Well - I have now signed up for even more RSS feeds that I won't have time to read... Sigh...
See you in the garden!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Techno frustration
O.K. ... as Felecia says, I should read the fine print...
The other part of our assignment was to blog about something technical.
And since I just finished the Flickr assignment, the main thing on my mind is my frustration with how long it always takes me to learn to use a new technology. As with this assignment, I usually approach the new critter (application, software, gizmo) with interest and hope. I read the directions (yes - I really do) - and then proceed step by step.
Invariably - what should take about 30 minutes drags on into at least 2 hours and 3 pestering "can-you-show-me-how-you-do-this" interruptions of whoever is close by. And then I discover there was some instruction they just ASSUMED you knew... Grrr...
I usually eventually catch on... but I'd MUCH rather be digging in the dirt...
The other part of our assignment was to blog about something technical.
And since I just finished the Flickr assignment, the main thing on my mind is my frustration with how long it always takes me to learn to use a new technology. As with this assignment, I usually approach the new critter (application, software, gizmo) with interest and hope. I read the directions (yes - I really do) - and then proceed step by step.
Invariably - what should take about 30 minutes drags on into at least 2 hours and 3 pestering "can-you-show-me-how-you-do-this" interruptions of whoever is close by. And then I discover there was some instruction they just ASSUMED you knew... Grrr...
I usually eventually catch on... but I'd MUCH rather be digging in the dirt...
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Peonies
Our assignment for week 3 is to explore Flickr - a wonderful photo sharing site.
While poking around I was naturally drawn to the pictures of gardens and flowers. As I shared in my last post my peonies are in full bloom and I love them because they are so over the top!
But when I came across this first photo of peony fronds just poking their heads up in early spring I was reminded of my favorite Mary Oliver poem. After a dreary winter nothing speaks to me so much of hope as the first green (and red) fists of peonies reaching for the light.
Peonies
Mary Oliver
This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers
and they open ---
pools of lace,
white and pink ---
and all day the black ants climb over them,
boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away
to their dark, underground cities ---
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,
the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding
all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again ---
beauty the brave, the exemplary,
blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,
with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?
Happy gardening! (... and thanks, Marie, for the technical assistance!)
While poking around I was naturally drawn to the pictures of gardens and flowers. As I shared in my last post my peonies are in full bloom and I love them because they are so over the top!
But when I came across this first photo of peony fronds just poking their heads up in early spring I was reminded of my favorite Mary Oliver poem. After a dreary winter nothing speaks to me so much of hope as the first green (and red) fists of peonies reaching for the light.
Peonies
Mary Oliver
This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
to break my heart
as the sun rises,
as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers
and they open ---
pools of lace,
white and pink ---
and all day the black ants climb over them,
boring their deep and mysterious holes
into the curls,
craving the sweet sap,
taking it away
to their dark, underground cities ---
and all day
under the shifty wind,
as in a dance to the great wedding,
the flowers bend their bright bodies,
and tip their fragrance to the air,
and rise,
their red stems holding
all that dampness and recklessness
gladly and lightly,
and there it is again ---
beauty the brave, the exemplary,
blazing open.
Do you love this world?
Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?
and softly,
and exclaiming of their dearness,
fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,
with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
their eagerness
to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
nothing, forever?
Happy gardening! (... and thanks, Marie, for the technical assistance!)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Monday, May 14, 2007
As usual - it takes fear of personal humiliation and embarassment to make me haul myself out of my usual rut and try something new. So - since I signed the contract to do these 23 things - and the assignment is due tomorrow - and I almost forgot about it - and I would feel like a schmuck if everyone else on the team created their blog and I didn't... here goes... (yes - that creaking noise you hear is the changing of rusty gears :) )
The name of my blog is the Hopeful Garden because I intend this to be a journal of my little patch of flowers at the Homeplace. Note that the emphasis is on "hopeful". That's because I believe gardening requires hope - and fosters hope.
Even the tiniest seed has within it profound mystery, the potential for exquisite beauty and the capacity for life far greater than the limitations of its small dimensions. All it requires is attention and a little nurture - and hope.
"Hope" also leads me to my specific assignment for today. It sums up the lifelong learning habit that's easiest for me " Begin with the end in mind." I can always smell those peonies and taste those tomatoes when I stick those little seedlings in the ground each spring. Hope abounds. But the hardest thing is "viewing problems as challenges." A late frost, an infestation of squash bugs, powdery mildew - all do me in and I tend to throw up my hands. Obviously I'm a fair weather gardener. Obviously I need to work on that!
At any rate - here's my garden today. All peonies and iris. The daylilies are coming on strong. All we need is rain. I'm hopeful...
The name of my blog is the Hopeful Garden because I intend this to be a journal of my little patch of flowers at the Homeplace. Note that the emphasis is on "hopeful". That's because I believe gardening requires hope - and fosters hope.
Even the tiniest seed has within it profound mystery, the potential for exquisite beauty and the capacity for life far greater than the limitations of its small dimensions. All it requires is attention and a little nurture - and hope.
"Hope" also leads me to my specific assignment for today. It sums up the lifelong learning habit that's easiest for me " Begin with the end in mind." I can always smell those peonies and taste those tomatoes when I stick those little seedlings in the ground each spring. Hope abounds. But the hardest thing is "viewing problems as challenges." A late frost, an infestation of squash bugs, powdery mildew - all do me in and I tend to throw up my hands. Obviously I'm a fair weather gardener. Obviously I need to work on that!
At any rate - here's my garden today. All peonies and iris. The daylilies are coming on strong. All we need is rain. I'm hopeful...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)