset.
I know what you mean. Which comes first, the policies to change mindset or the mindset to formulate viable policies?
Thanks for looking for that article to give me a laugh. That alone makes me smile.
Are you sure that ALL dandelion wines are awful? Tread carefully now. You are very close to trampling on my childlike belief in the goodness of all alcoholic beverages made by the wee people.
Dandelion and rose hip wines are made under juniper hedges and aged there in birch bark vats, occasionally stirred gently with sycamore keys before being bottled in hollowed acorns with caps that are sealed shut with pine resin. Was your wine made by the wee people or was it a knockoff made by unskilled humans?
About your beautiful lawn, promise me that whenever you can you will lie flat on your back (on a blanket if the grass makes you itch) and just be still and look up at the sky. I started over winter to lie flat on my back in the snow on the frozen lake and it was wonderful. After a while, when your eyes have had their fill of delicious sky, they will close and you might even fall asleep. When I did it the first time, the thought struck me that children do this all the time as part of natural play and there I was negotiating with my adult self to allow me the liberty to be little again between the immense earth and the even greater sky. Try it, if you haven't already.
Blessings
I admit to a bad case of stereotyping, Guanaguanare. I should have allowed for that qualitative difference between the distillations of the Little People, especially if their names are Guinness or Jamieson, or Mac's of all clans and the dandelion wine of the admittedly amateur who made the glasses I drank. I should also have taken into account that there had been various other brews and distillations in the program that evening.
Idyllic as your suggestion is to lie on my grass and observe the sky, I am afraid I have to decline making that promise because I might not be able to rise to my feet after the contemplation. But, I used to do that in my university days in fields of heather, wild buttercups and other grasses. Do you also make "Angels in the snow" as you lie on the frozen lake?
Sometimes I think developping countries like Trinidad, should halt all activities for a period each day to mass educate the citizens with the objective of raising their awareness of good governance, prudent consumerism, healthy lifestyles and so on. A crash course is needed.
Hi Louis, what a lovely post.
Hello Sharifah,
Delighted to have a visit from you.
I enjoyed your latest post about the Huntington Library Gardens. Like your post about the trains, it brought back memories of life in CA. I especially liked the pairing of quotations from Shakespeare with the various sites around the Garden.
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