{Posted from} Home

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest ~ Sir Thomas Moore ~


hOMe is where the heART is …


Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween ...

Shadows of a thousand years
rise again, unseen.
Voices whisper
in the trees.
Tonight, is Halloween.
~Dexter Kozen~

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

One Word A Week Wednesday ...

43/52
Kind
***
Kind hearts are the gardens
Kind thoughts are the roots
Kind words are the flowers
Kind deeds are the fruits
Take care of your garden
and keep out the weeds
Fill it with sunshine
Kind words
and
Kind deeds
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~

Monday, October 25, 2010

Windows...

And all the windows of my heart ♥
I open to the day
~John Greenleaf Whitter~
***
I took this picture of an old window in a flour mill this past Thanksgiving. Looking through
the seeded glass at the bright Autumn leaves I thought of how beautiful the imperfections in the glass were, and how amazing it would be to have a farm house with old seeded glass windows. Today, while going through some of my photos, I decided to combine it with another photo I took around the same time of a horse grazing in a field, all alone. He looked so peaceful & majestic and completely content. Putting the two photos together, I created what I think is the perfect view :-)

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Thankful {things I love} Thursday...

The Cosmos ... still blooming :-)
From a few gathered seeds while we were away on holiday many years ago, our little English Cottage Garden is now filled with tall, brightly coloured Cosmos. At this time of year, as I walk by them, I will rub my fingers across the dried seeds and scatter them as I walk up towards the front door. I want them to land where they may and surprise me next year ♥
***
For man, Autumn is a time of harvest,
of gathering together.
For nature, it is a time of sowing,
of scattering abroad.
~Edwin Way Teale~

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

One Word A Week Wednesday ...

42/52
~ ♥ Heart ♥ ~
***
And none
will hear
the postman's knock
without a quickening
of the heart
For who
can bear to feel
himself forgotten!
~W.H. Auden~

Monday, October 18, 2010

Hidden treasures...

We found a new hidden treasure ...
The weather was gorgeous all weekend long. It was so lovely and peaceful even though there were joggers and cyclists and other walkers enjoying the trail along with us.
We would often hear rustling in the brush only to spot a rabbit or chipmunk.

Do you see chippy?
{If you click on photo to enlarge you will} :-)


I think this is going to be a favourite walking spot for us.

We love finding new spots to saunter...

The trail is the thing,
not the end of the trail.
Travel too fast
and you'll miss
all you are
travelling for.
~Unknown~
Happy Trails ...

Friday, October 15, 2010

Happy Birthday Ernie ...

Ernest Isaiah Newton
Happy 12Th Birthday
***
Love is a symbol of eternity
It wipes out all sense of time
destroying all memory of a beginning
and all fear
of an end
~Unknown~


"I looked at the caged animals in the shelter ... The cast offs of human society.
I saw in their eyes, love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal.
And I was angry. "God" I said, "Why don't you do something?".
God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.
"I have done something" he replied
"I created you"
~Jim Willis~

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thankful {things I love} Thursday...

Me thinks

the moment my legs begin to move,

my thoughts

begin to flow

~Henry David Thoreau~

Ernie and I were happily out walking the other day. We had been out & about doing chores and stopped off to stretch our legs.

I was taking pictures of all the glorious Autumnal colour,

Ernie was patiently waiting as I stopped when something caught my eye :-)

And then something caught BOTH our eyes!

At first I wasn't sure if it was a Crane or a Grey Heron. The markings from a distance were so similar.

We stood and waited for him to fly ... I knew that Cranes few with their necks outstretched and Herons with it pulled back into an S-shape.


Grey Heron it is :-)
Not the best photos ... but ones I thought you'd enjoy seeing.


And then back in the van, before I put the camera away, I just had to take ONE more photo ...
After a day's walk


everything



has twice it's usual value


~George Macauley~
Tomorrow ... a special someone is Celebrating a Birthday :-)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

One Word A Week Wednesday...

41/52
Belong
***
It's not that
I belong
to the past,
but that the past
belongs
to me.
~Mary Antin~

Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving...

Happy Thanksgiving!
For flowers that bloom
about our feet;
for tender grass
so fresh, so sweet;
for song of bird
and hum of bee;
for all things fair
we hear or see
Father in Heaven
we Thank Thee!
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~





Friday, October 8, 2010

Barn Chicks Meeting ...

"Under October's Magic Spell" ...

I thought Julie chose the perfect title for her October Barn Chicks Meeting ...
I feel as though I am under "October's Magic Spell"... my favourite Season, favourite weather, favourite colours all come together.

Sharing some of my favourite October images today for Julie Marie's magical October party ...

Barns ~ I ♥ them!

They are a favourite to photograph ... I think I should have a bumper sticker that says

"I brake for barns" :-)
When ever I see them out comes the camera!
Chrysanthemums & pumpkins ...
and Country walks ...
over old bridges ...
miles and miles of corn fields ...
and trees filled with singing birds...
We pulled over to the side of the road so I could take this photo the other day and to our surprise Coopers Hawk flew beside us! He must have been in the fields. He was enormous, much larger than I thought they were (I'd only seen them before circling the sky).
Horses ...

another ♥ love...

and I always have a little conversation with them :-)

A city girl who longs to live in the country ...

To celebrate our Canadian Thanksgiving I've made Maple Leaf Cookies. When I put them on the desert buffet, I slip Maple Leaves from our tree under neath the paper doilies so they are just peeking through and I'll give them a dusting of icing sugar (or if you have a sweet tooth you could put a little frosting on them) .
Maple Leaf Cookies


1 cup butter at room temp

1 cup brown sugar

1 large free range egg yolk

1/2 cup pure Canadian Maple syrup

3 cups flour

dash of cinnamon/nutmeg/ginger

Mix all ingredients well. Roll out on a floured board and cut out with a Maple Leaf cookie cutter. Place on a parchment covered cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes at 350.
Thank you Julie Marie for hosting "Under October's Magic Spell" ♥

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Thankful {things I love} Thursday ...

One of my favourite poets is Langston Hughes.
Out of all his work, there is one poem in particular that I especially love called
"I Dream A World"
***
I dream a world
where man
no other man will scorn.
Where love will bless the earth
and peace
its paths adorn.
I dream a world
where all will know
sweet freedoms way.
Where greed no longer saps the soul
nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream
where black or white
whatever race you be
will share the bounties of the earth
and every man is free.
Where wretchedness
will hang its head
and joy
like a pearl
attends the needs of all mankind
of such I dream
my world!
~Langston Hughes~
Tomorrow, I'm participating in "Under October's Magic Spell ..." over at Idyllhours.
Julie Marie is hosting a magical October party where I'll share a favourite recipe, barns, pumpkins, scarecrows ... everything Autumn ♥
I'll also pick a name for my blog anniversary giveaway!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

One Word A Week Wednesday ...

40/52
Happiness
***
Being nice
is one of the many bridges
on the road
to happiness
~Donna A Favors~

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

On a rainy Autumn day ...

It's a rainy Autumn day today ...
Sparrows garden is a busy place ~ especially at the suet baskets :-)
All the feeders were filled up to the top last night & fresh blocks of suet placed into the baskets ...
the birds have to get there before the squirrels arrive ...
because the squirrels LOVE the suet :-)
and the birds then scatter around the tree gathering up all the little pieces of suet as they fall ...
Beau bunny keeps dry under the hosta leaves ...

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head
with silver liquid drops
Let the rain
sing you
a lullaby
~Langston Hughes~
No matter what the weather is like in your little corner of the world ~ hope you are having a wonderful Tuesday!