Tag Archives: garden

CMMC: Daisy, Daisy

01 Wednesday Sep 2021

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Daisies are like sunshine to the ground.

Drew Barrymore

Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do
I’m half crazy all for the love of you

Daisy Bell, Nat King Cole

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Midweek Madness Challenge: September Close-Up

Happy Wednesday!

Wilderness Wednesday: Rose of Sharon

25 Wednesday Aug 2021

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From sunrise to sunset, my rose of sharon trees are buzzing with activity – honey bees, bumblebees, wasps…and an occasional humming bird. They are all enjoying the glorious sun while it lasts, and preparing for winter’s deep slumber.

Let us not go hurrying about and collecting honey, bee-like buzzing here and there for a knowledge of what is not to be arrived at, but let us open our leaves like a flower, and be passive and receptive, budding patiently under the eye of Apollo, and taking hints from every noble insect that favours us with a visit –
sap will be given us for meat and dew for drink.

John Keats

Happy Wednesday!

CFFC: Yellow

28 Wednesday Jul 2021

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If I had to pick a colour that best epitomized summer, I would have to say yellow. There is something deliciously tantalizing about yellow. It’s bright and happy, and in the summer, I am happiest. Yellow makes me think about all the best things that make summer so special: warm, lazy days with family, a good book in the garden, and golden sunsets on the beach.

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: Yellow.

Daffodils in the Spring, Sunflowers in the Fall, but Brown-Eyed Susans for Summer!

Birds and butterflies…

Tea – Hot or iced!

A good book and a blanket for the evening breeze.

And as evening falls…

A golden sunset.

In the world of safe hues, like black, red and white, yellow shouts: ‘Look at me. I’m happy!’

Joy Sewing

Happy Wednesday!

CFFC: Pink

21 Wednesday Jul 2021

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I have tons of photos with pink. It is, after all, my favourite colour. But it’s always nice to share something new.

Last year, I missed a lot of the flowers in my garden. I went to my parents with Little Guy for March Break and came home in June! We thought it was safer to be out of the city, which it probably was, and that this Covid-thing would be under control quickly, which it was not!

It’s still not over, but the flowers don’t seem to care and this year I enjoyed them as much as possible!

It’s only possible to live happily ever after on a day-to-day basis. – Margaret Wander Bonnano

This is my post for Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: Pink!

Happy Wednesday!

What’s In My Cup: Poise

14 Monday Jun 2021

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Poise: calm; confidence in a person’s way of behaving, or a quality of grace (= moving in an attractive way) and balance in the way a person holds or moves their body.

Cambridge English Dictionary

Poise. Something I do not possess.

Today I have Tetley’s “Poise” tea in my cup. The name immediately conjured visions of skinny girls balanced on yoga mats. I own a yoga mat – it decorates the corner of my room. I own yoga pants too – they’re wearing thin at the thighs from trudging (begrudgingly) through the neighbourhood! I don’t even want to think about the dumbbells covered in dust.

No, my bendy parts don’t bend like they used to bend! Some of them never did! But as long as my elbow still works and I can drink my tea, I’ll be ok. Fatter with thinning yoga pants, but still ok. Life without tea is not life! 😉

I am not a fan of chamomile tea and it’s telltale “grassy” notes, which is why I was surprised to find this particular tea in my basement stash. What was I thinking? I was probably hoping the addition of cinnamon and orange peel would make the chamomile more palatable.

Chamomile tea is an herbal infusion from dried chamomile flowers. Long-used in folk medicine, these little white “daisy-like” flowers earned bragging rights to creating calm in it’s consumer, and encouraging sleep. Other potential health benefits include reducing inflammation, lowering blood sugar levels, treating cold symptoms, settling upset stomachs, and slowing the onset of osteoporosis.

The stronger the tea, the stronger the health benefits, but as with any herbal entity, it’s best to tread lightly at first. Chamomile can be contaminated by pollen and other spores that could create allergic reactions, so never give it to children or young adults, and those with a history of severe allergies, particulary to pollen, would be wiser to avoid it completely.

Tetley’s Poise tea was a pretty golden colour. I chose not to steep the first cup very long in the hopes of minimizing the grassy flavour. Both the smell and taste reminded me of Tetley’s Antitox Tea (apple cinnamon & tumeric). While this tea is spiced with cinnamon bark and orange peel, I found the notes were grassy and earthy, with a gentle warmth at the back of the tongue. Other spices include fennel, cardamom, licorice root, and tulsi. (Pregnant women should avoid licorice root). This tea is part of their Ayurvedic Balance series.

I’m still not a convert to chamomile, but the addition of cinnamon, though very, very mild, may have helped. A little bit. But if you are a fan of chamomile, I would recommend giving it a go. Even if you aren’t bendy like me.

Speaking of grass, I’m persevering in my gardening ventures, though I possess no green thumb; it’s more a medium shade of gray. I don’t kill things outright but they have to learn to be hardy fast or they will not survive under my care. I ordered and planted herb seeds, but I appear to be growing grass in the feeder. The kind you mow. When I planted, I dropped a package and it got wet, so I threw the few remaining seeds in my big ol’ tea kettle.

They appear to be thriving!

I’ve got a way with plants. It’s a way where they turn brown and die, but it’s a way.

John Wagner, Maxine

Happy Monday!