Its Happening...

We've really missed the birds that would visit our old house...

Daily the feeders would be inundated and emptied.

So, we are starting from scratch trying to attract birds to this new garden.

I thought it might take a while, but I am so happy to report that just putting seed out in a couple of

feeders seems to be doing the trick,,, and its already happening..

This little fellow is always at the feeder...

And here is one of a family of 5 - House sparrows? I think...

Here is a new regular, he lives under the rose hedge, all day long he pops in and out  and under..

I call him "Tufty," (for obvious reasons,) he looks like a mis-colored baby chick!

Peep!

And this fellow is..., well...., a little bit off of his flight path...

He's actually part of the awesome booty I garnered today at a fabulous garage sale (did I mention how much I LOVE to go to garage sales?)  I love the thrill of the hunt, and even if I don't really need anything... thats not the point (I tell CG)... there might be some super dooper thingumy jigger that I didn't know I needed until I spy it for $2.00 under a pile of other thingumy's! (garage sale speak.)

Actually the painting, the huge ceramic bowl and matching platter AND the roadrunner are all signed originals... and I am thrilled to bits with all of them, and they are already situated in the house - or in the case of Roadrunner, in the garden... "bleep-bleep."

What Is Pink?

The poem below titled "What is Pink" by Christina Rossetti got me pouring through my log of photos,,, thinking, searching... for   PINK of course...

Happy Pink Saturday to everyone!! If you LOVE pink, check out Beverley's Pink Saturday, and meet a whole bunch of terrific bloggers all participating in this fun event, where everything is PINK. http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/pink-saturday/

What Is Pink? ~ by Christina Rossetti

What is pink? a rose is pink

by the fountain's brink.

What is red? a poppy's red

In its barley bed.

What is blue? the sky is blue

Where the clouds float thro'.

What is white? a swan is white

Sailing in the light.

What is yellow? pears are yellow,

Rich and ripe and mellow.

What is green? the grass is green,

With small flowers between.

What is violet? clouds are violet

In the summer twilight.

What is orange? why, an orange,

Just an orange!

Some Never Really Leave Us...

A very odd thing happened to me the other day, as I pulled up the driveway and jumped out of the car to pick up our mail.  A thought popped into my head "I wonder if I'll find a letter from Mum today."  Not so strange you might say, but my Mum died over 11 years ago (and my Dad just 6 months after her.)

I've had time to "get over it," for sure, and a lot has come to pass in my life in these past 11 years since she died.

Still, sometimes, memories of her come flooding towards me, and I can still feel stricken by the loss of her,  like it just happened yesterday.

July 1998.

Today would be my Mum's 88th birthday, and ever since the other day when the thought of receiving mail from her popped into my head, I have not only thought of her often, but felt her mothering energy, encouraging and loving,  I have drawn energy just thinking of her strength (she had six children AND worked full time as a nurse!) 

Several years ago, I had recurring dreams that involved bears,  Mum was in the dreams too, in one dream she even let a bear into my house!   I told myself that these dreams were Mum's way of reaching out to me, I have ALWAYS paid attention to my dreams, but especially so when a bear shows up.

Writing this blog would (does) make my Mum proud, and as crazy as it sounds (maybe to some,) since feeling her presence so strongly,  I feel infused with an energy and enthusiasm for writing like never before..  I'm on a huge adventure, and I LOVE not knowing where it may lead, I am satisfied with writing this blog in a way thats different from any previous creative endeavors.

Thank you everyone for reading, caring, and following.

With LOVE,

Neinah

Love For Taz...

I LOVE my little Cairn terrier Taz...

She's very funny, yesterday evening, sitting on the deck I just sat and relaxed, aware of my breath, the warm air on my skin, the sweetness of summertime... In contrast my little terrier was acting very excited and bristly..., she was being very cat-like, pawing something in a little hollow of the stone wall, looking like she wanted to pounce,,, I jumped up and joined in..."what is it girl?" I say (thinking maybe a small rodent, or lizard..)  and I watch her nosing more and getting ready to pounce... she LOVES to hunt and sniff...  and I guess this rock wall could be almost considered a "cairn."...  So I help her and using a long stick I pull away the thick piece of bark that I think is in the way of what ever little critter Taz is after... But to my confusion its the bark/stick that she's after, she grabs it firmly and heads to the other side of the deck...(like there's a risk that I might want the yummy piece of wood!!!)

Anyway... she spent the rest of the evening, biting and chomping away happily with her new find...

She's very photogenic, so I hope you'll humor me and enjoy these few photos of my sweet little companion with eyes that shine like little pieces of black coal...

P.S... Taz sends big hugs to blog follower Cassandra, for her lovely gift of the gorgeous  hummingbird photo and sweet thank you card...XOX 

A Birthday Idea...

Every evening since we moved in a week ago (gosh, is that all? I feel like we've been here much longer than that already..)  I have watched the comings and goings of the little tidal inlet at the bottom of the hill from us... -  Now I know why people like to be near a moving body of water so much... its mesmerizing, and there's always something new to look at.  During the day I can visit with King Fishers, Great Blue Herons, Bald Eagles, and once, I even spotted a Sea Otter slipping and gliding smoothly in and out of the shallows..., and every evening around 5pm I see a solitary kayaker his kayak bright yellow, wearing a large brimmed sun hat, slip, slip and glide his way around the inlet... to watch his slow and gentle progress is an evening meditation... the trees from our garden in the foreground, then the water, the kayaker, the other side of the bay, and beyond that in the far distance, the skyline of the city in the soft gentle light, quite...mesmerizing...

So, for CG's birthday today, I bought him a gift certificate to rent a two person kayak..  We will get to slip, slip and glide our way around the bay and turn the meditation into a "moving" meditation....
He LOVED his birthday gift... (me too:)

Summer Poem...

I am LOVING the sunshine and warmth of the past few days..., it inspires me to get out and do things..., I don't know if its my imagination, but with all the bright light around me, I feel like I am able to see things more clearly...  Poet Mary Oliver puts it so well in her poem...

The Summer Day

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean - 

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down - 

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do 

with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver

(I Love her question at the end  - Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? - I'm not sure I've decided yet - how about you?  Have you decided?)

Favorite Summertime Activity...

Red raspberries, ripe for picking...

Each summer my family and I get to enjoy the company of two very special friends ~ Kaytlin and Christine.  They live in Wisconsin, but enjoy coming to visit us and having trips to the beach, going fishing, and doing other fun things that they don't get to do at home, and I get to have fun doing the things I used to love to do with my girls when they were young.  

The other day I took them to a local farm to pick raspberries ~ which they'd never done before...

It had been years since I'd been to the farm to pick berries,  in fact seventeen to be precise... 

It was the first summer that we'd spent on the island, I was new to my surroundings, and not sure if we'd made the right move, I didn't know many people, but that day seventeen years ago will stay with me for ever... The beauty of the rolling farmland, the green-ness of it all, the sweet smell of summertime... my little girl, two years old holding onto my legs chattering away, loving the berries, some for her..., some for the pot,,,, some for her.....  Standing there pregnant with my second baby, I felt an overwhelming   sense of wellness and peace with the world.  In that moment, I knew and told myself...  It doesn't get any better than this...  My heart was full, and I felt so truly blessed for that moment in time, for a rare beautiful, blissful moment, I knew contentment...

So, I was so happy for the opportunity to go back to the farm once again, and introduce my young friends to this magical place and the pleasures of picking raspberries...

My trusty pickers walking up the dusty farm track to the berry fields...

Quickly getting the hang of things, they filled box after box...

Their full concentration, quite evident...

So that in no time at all...

They'd filled our flat of sweet delicious fruits..., and had such a good time  doing it..

Too bad they had to leave that afternoon, or we could have made raspberry jam... 

maybe next year?