Celebrating the Summer Solstice with Wreaths and Strawberries!

Summer Solstice 2014
Once more in honour of my Scandinavian ancestry, I made a Midsommar wreath to hang on the front door to welcome Sommar in! The Quail Hill Tradition is that you use only those flowers and plants that you can find on the property on The Day.

This year it is a bittersweet tradition, as I have in the past few years made one for our front door as well as one for an amazing couple who live about two hours north of us. I made the square one with lavender and heather for Don whose wife Bette left us in March. I do hope he likes it and that it brings him a bit of joy to his rather lonely days.

Tonight Mr Bear, our friend Mr B and I sat on the back deck and after a 'it couldn't be beat, doing your own hamburgers on the grill' dinner, Mr Bear brought out his treat: fresh picked this morning strawberries, cleaned and lightly sprinkled with vanilla sugar. Mr B contributed the ice cream.

These strawberries are so sweet and fragrant it was like eating perfumed hearts. No white heart to be seen, these were left to bask in the sunshine and take their own very sweet time to ripen. None of the hurry up and wait California strawberry! no sirree bob, these were the real deal and brought back memories of picking them in our parent's gardens, still warm from the sun.

Midsummer and Summer Solstice Blessings to all who read this and to those of you down under, Happy Winter Solstice to you as well!

As if the Documented Life Project wasn't enough ...

to keep La Musa happy, nope, I have gone and signed up for Ms MAM's Sketchbookery class as well. Considering that it starts on July 1, that should give me enough lead time to get my house in order and organize some sort of studio in which to put all my play stuff that I will no doubt be using.
I am also thrilled that my conversation with John (a good friend and WordPress genius) led to him helping  the Ms MAM get her new Sketchbookery site launched! Yay for networking!
So, now to make a sketchbook or find one...
I actually started sketching on our recent trip to the States, so I do have a sketchbook cobbled together but I think I will need a bigger one.
Here is one of my sketches from the trip: the blackberry brambles had almost entirely taken over the barn!

 Blessings to all those sketchwarriors out there, braving the bugs and the elements while you 'art'!

A little House Keeping..

Dear Perusers:
Goodness me, is it June Already?
Time to get ready for our annual MidSummer wreath making (with candid photos of Mr Bear struggling to make one again, lol), but before I do, I just wanted to let you know that I have decided to put my Documented Life Project into its own blog so I can keep this one clear for photos and poetry and whatever else strikes my fancy.
So please note on the top right hand side bar  - A Documented Life Project So Far.
Thank you ever so.
Since we have returned from our two weeks holiday away, our garden has become deliriously riotous with what only can be described as SuperGrowth with Don's peonies joining in the fray. Here is a bloom I picked yesterday, a delightful 'ball' of soft soft feathery petals and subtle scent.
Blessings to all lawn warriors out there battling the grass that threatens to choke the motor!

Another 2shot Twosday: St Peter's Quamichan Churchyard

On the left, the rare and protected Chocolate lily.
On the right, White Fawn Lilies with Grape Hyacinths.
Blessings of an earth filled with laughing flowers.

Mozart and Me - Gardening

Dear Perusers:
Who knew that Amadeus was such an ardent gardener?

His music perfectly suits whatever gardening tasks I have to do, plunk out goes the soil, plunkity plunk plonk, in goes the plant and tweetly tweet on the flutes just to keep the birds happy. (they join in, especially that red winged blackbird who has recently moved to one of our nearby trees.)
This post could also be called: Bluetooth Gardening. I am constantly amazed by the tech wizardry of my bluetooth pendant slung around my neck as it goes out and hunts for the channel I have selected on my Galaxy tablet. Ah ha! found it: and CalmRadio Mozart comes in loud and clear in my ear pieces.

Gardening to Mozart is one heck of a way to spend a pleasurable mild overcast but not rainy afternoon, 'doing up' my Provencal flower boxes. I missed doing these last year, so I am replacing the pansies with lobelia and geraniums in hopes I will attract the swallowtail butterflies and hummingbirds once more.

Blessings of Mozart or any other great composer on your Gardening endeavours!

Sunbeam Chocolate Cake for Ms P's Birthday!

Since Ms P doesn't 'do' facebook or ever read my blog, I feel it's safe to share this with you: 
It's Ms P's Birthday this week and in her honour Mr Bear dusted off the only homemade chocolate cake recipe we will ever bake: his mother's Sunbeam Mix Master one. (A cookbook was included with the machine back in the '50's). The kitchen has been smelling of chocolate cake all afternoon and it is a Very Good Thing that she is coming over tomorrow for lunch and will take it away with her. (either inside or out..lol) This is the first time Mr Bear has tried the silicone bundt pan and being a 'belt and suspenders' kind of cook, made sure it would not stick by spraying the be-heavens out of it before pouring the cake batter into its curvy recesses. As you can plainly see : TA DA! SUCCESS!!
Blessings of
chocolate cake
baking to all.
May your oven maintain the right temp!

Swamp Lantern Sunday

A Sure Sign of an Island Spring.

Blessings to all gumboot wearers out there.