A Rather Diverse Post
A Rather Diverse Post
I went out several days ago to swing with my brothers, and I found, to my delight, a broad carpet of creeping Charlie. When I was little I used to pick bouquets and bouquets of these lovely flowerets. They still fascinate me today with their minute perfection, seeming to my fancy like little ladies with wreaths of flowers round their heads. I took the camera out and took a great many pictures. Aren’t they pretty?
I noticed something I never have before: do you see how the outer flowerets have a center of rose and the inner flowerets have one of yellow?
Creeping Charlie is sometimes mistakenly called Fogfruit. We have some of that too! These clusters of flowerets are tinged with pink and have dark, almost purple leaves. These are the flowers that my littlest brother and I gathered for Mama, as mentioned in a previous post: Armful of Roses.
This next photograph is a bit out of focus because it was such a breezy day. This is the beggar ticks, probably so named because of the very sticky seeds it produces. It might remind you of pea flowers, and that is because it belongs to the same family.
Mama purchased notebooks and colored pencils so that we can pursue this enjoyable and educative occupation. One of my brothers has already documented mahogany leaves, sea grape leaves, an unidentified butterfly, and creeping Charlie. After drawing specimens in his sturdy little notebook, he tells me about them, and I write it down for him next to his drawing.
Let’s look for some more wildflowers! These common dayflowers can always be found around the moist, cool area near our chicken coop. It’s scientific name, Commelina diffus, has an interesting history. It honors the Dutch botanists Johan and Caspar Commelin. “A story holds that a third Commelin brother who died before he was able to accomplish much in the field of botany — depicted in the flower by the two prominent petals and a third insignificant petal.” (Everglades Wildflowers, Roger L. Hammer)
This scarlet creeper is a cousin of the morning glory. It has ill-smelling leaves and scarlet trumpet-like flowers. They are noxious weeds in our area, and the neighbor must be vigilant to keep them from choking her hibiscus hedge.
We are growing things on purpose too, though with less success. This is a plantain blossom. Perhaps this time we’ll actually get plantains!
The parsnips continue to do well. My two youngest brothers have been cheerfully helping me weed the garden in the afternoons. Doesn’t this looks like it might be a boulevard for little critters? (I hope there aren’t any! :)
Things are happening inside our house too. From the library we borrowed the collected tales of Beatrix Potter. I’ve been having one of my younger brothers read them aloud to me. Everyone here, in fact, is enjoying the beautiful watercolors and fanciful stories.
More recently, I have been working on compiling a book of good poetry. I have been working mostly in the Nature Poetry section and have discovered many new favorites as well as enjoyed the “old” ones.
Crystal Moment, Robert P. Tristram Coffin
Daffodils, William Wordsworth
The Green Linnet, William Wordsworth
I Saw God Wash the World, William L. Stidger
The Lark Ascending, George Meredith
My Garden Is a Pleasant Place, Louise Driscoll
October’s Bright Blue Weather, Helen Hunt Jackson
The Rhodora, Ralph Waldo Emerson
Snowflakes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
The Snow-storm, Ralph Waldo Emerson
A Song from Sylvan, Louise Imogen Guiney
The Song of the Chattahoochee, Sidney Lanier
To a Snow-flake, Francis Thompson
To a Waterfowl, William Cullen Bryant
Trees, Joyce Kilmer
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer, Walter Whitman
Written in March, William Wordworth
The Cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter,
The green field sleeps in the sun;
The oldest and the youngest
Are at work with the strongest;
The cattle are grazing,
Their heads never raising;
There are forty feeding like one!
Like an army defeated
The snow hath retreated,
And now doth fare ill
On the top of the bare hill;
The ploughboy is whooping—anon—anon:
There’s joy in the mountains;
There’s life in the fountains;
Small clouds are sailing,
Blue sky prevailing;
The rain is over and gone!
When there’s time, we enjoy folk dancing. The coffee table is pushed to the side, and we have a great time with the Circassian Circle, the Circle Waltz, the Jiffy Mixer, the Pat-a-cake Polka, and many others. Papa calls us the Happy Hoofers, and sometimes he and Mama will join us. One of the benefits of a large family is that you are almost always sure to have a dance partner. ;) I would encourage you to visit Hugo’s International Folk Dancing for instructions and movie demonstrations for these and many other delightful dances.
Our friends have also joined us in this latest enthusiasm. Visit their blog Princesses in Disguise for a delightful movie demonstration of the Regency-era dance The Shrewsbury Lasses. (Thank you for teaching us!)
Photographs: Various. © Handmaidens of the Shepherd, May 2008.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008