June Promise

A perfect June morning, clear, sharp light, cool temperature and coffee on the terrace watching the dew-covered peonies begin to open.

dew covered peony about to open, 2016

dew drops on peony, 2016

dew covered peony opening, 2016

dew covered peony opening, 2016

dew, 2016

Towards the End of August

The days are shorter now, the night cool; mist seeps up from the path of the stream and fills parts of the valley. I put a bouquet of flowers outside and the next morning the vase was full of condensation, so beautiful.

condensation 1, 2015

condensation 2, 2015

Condensation 3, 2015

A Bouquet of Peonies For You

It's one of those dreamed of, especially in winter, perfect day; morning dew, clear light, peonies opening and drifting scent about, roses, lilac, iris in bloom; a day to give thanks.

A bouquet for you, 2015

A bouquet for you, with an ant, 2015

and more, 2015

and more, 2015

for you, 2015

Weaving Webs

Walking out side yesterday morning I noticed that the spiders had been busy drawing lines from the top of the column supporting the porch roof across the path to the day lilies and an equal sided triangle on the other side. These were huge webs easily 8 feet high and 10 feet wide and what so amazed me was that they weren't there the night before, and as I continued my morning stroll through the garden there were fairy's handkerchief dotted about the lawn. Still later sitting drinking our morning coffee watching the mist burn off, dew sliding of the apple tree and anointing us, we realized there were garlands of web lines through the branches like sparking like tiny Christmas lights.

Part of the huge web at the front porch, 2014

fairy's handkerchief, detail, 2014

fairy's handkerchief, detail, 2014

I will be taking a break for the next couple of weeks; some time out is needed, quiet time. And so on this 4th anniversary of writing this blog I want to thank you for coming along with me, reading and looking and leaving comments and to say Thank you so much, and see you in a few weeks.

Peony Heaven

Our piece of paradise is in full peony heaven. Despite the snow of a few weeks ago and the fact that the stems look like baroque candelabra, the blooms are as wonderful and fragrant as ever. I love working away, weeding and pruning and having the sweet, peppery scent of peony waft by; and then overcome, bury my face in the bloom. I sound like a Victorian maiden with a fit of the vapors.  I will call it peony madness.

Morning Dew

The peonies are starting to open and I want time to stand still. I want this precious moment to last. Up early and in the garden I caught the dew drenching the pale yellow peonies. They will fade to white, keeping the center yellow. Even though I can't make time stand still, it's wonderful to have a record of such beauty. That it was like this, and will be again.

Patterns of Dew

The patterns that dew makes on the peonies has me fascinated. Partly I figure it's the slight sparkle that captures my eye and make me look more intently. Some times the droplets seem evenly spaced and about the same size, but then the pattern alters. Sometime the dew beads the edge of the petal, sometimes it doesn't. My problem is that I am not photographing a flat surface so some parts are sharp and some parts are soft focus. As always you can click on the image to see a larger size.

Dew on the peonies

Oriental Poppies

Really cool over night, so heavy dew in the morning, for which I am ever so grateful, especially when I went out and saw what age and dew had done to the pink poppies. While there are a few still to bloom, [I love the halo on the opening poppy] most are on there way out. Their petals a lovely semi transparent crepe paper. Dew and age make beauty.

A Bouquet of Peonies

Early morning dew on the peonies. I'm in love.

Chris Parson's Dew Garden

I still have the images from "The Cave of Forgotten Dreams" in my minds' eye and am still in awe of our incredible need to make marks. I was watching Zoe go down to the stream the other morning, leaving a trail in the dew, and thought of this wonderful piece by Chris Parsons. According to the book "The Garden Book' published by Phaidon, he uses a large rag brush over the close- cropped lawn. He takes the photo from a nearby tree. Love that, and love what he says about dew. " Dew looks its best in the sun because it glitters. These works last 3 to 5 hours.

On another note I want to thank Seth Apter  on the Altered Page, for all his work and especially for "Buried Treasures", a blog post about buried treasure ie. unknown or undiscovered bloggers. Here is the link [Link here]. I am having fun discovering new blogs. Again, Thanks Seth.

@ Chris Parsons' Dew Garden, 1991

Smelling the roses

Garden time yesterday, weeding, edging, cutting back and general clean up. The roses are having a wonderful 2nd flush...late, but abundant. The color is richer than early summer and these beauties have a wonderful fragrance, what I imagine myrrh to smell like.

Mary Rose

Heritage

Dew drops on Mary Rose