Good morning!

"Morning  has broken, like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird.

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for the springing fresh from the word.

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning

born of one light, Eden saw play

Praise with elation, praise every morning

God's recreation of the new day" 

Lyrics by Eleanor Farjeon

Don't you just feel like that? You jump out of bed and there it is: LIFE! I must confess that back in the those days when night life was alive (if you know what I mean) getting up early was almost a punishment, something old people did. My father, a man for whom 5 hours of sleep was more than enough, tried to make me see what I was missing. He claimed early morning was the best part of the day. It wasn't until I had my children and those early feedings were the alarm clock I could not ignore that I realized my Dad was right. The peace, the silence, the way the body feels soft and tender, untouched yet by the stress, the rush, the noise, and all those mundane duties that numb our senses and stiffle our dreams. Father knows best...

On this  beautiful morning I want to thank my dear, sweet friend  Vicki from Vicki's Bit O'Earth for having bestowed upon me this very special Award: 

"This Award is for those who are brave enough to expose

just enough to reach, touch and possibly help someone

else to see something differently.

I pass this Award on to:

Sheila Deeth from Sheila Deeth Drabbles  
Sheila calls her daily poems "drabbles." Truth is, they are moving and beautiful. I am always amazed by her non-stop and ever flowing inspiration.

for being true to herself!"

If you love gardening, beautiful babies, chickens, and great recipes you will love Vicki's place! I thank you Vicki! It really means a lot that you thought of me :0) 

I also want to send a very special THANK YOU to Kiki for dedicating her June 3rd post and poem to me! Kiki is the creator of Awake with Charm and Spirit and Heart of a Wizardess. Her photographs are just magical. She captures light and shadows and gives the illusion of movement and life to everything.  I will be joining Kiki to celebrate  The Birth of June and Summer Solstice Magic, hope you will too! I'm not sure how this "linking business" works so please visit her at Awake with Charm and Spirit for more information. Kiki, thank you for your talent, your visits, your comments and for being such a great friend.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend. May sunshine, love, and birdsong fill your days. xoxo

Gardening bliss

These past few days have been spent in a gardening frenzy. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, except for yesterday when a few storms decided to come and pay a visit. Since I had been secluded due to the allergies, I must say when I finally took a closer look: it was a jungle out there! 

As many of you know, I live in a town quite close to NYC but I refuse to let that stop me from creating what I hope looks like a "cottage-country garden." Every year in late March I start (indoors, of course) my beloved Morning Glory seeds, and every year I am mesmerized by their incredible beauty.

My feathered friends and I love the sound of trickling water

 I feel joyful to provide them with a drink  and a place to take a bath on those hot sunny days. Things so hard to find in the city!

This little one was in such a rush it did not give me a chance to see that the fountain was not set up straight!

 There's plenty here for everyone...

Speaking of everyone...this rascal and his family of THREE have moved in AGAIN to our roof. They have managed to find and break into the place we had tried to close countless times during the past 15 years. I do believe they pass around the information: "Go to Alina's house! There's a room with a view!"

We now have to wait for these babies to grow and move out so we can start all over again. A project which fills my dear husband with, let's just say..."despair." He truly believes I have something to do with this, but honestly, I don't! I just think they are so adorable and they make me smile...well, they must pick up the vibes (MY vibes) and know it's safe here...

This makeshift water feature sits next to a crumbling retainer wall (a subject of a very long and ongoing legal issue) Luckily, my fairy friend doesn't care.

Owning a purple caravan is not in my immediate future, but I do have a purple garden shed!

Actually, purple seems to surface here...

there...

everywhere...

For the past three years I have been inviting Miss Bateman to come into my garden, but in spite of my watering, mulching, fertilizing, and everything else including begging on bended knees, nothing happened. I had given up. I truly had, when all of the sudden, this weekend, as I was walking around the garden there it was! One single gorgeous bloom! I could hardly believe my eyes, but it was not a mirage, Miss Bateman really WAS here!

I felt like a proud parent shocked to realize her child had been listening! Ahh, the joys of gardening! A single bloom having the power to make my heart sing, to make me want to work harder, disregard an aching back, sore hands, and stiff knees. It's all so worth it!

I hope you did not find this post too long. I just wanted to give you a glimpse of the things that make me happy.  There are so many!  I want to thank you for leaving such lovely comments  on my last post. I'm sorry I have not answered as I usually do, but as you can see, I've been enchanted and held prisoner by the beauty of the garden.

Have a wonderful day,