During January, February, and the first week of March of last winter, I was surrounded by lovely people, tropical hummingbirds, butterflies, bright flowers, and the Caribbean Sea. A few days ago, when snow was falling all around Flower Hill Farm Retreat, I was not longing for the beauty and warmth of Treasure Beach, Jamaica. Being home is inspiring. The beauty of snow fog adds a mystical and mysterious element to being out in the gardens and landscape. The leafless trees and shrubs are like … [Read more...] about There Is No Place Like Home for the Winter
Beauties of the Night ~ Barred Owl
Barred Owls, Strix varia, may have been howling and hooting as year-round residents of this hillside in Western Massachusetts for more than 11,000 years. Fossils of their species, that many years old, have been uncovered in Florida, Tennessee and as far north as Ontario. These raptors of night are typically hidden in layers of darkness but do sometimes hunt during daytime hours. Looking out over the panoramic views of Flower Hill Farm Retreat, always stimulates the imagination. But last … [Read more...] about Beauties of the Night ~ Barred Owl
Last Autumnal Breaths of Cadmium and Aureolin Yellow with Palm Warbler Only Passing Through
Last breaths of cadmium and aureolin yellow falling through another season of autumn . . . as it falls through us . . . only passing through it all . . . Rock Maples stand mighty and tall. Miscanthus yellow blazes sigh with tassels reaching upwards ten feet high. Standing nearby, soft rustling songs become more an undertone as lengthy, waving blades . . . yellow . . . then fade, and float towards the leafy floor. A brighter, fleeting yellow reflecting tones of our … [Read more...] about Last Autumnal Breaths of Cadmium and Aureolin Yellow with Palm Warbler Only Passing Through
Last Autumnal Breaths of Cadmium and Aureolin Yellow with Palm Warbler Only Passing Through
Last breaths of cadmium and aureolin yellow falling through another season of autumn . . . as it falls through us . . . only passing through it all . . . Rock Maples stand mighty and tall.Miscanthus yellow blazes sigh with tassels reaching upwards ten feet high. Standing nearby, soft rustling songs become more an undertone as lengthy, waving blades . . . yellow . . . then fade, and float towards the leafy floor. A brighter, fleeting yellow reflecting … [Read more...] about Last Autumnal Breaths of Cadmium and Aureolin Yellow with Palm Warbler Only Passing Through
A Late Autumn Palette Within A Community of Trees
In thinking along the stream of thought inspired by Wendall Berry, I have been pondering 'my place' within my place and the community I am blessed to have membership in. I am speaking of the land, of the trees and shrubberies, of the species of butterflies and bees and birds that coexist here at Flower Hill Farm. There is a language I have come to understand and the understanding came as soon as I let go of the ideas of gardening I held true and when I stopped and listened to the needs of the … [Read more...] about A Late Autumn Palette Within A Community of Trees
