Monday, May 17, 2021

Light And Love And The Pleasure Of Foolishness



Window in my bathroom with the morning sun behind it. 



 I do love to buy scarves in thrift stores. Silk ones, mainly. I do not wear scarves as I do not have the accessory gene, sadly, and any time I've tried to put one on in order to look like one of those romantic, dashing types, I just feel stupid and as if I was in drag. But I do love scarves, especially the ones that are more works of textile art than fashion accessories. I use them on walls and in windows and they bring me pleasure. This morning when I saw the sun coming in through that one (and it overlays a piece of yellow silk), I just had to take its picture. There is something so magical about the way sunlight illuminates itself through filters, whether stained glass, napkins hanging on the line, prisms, the new leaves on trees, a hen's comb, or a piece of silk with flowers on it.


Here's a pretty hen whose comb and wattle are not illuminated but still lovely. This is either Alice or Annie. I have given up trying to determine which is which. I just say, "Hello, Annie-Alice!" or sometimes, "Hey there, Alice-Annie." They do not seem to mind and still sing their own sweet little songs as they go about their days. 
One of the hens is missing and has been for several days. I can't even tell you which one it is. Fourteen hens is too many for me to keep track of. I know it's not Darla or Dottie, Alice or Annie, Little Violet or Plucky. We've seen no signs of violent death or hen-napping. No scattered burst of feathers anywhere. Just an absence in the roost. It could very well be a hen who has taken herself off to brood on a hidden nest somewhere. That has certainly happened before. If so, time will tell that story. I figure that Darla has one more week on the nest before we should start seeing peeps. There is nothing more darling than the sight of a fuzzy little chick head sticking out from underneath the feathers of a mama hen. 


These two boys graced us with their presence today. I offered to have them here so that Jessie could do her shopping and things around the house that just don't get done when little people are there. I hadn't planned on doing a darn thing today so it was easy. And Boppy was here too. Suddenly it seems to me that Levon's legs are getting so long. He's losing that little baby boy form. I feel like this summer is going to be a growing season for all of the grandchildren. Owen may well be taller than me by the time school starts in August. 

The boys were good, as always. They are so easy-going. They got to watch some TV while they ate their lunches of peanut butter and banana and honey sandwiches and apples slices. And we read books. So many books. Luckily I was not forced to voice every bit of flora and fauna in them. They were happy just to listen to the stories. They hung out in the garage with Boppy for awhile and August and I started another puzzle which we barely got started. It's 3-D and has five hundred pieces. I think that is going to go back in the box. But while we frittered around with it, we talked and that was fun. He and I have an easy back-and-forth relationship. And get this- he pointed out to me that you can tell if one of the puzzle pieces is facing up or down or sideways by the little ridges in the them which are created by the 3-D effect. I never, ever would have noticed that. 

I've got another huge pot of soup on the stove, having used my super power to take leftovers and make more of them. I cooked a pot roast a few nights ago with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots from the garden and they are all now nicely diced and simmering with a few more vegetables and a little rice and roasted broccoli from last night's supper. I'm making another loaf of sourdough and something is wrong with my starter. It just isn't creating the rise that it used to so I'm going to try feeding it daily for awhile to see if I can get it back to its former powerful lifting abilities. Of course, it may not be the starter at all- the bowl of it I have on the counter that I fed is bubbling away nicely. I'll tell you one thing I learned today- chickens will eat sourdough starter faster than a cat can wink its eye. 
I hope they don't explode. 

I did ask August today why he had his head in the hole in the sand at the beach when his mama took his picture. 
"I was digging," he said. 
Which makes so much sense. 

I do want to discuss the CDC's directives on masking after vaccinations but not tonight. I need to get my ass in the kitchen. 

Oh! Wait!


Teeny tiny greenbeans.
Can you see them? 


The miniature orchids from which they spring. 

I hope all is well with you. 

Love...Ms. Moon


34 comments:

  1. I love accessories (scarves) but don't have the *gene* either. Most of them are curtains in my house rather than being draped artistically and effortlessly around my neck, as the talented can do so well! Your scarf illuminated is lovely! As are your beans and their lovely flowers.....and yes, Levon is shooting up from the legs! Big time! And PB/Banana honey sandwiches takes me back in time....on wheatberry bread, back in my veg. days......a fond memory- thank you for that!

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    1. Scarves make the loveliest curtains, don't they?
      Wheatberry bread...oh yes. How I loved it!

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  2. I'm so happy your garden is coming along. Those beans have sprung from little orchids!

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    1. They have and they do and they will continue to do so for awhile. We did not plant as many beans this year which is a relief. I could not keep up with them last year.

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  3. How is it possible to make soup as often as you do and yet be so dismissive of your celery? Celery is the best thing in soups! It transforms itself! And you've got home-grown, which I've never had (or even seen) in my life! There seems to be a missing puzzle piece here somewhere...

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    1. Well, yes. I agree with you on celery. HOWEVER, there is much for me to learn about the growing of it. You know how the bottom of celery is very pale/white? It needs to have the dirt banked around it which I did not do. Also, it needs more water than I think I gave it. Many of the stems were hollow and, as I said, tough. And as I also said- the flavor just didn't do it for me. I may well try again though.

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  4. I have to quibble with your statement from your last post about humans being intelligent life, sometimes that seems so far from the truth.

    The scarfs are lovely and I don't have the accessory gene either.

    Glad you got to see you grandboys again. They are sweet.

    We're having a thunderstorm right now and then it's supposed to snow on Wednesday. Welcome to Alberta.

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    1. You're right about the intelligent life definition. But sometimes, humans can be pretty intelligent. I think of Michelangelo, I think of Mr. Rogers, I think of whoever invented scissors.
      Snow? Are you kidding me? You poor thing. I would die.

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  5. Sometimes, not often, because sun shine is rare up here, but it does catch me in amazement like your silk scarf of flowers, That is so gorgeous it is not of this world.
    The little boys are lovely as always, sweet times, Dear Mary!

    I will continue to mask, it keeps me well.

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    1. It's wonderous to think of light coming all the way through space from the sun to make a piece of silk look like that, isn't it? In my bathroom, no less. The daily miracles.
      I'm not giving my mask up yet either.

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  6. Ash well you see l did have the scarf gene before l became decrepit disabled housebound etc. All given to charity or what you would call thrift shops. Have l got that right? Wish l had sent to Florida so l could see the glorious displays you make of them. Drat n Double Drat. Charity shops have not been taking donations due to covid but too late. Dont put puzzle back in box. Do it over time. Jigsaws are apparently so good for us in so many ways. Google too much to right. Mind you have never done a 3D one. Have in recent months started doing them not having done since childhood. Helps with mental despair whilst causing physical pain. Problem is lcant pull them apart and give to charity shop have to cover in puzzle keeper and put on wall. Gonna run out of walls. We get such nice pics though. Anyway rambling. Post a pic if you finish pic. Have seen a great US puzzle forcing self not to look lol. Have vague memories of Saturday nights out yes saw the likes of JL Lewis Chuck Berry and the truly glorious Little Richard one magic night by th Mrsey in Liverpool. Jigsaws now! Hey if you happen to have a Little Richard puzzle . I will pay the shipping. Sorry for rant Second vaccine. Vaccines send me Doolaĺy Tap as they say in these parts. Love to you n yours. You inspire me. Maggi xxxxx

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    1. But the puzzle is taking up necessary real estate on my porch table! And I have nowhere else to put it. I need to figure this out, don't I?
      Sadly, I have no Little Richard puzzles.
      I hope that you're feeling better today, dear Maggi. I'm glad you got your vaccine.

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  7. Sorry for spelling mistakes Eyes but mostly want to publish b4 it deletes me. It has stopped asking me daft stuff but dont trust it. Hope you get the gist xxx

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    1. Oh, I generally do get the gist. No worries, love.

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  8. A sweet day all around...those boys make me smile, and so do your growing beans and chicken stories. I will not be doing anything different regarding masking since I do not know if strangers are vaccinated and people lie. With 3000 plus new cases in this state last week, people are still not getting the message regarding social distancing or vaccines and I am wondering when COVID will strike the previously vaccinated and in what numbers.

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    1. Yes. It does seem pretty obvious that the very people who did not believe in masks in the first place are the ones refusing to get vaccinated and they'll be shedding their masks and their germs all over the damn place.
      Time will tell how this story unfolds.

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  9. You know, it's interesting how all animals -- dogs, humans, cats, you name it -- are drawn to sunlight. (Maybe bats aren't, so perhaps there are exceptions!) I get a lot of joy from seeing the sun coming through leaves or cloth or windows, you name it. We all know on some visceral level that it's the giver of life.

    Sorry about your missing chicken, but I'm somewhat heartened by the fact that you don't know which one it is!

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    1. You are exactly right, Steve. Sunlight is very much the giver of life and we do ingest it via the plants we eat, and the animals too, as they eat plants. Or at least we ingest the energy it created. It's holy.
      And you're right about the chicken too- can't be THAT much of a loss, right?

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  10. August is a smart cookie, but that really was a silly question Ms Moon. Why on EARTH did you think he had his head in the sand????

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    1. You're right. I should have known what the child was doing down there. Must have been some hole.

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  11. What celestial light you captured in those first two photographs. That is beautiful art indeed, and I love that you not only create it, you stop to notice. Your grandchildren all seem so special to me. I am sure they will grow up to mark their marks on our world, each in his or her own way. August does seem very cerebral. And it was only a matter of time before Levon's legs began getting long too!

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    1. I love that my grandchildren seem special to you. As I said once before, a long time ago, it makes my heart so happy that there are dear people in the world who have known my children since birth and have celebrated their milestones with me. It is a sort of magical bonding, I think. I feel the same way about your children, you know.

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  12. I'm not a scarf wearer either. in fact I think they look dumb on anybody unless it's been used to cover or protect their hair. and of course August was digging with his butt up in the air. I'm just surprised he hadn't hit water that deep. I've never tried a 3 D puzzle.

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    1. Some people can get away with scarves, I think, but probably not as many as there are people who wear them!
      I'm surprised August didn't hit water too. Or, maybe he did. I should have asked him that.
      3-D puzzles aren't that different than regular ones. It's sort of fascinating.

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  13. I make sourdough too - though oddly I don'y like it much; everybody else does though. Try sprinkling just a little sugar in with the next feed - mostly I find it just takes time but a little sugar will boost the ferment it along and doesn't affect the taste - just a pinch though!

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    1. I did some extra feeds and it is growing and bubbling very well. For awhile I was adding just a tiny pinch of sugar and about a tablespoon of milk to my dough and it was a pretty nice loaf. I felt like I was cheating though! Isn't that ridiculous?

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  14. I love sun shining through fabric, especially silk. You abd scarves is me and hats. Except for my old walking straw abd cosy berets, they look pretty dumb over my round face. You need a pointed chin, I think. Anyway, hats nit me
    I follow your sourdough musings with interest, but I'm allergic so it's an armslength kind of thing. It's very intriguing to be working with something live though.
    Making ordinary bread today, also live.

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    1. Keeping sourdough going is a bit like having a pet, I think. It has to be fed, it needs to breathe, it doesn't survive complete neglect. You're allergic to sourdough? I've never heard of that but I trust your word. I promise never to offer you any.

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  15. I have twin nephews that have always been difficult to tell apart. When my kids were little, they would call their cousins "Mike-Dan" if they didn't know which was which! Now as grown married men, I can tell them apart if they are standing by their wives! :)

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    1. My two youngest brothers were a year apart and both redheads. They didn't really look alike but people who didn't know them well sometimes got them confused. I had one friend who called them both ChucknRussell.

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  16. Those bean flowers are so pretty! And the scarf with the sun shining through it was a feast for the eyes. I love everything about this post! :)

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    1. Thank you, Jennifer! Your garden is looking gorgeous!

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  17. Those are some beautiful bean flowers! They never fail to amaze me.

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  18. Wow, love those bean flowers. They are so pretty!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.