IF I WERE A BEE........

"Wings are of many kinds. Butterfly wings, bumble bee wings...we should not underestimate the size of these heavenly wings.." - Munia Khan

THE ROSE and the BEE by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)

If I were a bee

 And you were a rose

Would you let me in

When the grey wind blows?

Would you hold your petals

Would you let me in

to find your heart

If I were a rose

And you were a bee

You should never go

When you came to me

I should hold my love

On my heart at last

I should close my leaves

And keep you fast.......if I were a bee........

"The happiness of the bee and the dolphin is to exist. For us it is to know that and wonder at it." 

                                           -Jacques Cousteau

 Photographs 2021

Morning Prayer 1902

   I discovered the edge worn old poetry tome "Poems of Love" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox(1850-1919) at a  community book sale last year. A First Edition printed in 1905. Wow. And double wow.  One of my favourite things: ancient, maybe even forgotten, books of poems.  Pages stained, it has seen better years. But I love it. It is completely intact.On the inside page someone has penned: "All my love, Donna".....

The author: Ella Wheeler Wilox,  started writing as a child and continued till the day she died. She believed in the good in our world, and on every poem she wrote , she  spoke of hope for all and how we can rise above any challenge.......

MORNING PRAYER 1902
Let me today do something that shall take a little sadness from the world's vast store,

 And may I be so favoured as to make of joy's too scanty sum a little more.

 Let me not hurt, by any selfish deed or thoughtless word, the heart of foe or friend;

Nor would I pass, unseeing, worthy need,

 Or sin by silence when I should defend.

 However meagre by my worldy wealth,

 Let me give something...........

 That shall aid my kind...............

 A word of courage...........

 Or a thought of health,

 Dropped as I pass

 For troubled hearts to find.

Let me tonight look back across the span

 Between dawn and dark.....

 
 And to my conscience say...........

 Because of ........

Some good act....................... 

 To beast or man,

 The world is better that I lived today.

Photographs by Michelle McConachie Woods 2016
"Morning Prayer" 1902 by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
   From "Poems of Love" printed by Billings and Sons, Guildford (first edition 1905)

Lavender and Campanula Takesimana

            Two of my favourite late spring flowers. Campanula Takesimana with Cordelia in charge. It loves space, sun and part shade. It is romantic. Beautiful.Originaly it came from an island off Korea called "Ullung-do" ( Sea of Japan). In the 1920's it was deemed rare, but after all these years it is off the rare list.

 And Lavender (Lavandula). Growing down the hill in full sun. It loves the heat, and soil that is allowed to become quite dry. Very much like the Campanula, which also does not require a lot of water. You'll find both re seeding itself in drier areas.

 Lavender comes from the mint family. It's prolific and spreads. The plants can last up to ten years, but then will die out and need to be replaced.

 Campanula Takesimana is perfect in an uncontrolled space, where it will spread quite happily. The big drooping bells  remind my of Beatrix Potter stories. It is a bellflower on a mission, because it likes to move out and grow in big clumps.

 It only lasts for a  weeks each year. I find myself frantically taking pics to capture it's essence each time. Then after it dies out I wait longingly for another year. You will find it  here and there in the garden as the summer progresses. Sometimes it has another blooming. I long for that as well. I watch and  try to make it last.

 Lavender , it is said, was brought from Arabia to sell to the Greeks about 600 B.C.eventually making it to France. Lavender was used in the process of mummification, as an essential oil in baths, and perfume of Cleopatra.

 Lavender  gets its name from the Latin  "to wash" . It was put into Roman baths to make the water smell wonderful. The scent also gets rid of  rodents, mosquitos and other pests. So has a lot of uses.

 Campanula takesimana looks beautiful with cranesbill geraniums, phlox or hosta.

   It is resistant to rabbits, and comes in the colours of pink, white, and dark purple.

 During Victoria times, the queen was known to drink lavender infused tea. It was said to settle her headaches, and her nerves.

 Lavender oil eases tension, sleep disorders and  is  supposed to bring  devotion, luck, success,  and happiness. In the early 1900s  the amazing healing powers of Lavender were documented. Lavender jelly and lavender honey can be used in teas  to help soothe and calm.

     "The most beautiful thing under the sun is being under the sun. "
                                                        ( Christa Wolf. 1929-2011, German writer)