Healing In Nature

Healing In Nature
There Is A Season For Everything

Friday, August 15, 2014

Gardens Flowers Grace Lazydays Of Summer In Central Wisconsin

August Brings Times For Peace Filled Days


Today I Can Handle
Yesterday is Gone
Tomorrow Isn't here
Yet

    In my walk about in the gardens Percilla often follows me along.  She loves the attention and the rubs I give her.  She knows how to relax, just let the lazy days of summer float along.  The time is usually 4:00 p.m., the best time for picture taking.  Still plenty of afternoon sun, which has softened with shadows and just the perfect lighting to catch the beauty of color and form in a photo.  9:00 a.m. is also a terrific time to take pictures of my flowers.

Star Gazer one of the prettiest lily I have, and it always blooms last of the
 Lillys.  A splash of color that makes my heart and soul do a flip flop of  Joy
when I look upon it!  It certainly is a show stopper but not at all peaceful.



     Ambling down the garden paths, searching for that perfect picture, I found myself in the Fairy Garden.  It is half the size it use to be, and the glass plates that use to line its borders are gone.  I had to downsize the gardens because of health issues.  No longer having the energy or age to continue what I had started at 50 when I established most of my gardens.  I centered my camera on a neat old birdhouse, and in the picture
I was so happy and surprised to see the neat Tree Frog looking back at me!

     There it sat, just checking me out, didn't even pull back when I aimed my camera up closer.  Peaceful, and unthreatened.  Was his mind on bugs, had he watched me off and on all summer knowing I would not bother him?  What brings peace?  What makes that Tree Frog live one moment at a time?


  
White balloon flower draws a white spider, blending in to its surroundings.
We have so many spiders in the gardens.  Find them in the house too.
Daddy long legs use to give me the panic mode but no longer.  Just work
around them or in house get something to dispose of them so they don't
multiply!


Globe Thistle, a garden perennial has the most beautiful blueish purple blossom.  It is picky to touch but the bees swarm in and out with no effort.  There must be lots of nectar to offer them.  Not a care in the world, just coming and going and doing what bees do. Do Bees have Peace?  In this picture is white Queen Ann's Lace with the Blue Globe Thistles.  It is a very quiet, peaceful setting. 

Queen Ann's Lace is really a wild flower but I let it do its thing in the
garden.  Here it softens the yellow in the daylily setting.  


Three fairies sit on logs from the old Ash tree that had to be cut down.  It was dying from the Ash Borer bug, and leaning towards our horse barn, too dangerous to take a chance.  The Ash tree was large and mature when we bought the property 29 years ago.  Dick placed slices of wood from the tree in the fairy garden.  The setting has serenity, makes me feel peaceful.



Hibiscus flowers bloom just before September sets in.  These are the size of a desert plate.  Its leaves are on stiff stems almost bush like with large leaves.  The Hibiscus comes up late in Spring like the Balloon flower, showing its existence  with slow growing buds pushing its way in between all the other plants.    So many times I forgot it was there and dug into the nice open space of earth, finding out later that was were the Hibiscus or Balloon flower grew.


Here you can see the size better compared to the leaves.
I miss my Hibiscus in red, but the hard winter must of killed the plant or maybe it was that giant root I dug out in Spring, while weeding and transplanting.  Oh my, I need to do more marking where I put things.

Amur Maple is fading and will be soon turning its Auburn reddish color.
Here it branch reach out to blend nicely with the daylilys bright orange.


    Our animals even seem more quiet and peaceful.  Seeing the cats just sitting around the barn on the cool mornings, not in any hurry to get out on their job of discontinuing rodents.
     Chickens are slowing down laying their eggs with the coolness in the air.
    The peacock lost its long beautiful tail feathers when they molted not too long ago.  They will grow back in next spring.



Peacocks - The colored one is the male.  He no longer has the high screeching
 pitch in his song that he would use early summer, its now peaceful.  The brown and white
one is female.They are in the tall corn crib a local farmer gave us.  It is attached to their
outside run pen.  They fly way up to the top to a perch and sit.


Ahhh, wishing you all peace



"peace I leave with you, My Peace I give to you; Let your heart
not be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  "  John 14 in Scripture



Kate
  




Saturday, August 2, 2014

Summer Slowing Down, August Shadows Bring Peaceful Quiet To Wisconsin

What!  August Is Here Already?


Shadows deepen, greens are becoming prominent, more peaceful atmosphere meets my eyes as the brilliant hurrah of July disappears.  The calendar page is turned, July is the past, the signs of summer coming to an end.  
Star Gazer, an ornamental lily 
Seeing the Star Gazer ornamental lily tells my mind, oh no, that is another sign that Fall is not far behind.  With August arriving, it seems that signs ore popping all over.  Phlox are in full glory taking over the daylilys, which are fading fast.  The sights of ferns, hostas, attract my sight more often than I would want.  I relish the days of Spring, and how did July flit in and out so fast?  
Shades, textures, softly blend in with the fish pond in the Rock Garden.

Hostas ferns in the Rock garden 



     But along with the Tall Phlox the Stella de Ora just keeps blooming in spite of all it's sisters of grand display recede into the past.  There are still a few of those sisters hanging on, giving their best to show summer is just at the edge of another season pushing into Wisconsin.  The rock garden in the background is now a peaceful repose.  Bringing serenity into my view,  restful, calming, soothing, comforting, but my heart and mind cry out to STOP the time table and let me have the exciting experience of Spring, Summer!  Each day bringing me surprises, soul- stirring, heart-moving, stimulation.  
     But........... we do not have control of nature, just like we do not have control of aging.  One year, after another slips by, how in the world did I get 72 years old last April?  When I was young, I could not wait until I was 18.  I do not regret that 72 slipped up and nipped my youth.  It has blessings of its own I can smile upon.
    
 Lauraine Snelling: http://www.laurainesnelling.com/, famous award winning author reminded all of us on Facebook this morning: 


 "We beat ourselves up with the past, we worry over the future
 -THEREFORE we have no energy to live fully in the NOW,
 our God is in the NOW!" 
 I love her books, I love her writings, I love this Quote! 

Now in August the lovely Cone Flower gives a dark spot beauty.


       
Tall Phlox commands attention in a shadowy spot.




















Balloon Flower has opened.  Love this little bloom with its
vibrant shading.

The balloon flower also carries a plus.  It  Pops!
Grand kids can't wait until August to find the flower they
squeeze and it makes a snapping POP!  :)  I love to watch them!

Tall ornamental Lilly makes me giggle as I pass by and see its fun spots.  :)
One of the later Daylillys,  Peach with yellow throat commanding attention.
Yellow-dark red eye daylily, small in nature but makes
a grand hello as I walk into this area of the garden.






Serenity Prayer
Lord grant me the Serenity
to accept the things
I cannot change,
Change the things I can,
and
The Wisdom to know
the
Difference.









Blessings for the Day that is Here!
I am going outside and see
what August 2 is waiting
to give me.  Maybe
do a somersault
like my
garden fairy below!



Kate