Every Day Still Life

 I was greeted this morning by a text with this playful image from Paul's morning walk....his caption read: 

"When is it not all about the stem?  When it's all about the hat." 

Kudos to Paul for paying attention....he knows it is really all about the stem....
but I do love the hats too. 💜

I spent much of the past few days cleaning up the gardens in Lexington....moving a few things, weeding, and doing fall cut-backs.  This is my last season in this garden....and it has served me well. 

I snapped this photo without really giving it much thought....but realized this evening that it's an example of "every day still life" I learned about in Philippa's class.  If I would have recognized it at the time I would have looked at my photo....edited and arranged it a bit for better composition...then rephotographed.  But I didn't....so it's unedited everyday still life: my favorite brand of garden gloves...my ALL TIME favorite and super useful always in my hand soil knife, rocks that will be moved to Maine, and some lovely hydrangeas that were nearly dry on the vine that I couldn't bear to throw away.

I've had these metal garden spikes for years and years and have loved them tucked in various gardens.  They're a bit rusty, but still in very good shape so I'm going to find just the right agapanthus blue spray paint and bring them back to life....and also move them to Maine where they might get tucked in the woods. Each wire spike is tipped in gold....I'll have to figure that out too.

And for anyone who follows this blog and/or knows my dear friend Connie....I'm still gardening in her shoes.  Read that story here:  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=gardening+in+her+shoes

And my Angie memory and photo(s) of the day is my "everyday still life" homework assignment for Philippa's Consciously Creative class. I completed it while waiting for the oatmeal to cook for Angie's and my breakfast three years ago.....I think it's worth an A+!

This was my final composition.

This is how it looked before I edited and rearranged.  I wrote about it in a previous post...and if you link to it be sure to read Chiara's comment....it still makes me chuckle.

https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2017/10/every-day-still-life.html

Gardening In Her Shoes

Today was a garden clean up day...dumping tired plant pots, repotting plants to bring in, and cutting perennials back. I had a car load of yard trash to dump so headed to the city transfer facility....I actually find these places fascinating. 

What I had forgotten is that sometimes it's a gold mine for evergreens and other clipped treasures. Someone had just dumped large branches from a crabapple tree and the colors of the fruit were spectacular. So of course some came home with me....I want to watch them shrivel.  I also found some marigold blossoms to dry and a little bittersweet.

I have to tell you about my shoes.  One of my requests after Connie's passing was to have her barely worn clogs....there were several pairs. Her daughters thought I was crazy...but I wanted to use them as my gardening shoes. They slip on and off easily as I go in and out of the house...and somehow I find them comforting. You've heard of walking in someone else's shoes....well I'm loving gardening in Connie's shoes!

World Collage Day

Today is World Collage Day....who knew!  

So I'm celebrating with a little ATC (artist trading card) collage I did a few weeks ago for a Fodder School lesson.

Then I spent a few minutes picking a few papers from my fodder that I might use for a next one....but Shupe Collage Day will have to be delayed.

Because today was....Garden Day at the Shupe condo. 

It was hotter than it should be in May...and I'm exhausted....but I'm still loving gardening in Connie's shoes.  See this post for the explanation: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2017/10/gardening-in-her-shoes.html 

I got a few annual pots planted including repotting a big Boston fern for the front, split and reworked a few perennials, spread some mulch, and did some watering.  I was too tired to take photos....so a garden tour will have to wait.  

I'm not as young as I used to be....but the farm girl in me still likes to work hard. 

And by the looks of it...I may need to retire these pants. 

Impossible Gardens

There were all kinds of events and festivities today for our Puerto Rican friends including two opportunities for worship. All three communities that received assistance from "Lexington Unites for Puerto Rico" are from different parts of the island and of different faith backgrounds and didn't know each other until they met here in New England this weekend.  Now they have a bond and connection with each other that will continue when they go back home. It was all very powerful!

Margie, my mother-in-law, gave me notecards a while back that said "Plant Impossible Gardens."  I used them sparingly because I loved the idea  so much of an impossible garden.  This weekend it was clear to me that impossible gardens have been planted.

In between events I dug up several varieties of my miniature hosta for Carmen and Wendall, the couple in our church who got this whole Puerto Rico project going. 

Wendall had expressed interest in my minis....so now he and Carmen have at least 8 varieties for their own garden. They hosted a final send off dinner this evening...and this was my gift....a reminder of the "impossible garden" they helped plant.

And....for those of you who know my dear friend Connie...I'm still "gardening in her shoes." I think about her every time I wear them.