Who Am I?

                I am a lifelong bookaholic...

Daughter, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, wife, cousin, niece, sister-in-law, friend, Christian, Zen, seeker...

writer, poet, reader, diarist, giver, lover, book reviewer, book collector, collage artist, jewelry maker, doll maker, crafter, crocheter, nature photographer, gardener, Moonchild, doll collector, artist, cook, baker, herbalist, seamstress, quilter, bird watcher, Hummingbird caretaker, music lover, tarot reader, I Ching student, rune reader, dream interpreter, tree planter, cat-rescuer, homemaker, notary public, bookkeeper, legal secretary, blogger...and more, so much, much more... I've spent all my life learning and growing.  I've taught myself 90% of the things I know:  the arts, crafts, gardening, photography, etc. through reading books and trial and error.  A new friend recently said to me about gardening:  you must be a Ninja to garden because you'll kill more plants than you grow.  I knew this from my own accidental Ninja kills, but I loved the way she worded it.  Many people give up after the first few plants don't sprout or bloom or are eaten by bugs.  Never give up!  Gardening is a metaphor for all of life...

Being a Mother has been the most rewarding, challenging, exciting, frustrating, creative thing I've ever done.  I have no regrets about the sacrifices I made to raise my children.  Mothers must put their children first...they didn't ask to come here, we brought them...we chose to give them life... They are our own beating hearts... Being a grandmother is the second most rewarding thing on earth.  Grandchildren are our future...they are life begatting life...and the epitome of joy.

Life is not about merely standing still (although there is a time to stand still), but about growing, experiencing, discovering, laughing at yourself, forgiving yourself, loving with all your heart and soul and being broken...then picking up the pieces and carrying on.  An old proverb says, "Fall seven times; stand up eight."  It's my motto along with, "This, too, shall pass."  

Wishing all you mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day!!  xo, Marion

              My baby Moonflowers...just starting to vine

Gerbera Daisies, revived with organic sea kelp, a super fertilizer.

My Canna in the late afternoon sun.  Magical!!!!!!!

An Old Woman’s Painting By Lynn Emanuel

Bees left pollen tracks all over the Morning Glory.....

   The Zinnias and I are fading.... but anticipating Autumn

   The luminous Beautyberry Bushes are blooming.

  

The Chocolate Mint is flowering, feeding the butterflies...

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An Old Woman’s Painting

By Lynn Emanuel

Scrape the sun from the wall of  the sky. 

Cast the great nets of  autumn over the houses. 

Even the throat of  the lily is a dangerous inlet. 

Let the world stand wearily on the stoop of  the jail 

of  the world and the light of  the mind, that small lamp, 

pearl of  shine, let the night come to it, as iron filings to a magnet, 

mother.

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Autumn

By T. E. Hulme

A touch of cold in the Autumn night—
I walked abroad,
And saw the ruddy moon lean over a hedge
Like a red-faced farmer.
I did not stop to speak, but nodded,
And round about were the wistful stars
With white faces like town children.

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Dinner Plate Hibiscus

The first bloom. . . there is hope!!  I planted four colors: white, dark pink, light pink and red.  No matter how many flowers I plant, it always amazes me when they actually come up and grow.  :-)

 

 

Another miracle flower, my first Hibiscus.  It's magnificent in the morning sunlight.

 

 

Like magic...one day it's not there, and the next, this glorious flower.

 

 

Sun-dappled and juicy, it fills me with wonder.

 

 

 

As long as there is life, there is wonder:  flowers, birds, dragonflies, cicadas, cats, trees, clouds, sky, stars, moon, words, books, poetry, family, friends, love. . .

 

xo,

Marion

 

 

"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud

was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."  ~Anais Nin

 

 

Flowers, Poetry of Mother Earth

Tiny, new Pink Knockout Rose wet with the morning dew.

The first burst of yellow in the form of my showy Yellow Canna, first Canna to bloom this year. I also have red ones and peach ones. They're very easy to grow and spread like wildfire.

My daughter and I love magnetic poetry. I gave her a small nature set and this is a 12 year old boy's idea of what to do with magnetic poetry----make a robot monster, of course! We don't all think alike or create alike, thank God! I respect the individuality in all people.

My first red rose from one of six bushes that my sweet husband bought for me this year. It's called "Oklahoma" and is an everyblooming hybrid tea rose with large, fragrant red blooms. We had a small shower and the rose was still rain-kissed when I took her photograph. Isn't she beautiful?

Blessings and Love,

~Marion

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars... and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are. ~Osho

I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.... People think pleasing God is all God care about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back. ~Alice Walker, The Color Purple, 1982