time...best spent

Behind every able man, there are always other able men.
Topic: Ability
Source: None
If your strength is small, don't carry heavy burdens. If your words are worthless, don't give advice.
Topic: Advice
Source: None
The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials.
Topic: Affliction
Source: None
Men grow old, pearls grow yellow, there is no cure for it. -Chinese proverb.
Topic: Age
Source: None
The woman who tells her age is either too young to have anything to lose or too old to have anything to gain.
Topic: Age
Source: None
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.
Topic: Anger
Source: None
If your strength is small, don't carry heavy burdens. If your words are worthless, don't give advice.
Topic: Burden
Source: None
Of all the thirty-six alternatives, running away is best.
Topic: Caution
Source: None
He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes.
Topic: Conscience
Source: None
He who cannot agree with his enemies is controlled by them.
Topic: Control
Source: None
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.
Topic: Control
Source: None
Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
Topic: Darkness
Source: None
A wise man makes his own decisions, an ignorant man follows the public opinion.
Topic: Decision
Source: None
A great fortune depends on luck, a small one on diligence.
Topic: Diligence
Source: None
Who is not satisfied with himself will grow; who is not sure of his own correctness will learn many things.
Topic: Discontent
Source: None
Deep doubts, deep wisdom; small doubts, little wisdom.
Topic: Doubt
Source: None
To believe in one's dreams is to spend all of one's life asleep.
Topic: Dreams
Source: None
Heaven lent you a soul Earth will lend a grave.
Topic: Earth
Source: None
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Topic: Education
Source: None
In a broken nest there are few whole eggs.
Topic: Family
Source: None
Parents who are afraid to put their foot down usually have children who step on their toes.
Topic: Family
Source: None
A diamond with a flaw is better than a common stone that is perfect.
Topic: Fault
Source: None
A diamond with a flaw is better than a common stone that is perfect.
Topic: Flaws
Source: None
A great fortune depends on luck, a small one on diligence.
Topic: Fortune
Source: None
To attract good fortune, spend a new penny on an old friend, share an old pleasure with a new friend and lift up the heart of a true friend by writing his name on the wings of a dragon.
Topic: Friendship
Source: None
If you must play, decide upon three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.
Topic: Gambling
Source: None
The gem cannot be polished without friction, not a man perfected without trials.
Topic: Growth
Source: None
Habits are cobwebs at first; cables at last.
Topic: Habits
Source: None
A thorn defends the rose, harming only those who would steal the blossom.
Topic: Harm
Source: None
If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come. -Chinese proverb.
Topic: Heart-quotes
Source: None
Heaven has a road, but no one travels it; Hell has no gate but men will dig to get there.
Topic: Heaven
Source: None
Heaven has a road, but no one travels it; Hell has no gate but men will dig to get there.
Topic: Hell
Source: None
Look for a thing until you find it and you'll not lose your labor.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
He who treads softly goes far.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
A single conversation with a wise man is worth a month's study of books.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
The one who pursues revenge should dig two graves.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
Do not anxiously hope for that which is not yet come; do not vainly regret what is already past.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
If you plan for one year, plant rice. If you plan for ten years, plant trees. If you plan for 100 years, educate mankind.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
Outside noisy, inside empty.
Topic: Inspirational
Source: None
The journey is the reward.
Topic: Journey
Source: None
In the midst of great joy, do not promise anyone anything. In the midst of great anger, do not answer anyone 's letter.
Topic: Joy
Source: None
One joy scatters a hundred griefs.
Topic: Joy
Source: None
He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.
Topic: Knowledge
Source: None
Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he'll eat forever.
Topic: Learning
Source: None
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Topic: Learning
Source: None
Man who waits for roast duck to fly into mouth must wait very, very long time. -Chinese proverb.
Topic: Life
Source: None
Medicine can only cure curable diseases, and then not always.
Topic: Medicine
Source: None
The palest ink is better than the best memory.
Topic: Memory
Source: None





..............


received this in an email today

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And ‘tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke;
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we’ll hear his tales no longer,
For ol’ Bob has passed away,
And the world’s a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won’t be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won’t note his passing,
‘Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician’s stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier’s part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least let’s give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
“OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.”

March 1st. but on the 2nd of March

drat.
missed my goal of every day posting.
drat.
missed March 1st post
i was online, full intentions to logging into this blog.
got distracted.
shiny monkeys, and all.

ugh.

ok ...

pretend this date says March 1st.

and begin:

March 1st – in like a lamb, out like a lion
or is it in like a lion, out like a lamb …

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘When March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb’
goes the old folklore saying…
The reverse, however, is also true, and the saying continues:
‘When March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion,’
which does not bode well for us this year.
from Times Mar 26, 2002

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘I would chuse March, for I would come in like a Lion.’
‘But you’d go out like a Lamb when you went to hanging.’
from J. Fletcher, 1625

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March … comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb.
from J. Ray English, 1670

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Charming and fascinating he resolved to be.
Like March, having come in like a lion,
he purposed to go out like a lamb.
from C. Brontë Shirley, 1849

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

March has come in like a lamb with a warm wind … from the South-west.
from E. Holden, 1906

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky
And sings."
- Joyce Kilmer, Spring

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The afternoon is bright,
with spring in the air,
a mild March afternoon,
with the breath of April stirring,
I am alone in the quiet patio
looking for some old untried illusion -
some shadow on the whiteness of the wall
some memory asleep
on the stone rim of the fountain,
perhaps in the air
the light swish of some trailing gown.”
- Antonio Machado, 1875-1939
Selected Poems, # 3, Translated by Alan S. Trueblood

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Each leaf,
each blade of grass
vies for attention.

Even weeds
carry tiny blossoms
to astonish us."
- Marianne Poloskey, Sunday in Spring

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The sun is brilliant in the sky but its warmth does not reach my face.
The breeze stirs the trees but leaves my hair unmoved.
The cooling rain will feed the grass but will not slake my thirst.
It is all inches away but further from me than my dreams.”
- M. Romeo LaFlamme, The First of March

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”
- William Wordsworth, Daffodils

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Last day of Winter,
leafless walnut trees—
form is emptiness.

First day of Spring,
clear sky to Mt. Shasta—
emptiness is form."
- Michael P. Garofalo, Cuttings: March

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Equal dark, equal light
Flow in Circle, deep insight
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!
So it flows, out it goes
Three-fold back it shall be
Blessed Be, Blessed Be
The transformation of energy!”
- Night An’Fey, Transformation of Energy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“March is the month of expectation,
The things we do not know …”

- Emily Dickinson, XLVIII

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The March wind roars
Like a lion in the sky,
And makes us shiver
As he passes by.

When winds are soft,
And the days are warm and clear,
Just like a gentle lamb,
Then spring is here."
- Author Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!”
- Robin Williams

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair
The bees are stirring, birds are on the wing,
And Winter slumbering in the open air,
Wears on his smiling face a dream of spring.”
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ere frost-flower and snow-blossom faded and fell,
and the splendor of winter had passed out of sight,
The ways of the woodlands were fairer and stranger
than dreams that fulfill us in sleep with delight;
The breath of the mouths of the winds had hardened on tree-tops
and branches that glittered and swayed
Such wonders and glories of blossom like snow
or of frost that outlightens all flowers till it fade
That the sea was not lovelier than here was the land,
nor the night than the day, nor the day than the night,
Nor the winter sublimer with storm than the spring:
such mirth had the madness and might in thee made,
March, master of winds, bright minstrel and marshal of storms
that enkindle the season they smite.”
- Algernon C. Swinburne, March: An Ode

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.”
- Anne Bradstreet

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain;
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men.”
- Li Bai

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“A light exists in Spring
Not present in the year
at any other period
When March is scarcely here.”
- Emily Dickinson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”
- Hal Borland

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer
in the light, and winter in the shade.”
- Charles Dickens

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It was cold and windy, scarcely the day
to take a walk on that long beach
Everything was withdrawn as far as possible,
indrawn: the tide far out, the ocean shrunken,
seabirds in ones or twos.
The rackety, icy, offshore wind
numbed our faces on one side;
disrupted the formation
of a lone flight of Canada geese;
and blew back the low, inaudible rollers
in upright, steely mist.”
- Elizabeth Bishop, The End of March

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
Albert Einstein

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The bluebird carries the sky on his back.”
Henry David Thoreau

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind.”
Abraham Lincoln

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ahh, the wide almond groves in full white flower
Stunning in the morning sun.
Old naked Winter in his garb of grays and browns has run.
Forsythia blooms come and go in the blink of a yellow Eye,
Then, suddenly, mysteriously, Green erupts; and we sigh.”
- Michael P. Garofalo, Cuttings

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The spring is coming by a many signs;
The trays are up, the hedges broken down
That fenced the haystack, and the remnant shines
Like some old antique fragment weathered brown.
And where suns peep, in every sheltered place,
The little early buttercups unfold
A glittering star or two – till many trace
The edges of the blackthorn clumps in gold.
And then a little lamb bolts up behind
The hill, and wags his tail to meet the yoe;
And then another, sheltered from the wind,
Lies all his length as dead – and lets me go
Close by, and never stirs, but basking lies,
With legs stretched out as though he could not rise.”
- John Clare, Young Lambs

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The sun is hotter than the top ledge in a steam bath;
The ravine, crazed, is rampaging below.
Spring – that corn-fed, husky milkmaid -
Is busy at her chores with never a letup.

The snow is wasting (pernicious anemia -
See those branching veinlets of impotent blue?)
Yet in the cowbarn life is burbling, steaming,
And the tines of pitchforks simply glow with health.

These days – these days, and these nights also!
With eavesdrop thrumming its tattoos at noon,
With icicles (cachectic!) hanging on to gables,
And with the chattering of rills that never sleep!

All doors are flung open – in stable and in cowbarn;
Pigeons peck at oats fallen in the snow;
And the culprit of all this and its life-begetter-
The pile of manure – is pungent with ozone."
- Boris Pasternak, March

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“O the green things growing, the green things growing,
The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!
I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,
Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing.”
- Dinah Maria Mulock Craik, Green Things Growing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The last fling of winter is over … The earth, the soil itself, has a dreaming quality about it. It is warm
now to the touch; it has come alive; it hides secrets that in a moment, in a little while, it will tell.”
- Donald Culross Peattie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Springtime is the land awakening.
The March winds are the morning yawn.”
- Lewis Grizzard, Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Gone were but the Winter,
Come were but the Spring,
I would go to a covert
Where the birds sing;

Where in the whitethorn
Singeth a thrush,
And a robin sings
In the holly-bush.

Full of fresh scents
Are the budding boughs
Arching high over
A cool green house:

Full of sweet scents,
And whispering air
Which sayeth softly:
“We spread no snare;

“Here dwell in safety,
Here dwell alone,
With a clear stream
And a mossy stone.

“Here the sun shineth
Most shadily;
Here is heard an echo
Of the far sea,
Though far off it be.”
- Christina Rossetti, Spring Quiet

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Through all the frozen winter
My nose has grown most lonely
For lovely, lovely, colored smells
That come in springtime only.

The purple smell of lilacs,
The yellow smell that blows
Across the air of meadows
Where bright forsythia grows.

The tall pink smell of peach trees,
The low white smell of clover,
And everywhere the great green smell
Of grass the whole world over."
- Kathryn Worth, Smells

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“A little madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.”
- Emily Dickenson, # 103

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty.”
- William Shakespeare

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hold to the course, though the storms are about you;
Stick to the road where the banner still flies;
Fate and his legions are ready to rout you—
Give ’em both barrels—and aim for their eyes.

Life’s not a rose bed, a dream or a bubble,
A living in clover beneath cloudless skies;
And Fate hates a fighter who’s looking for trouble,
So give ’em both barrels—and shoot for the eyes.

Fame never comes to the loafers
and sitters,
Life’s full of knots in a shifting disguise;
Fate only picks on the cowards and quitters,
So give ’em both barrels—and aim for the eyes.
- Grantland Rice

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Winds of March, we welcome you,
There is work for you to do.
Work and play and blow all day,
Blow the Winter wind away.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“March bustles in on windy feet
And sweeps my doorstep and my street.
She washes and cleans with pounding rains,
Scrubbing the earth of winter stains.
She shakes the grime from carpet green
Till naught but fresh new blades are seen.
Then, house in order, all neat as a pin,
She ushers gentle springtime in.”
- Susan Reiner, Spring Cleaning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Buttercups and daisies,
Oh, the pretty flowers;
Coming ere the spring time,
To tell of sunny hours.
When the trees are leafless;
When the fields are bare;
Buttercups and daisies
Spring up here and there.”
- Mary Howitt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“March! March! March! They are coming
In troops to the tune of the wind.
Redheaded woodpeckers drumming,
Gold – crested thrushes behind;
Sparrows in brown jackets, hopping
Past every gateway and door;
Finches, with crimson caps, stopping
Just where they stopped before.
March! March! March! They are slipping
Into their places at last. . .
Literature white lily buds, dripping
Under the showers that fall fast;
Buttercups, violets, roses;
Snowdrop and bluebell and pink,
Throng upon throng of sweet posies
Bending the dewdrops to drink.
March! March! March! They will hurry
Forth at the wild bugle sound,
Blossoms and birds in a flurry,
Fluttering all over the ground.
Shake out your flags, birch and willow!
Shake out your red tassels, larch!
Grass blades, up from your earth – pillow.
Hear who is calling you. . . March.”
- Lucy Larcom, March

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You’re one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you’re two months back in the middle of March.”
- Robert Frost, Two Tramps in Mud Time

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“For winter’s rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins.”
- Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
- Percy Bysshe Shelley

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“And then the rain began, the tonic, greening, transforming rain that comes only once a year.
At gray daylight, silver drops still clung to the undersides of peach limbs; but the rain had
stopped, and now every living blade and stalk whose destiny it is to be green was
astonishingly green.”
- Rachel Peden

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I have said that there was great pleasure in watching the ways in which different plants come through
the ground, and February and March are the months in which that can best be seen.”
- Henry N. Ellacombe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“When it’ too cold for comfort, the sun-filled garden promises that winter will be brief.”
- Norman Kent Johnson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The year's at the spring
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven -
All's right with the world!"
- Robert Browning

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It is in this unearthly first hour of spring twilight that earth's almost agonized livingness is most felt.
This hour is so dreadful to some people that they hurry indoors and turn on the lights."
- Elizabeth Bowen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn."
- Lewis Grizzard

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Harshness vanished. A sudden softness
has replaced the meadows' wintry grey.
Little rivulets of water
changed their singing accents.

Tendernesses,
hesitantly,
reach toward the earth
from space,
and country lanes are showing
these unexpected
subtle risings
that find expression
in the empty trees."
- Rainer Marie Rilke, Early Spring

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the waterside. But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a county turnpike toad. I never saw daffodils so beautiful. They grew about the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake."
- Dorothy Wordsworth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where did Gabriel get a lily,
In the month of March,
When the green
Is hardly seen
On the early larch?"
- Grace James

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,
If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,
If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun
And crocus fires are kindling one by one:
Sing robin, sing:
I still am sore in doubt concerning Spring."
- Christina Rossetti

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"To what can our life on earth be likened?
To a flock of geese,
alighting on the snow.
Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage."
- Su Shi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"March is a tomboy with tousled hair, a mischievous smile, mud on her shoes
and a laugh in her voice."
- Hal Borland

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'For my shield this day, I call
Heaven's might,
Sun's brightness,
Moon's whiteness,
Fire's glory,
Lightning's swiftness,
Wind's wildness,
Ocean's depth,
Earth's solidity,
Rock's immobility.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Feel the shift of balance,
from darkness to light growing stronger.'
'Welcome Spring! Now is the time for banishing Winter'

~~~~~~~~~~~

'...I go my ways
And when I find a mountain-rill
I set it in a blaze...
So either way
I'll get into the garden,
And I don't care what happens.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins."
- Algernon Charles Swinburne, Atalanta in Calydon

~~~~~~~~

Spring Sowing

In March farmers turn their attention to the spring sowing. One custom associated with it involved the horses in the ploughing team being "Turned with the sun" at the end of the furrow. The sower would then bless the work in the name of the trinity, and toss a handfull of soil over each horse's rump.

~~~~~~~~

Daffodils

Williams Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills.
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a boy:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company;
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils

~~~~~~~~

Plant a Garden ~ (mostly) by Edgar A. Guest
(edited a leeeeetle by Gail :) )

If your purse no longer bulges
and you’ve lost your golden treasure

If at times you think you’re lonely
and have grown hungry for pleasure

Don’t sit by your hearth and grumble
don’t let mind and spirit harden

If it’s thrills of joy you wish for
get to work and plant a garden!

If it’s drama that you sigh for
plant a garden and you’ll get it

You will know the thrill of battle
fighting foes that will beset it …

If you long for entertainment and
for pageantry most glowing

Plant a garden and this summer spend
your time with green things growing.

If it’s comradeship you sight for
learn the fellowship of daisies

You will come to know your neighbor
by the blossoms that he raises.

If you’d get away from boredom
and find new delights to look for

Learn the joy of budding pansies
which you’ve kept a special nook for.

If you ever think of dying
and you fear to wake tomorrow

Plant a garden! It will cure you
of your melancholy sorrow.

Once you’ve learned to know peonies,
petunias, and roses

You will find every morning
some new happiness discloses.

~~~~~~~~

A Prayer in Spring

Robert Frost

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid-air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill

~~~~~~~~

Millions of Strawberries

Genevieve Tagged

Marcia and I went over the curve,
Eating our way down
Jewels of strawberries we didn't deserve,
Eating our way down.
Till our hands were sticky, and our lips painted,
And over us the hot day fainted,
And we saw snakes,
And got scratched, and a lust overcame us for the red
unmatched
Small buds of berries, till we lay down--
Eating out way down-- and rolled in the berries like two
little dogs
Rolled
In the late gold
And gnats hummed
And it was cold
And home we went, home without a berry,
Painted red and brown
Eating out way down

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Meant To Do My Work Today

Richard Le Gallienne

I meant to do my work today,
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand--
So what could I do but laugh and go?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Be Thou my Vision

Ancient Irish

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart:
Nought be all else to me save that Thou art-
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom and Thou my true Word:
I ever with thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, not man's empty praise,
Thou Mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.



~~~~~~

Time is one apricot blossom.
Space, a bee.
The Universe, honey.
And, the Goddess of Spring?

~~~~~

Be Still My Soul
-Katharina von Schegel

Be still, my soul! The Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul! Thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still my soul! Thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake.
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul! The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul! The hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored>
Be still, my soul! When change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last

~~~~~~~~

sunlight breaks
cold silence–
a meadowlark trills

Mockingbirds
singing love tunes–
voices of dying winter.

a few flecks
of yellow–
forsythias awakening

Upstart mustard-greens
Old guard forsythias ...
Yellow riot.

winter sunshine
working in the garden
sunburnt bald head

Branches in blossom
shake to the rhythms of wind–
bees on rosemary.

Alive with bees ...
radiant pink
peach blossoms.

Every inch of ground
green–
midday in March.

Green beyond green
below gray skies,
brilliant forsythias.

Snowcapped peaks
in three directions–
wet green valley.

satisfying
cold water
swallowed

wet boots
drying on the porch–
a day's work done

The long walk over;
my panting dog
still playing.

Shadowless dusk
growing colder–
squealing teakettle.

From dark trees
an owl's hoot–
chilly night.

One week later
Six Directions of Green
Billions of leaf-buds.

day by day
winter disappears ...
millions of new leaves

warm sun
dry grass
roaring lawnmower


- the above is a mixture of various Haiku concrete and short Poems that I re-mixed and put together - sort of a diary of a gardener - like me ... : )

~~~~~~

... and if that isn't enuff on my plate ...

I've also decided to start training for the Old Kent River Bank Run ...

ok - for me, this may have to be renamed to the Old Kent River Bank WALK!!! :D

states and their minerals

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_minerals,_rocks,_stones_and_gemstones

State Mineral Rock or Stone Gemstone
Alabama[1]
Hematite (1967)

Marble (1969)
Star Blue Quartz (1990)
Alaska[2]
Gold
Jade
Arizona[3]
Copper[4] (Arizona's nickname is "the Copper State")
Turquoise
Arkansas[5]
Quartz
Bauxite (1967)
Diamond
California[6]
Gold California's nickname is the Golden State
Serpentine (1965)
Benitoite (1985)
Colorado[7]
Rhodochrosite (2002)
Yule marble (2004)
Aquamarine (1971)
Connecticut[8]
Almandine Garnet (1977)
Connecticut's nickname is the Brownstone State
Delaware[9]
Sillimanite
Florida[10]
Agatized Coral (1979)
Moonstone (1970)
Georgia[11]
Staurolite (1976)
Quartz (1976)
Hawaiʻi
Black coral[12]
Idaho[13]
Star garnet (1967)
Illinois[14]
Fluorite (1965)
Indiana[15]
Salem Limestone (1971)
Iowa[16]
Geode (1967)
Kansas
Kentucky[17]
Coal (1998)
Kentucky Agate (2000)
Freshwater pearl (1986)
Louisiana[18]
Agate (1976)
Maine[19]
Tourmaline
Maryland[20]
Patuxent River Stone (2004)
Massachusetts[21]
Babingtonite (1971)
Roxbury Puddingstone (1983)
Rhodonite (1979)
Michigan[22]
Petoskey stone fossilized coral (1965)
Chlorastrolite (aka Isle Royale greenstone 1972)
Minnesota[23]
Lake Superior agate (1969)
Mississippi[24]
Petrified wood (1976)
Missouri[25]
Galena (1967) Missouri's nickname is the Lead State
Mozarkite (1967)
Montana[26]
Montana Sapphire
and


Montana Agate
Nebraska[27]
Prairie agate (1967)
Blue agate (1967)
Nevada[28]
Silver Nevada's nickname is the Silver State
Sandstone (1987)
Precious Gemstone: Black fire opal


Semiprecious Gemstone: Turquoise
New Hampshire[29]
Beryl (1985)
Granite (1985) New Hampshire's nickname is the Granite State
Smoky quartz (1985)
New Jersey[30]
New Mexico[31]
Turquoise (1967)
New York[32]
Garnet (1967)
North Carolina[33]
Granite (1979)
Emerald (1973)
North Dakota[34]
Ohio[35]
Ohio flint (1965)
Oklahoma[36]
Rose Rock (Barite)
Oregon[37]
Thunderegg (1965)
Oregon sunstone (1987)
Pennsylvania[38]
Rhode Island[39]
Bowenite (1966)
Cumberlandite (1966)
South Carolina[40]
Blue granite (1969)
Amethyst (1969)
South Dakota[41]
Rose quartz
Fairburn agate (1966)
Tennessee[42]
Limestone (1979)
and


Tennessee Paint Rock Agate (1969)
Tennessee River Pearl (1979)
Texas[43]
Precious Metal: Silver (2007)
Oligocene petrified palmwood (1969)
Gemstone: Texas blue topaz (1969)


Gem Cut: "Lone Star Cut" (1977)
Utah[44]
Copper (1994)
Coal (1991)
Topaz (1969)
Vermont[45]
Talc
Granite (1992)
and


Marble (1992)
and


Slate (1992)
Grossular garnet
Virginia[46]
Washington[47]
Petrified wood (1975)
West Virginia[48]
Bituminous Coal (2009)[49]
Mississippian Lithostrotionella fossil coral (1990)
Wisconsin[50]
Galena (1971)
Red granite (1971)
Wyoming[51]
Wyoming Nephrite Jade (1967)

Miniature patterns

http://www.printmini.com/printables/pp.shtml

And this is a miniature wedding dress pattern:

This is for the main section:



and this is for the bodice and sleeves:





Drat! this blog place doesn't allow the entire pattern ... lemme fix this ... sec ...

eBay buys Congress

"Ebay Buys Congress" - video off YouTube - thanks to TheJollyRogerReturns

Full list of the members of senate and house of representatives who were paid as much as $6500 each - some were paid twice.

Sunday, SUNday, SUNDAY!!

day to sorta veg

sore from moving boxes around yesterday

will be even more sore after today

promised self that I would clear out ALL the china / glass / collectibles that have been piling up in the sun room

on the all pieces, I'm going to:

clean, take pics, do research, type description, wrap in protective plastic, attach inventory labels, put in appropriate boxes, put the filled up boxes in the warehouse.

should be about 15 boxes ...

should be done about 2013 ... : )

don't know how this table will translate ...

Name	Structure	Hardness	Specific Gravity	Refractive index	Doubly Refracting (bi-refraction)
Achroite ( Tourmaline )	Trigonal	7.5	3.06	1.62 - 1.64	0.018
Agate ( Chalcedony)	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Albite	Triclinic	6	2.64	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Almandine ( Garnet )	Cubic	7.5	4.00	1.76 - 1.83	None
Amber	Amorphous	2.5	1.08	1.54 - 1.55	Not Available
Amblygonite	Triclinic	6	3.02	1.57 - 1.60	0.026
Amethyst ( Quartz)	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Andalusite	Orthorhombic	7.5	3.16	1.63 - 1.64	0.010
Andradite Garnet	Cubic	6.5	3.85	1.85 - 1.89	None
Anglesite	Orthorhombic	3	6.35	1.87 - 1.89	0.017
Apatite	Hexagonal	5	3.20	1.63- 1.64	0.003
Aquamerine ( Beryl )	Hexagonal	7.5	2.69	1.57 - 1.58	0.006
Aragonite	Orthorhombic	3.50	2.94	1.53 - 1.68	0.155
Aventurine ( Quartz )	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Axinite	Triclinic	7	3.28	1.67 - 1.70	0.011
Azurite	Monoclinic	3.5	3.77	1.73 - 1.84	0.110
Barite	Orthorhombic	3	4.45	1.63 - 1.65	0.012
Benitoite	Hexagonal	6.5	3.67	1.76 - 1.80	0.047
Beryllonite	Monoclinic	5.5	2.83	1.55 - 1.56	0.009
Bloodstone ( Chalcedony )	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Braziliznite	Monoclinic	5.5	2.99	1.60 - 1.62	0.021
Brown Quartz	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Calcite	Trigonal	3	2.71	1.48 - 1.66	0.172
Carnelian ( Chalcedony )	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Cassiterite	Tetragonal	6.5	6.95	2.00 - 2.10	0.100
Celestine	Orthorhombic	3.5	3.98	1.62 - 1.63	0.010
Cerussite	Orthorhombic	3.5	6.51	1.80 - 2.08	0.274
Chalcedony	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Chatoyant Quartz	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Chrysoberyl	Orthorhombic	8.5	3.71	1.74 - 1.75	0.009
Chrysocolla	Monoclinic	2	2.20	1.57 - 1.63	0.030
Chrysoprase (Chalcedony)	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Citrine ( Quartz )	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Coral	Trigonal	3	2.68	1.49 - 1.66	Not Available
Danburite	Orthorhombic	7	3.00	1.63 - 1.64	0.006
Datolite	Monoclinic	5	2.95	1.62 - 1.65	0.044
Diamond	Cubic	10	3.52	2.42	None
Diopside	Monoclinic	5.5	3.29	1.66 - 1.72	0.029
Dioptase	Trigonal	5	3.31	1.67 - 1.72	0.053
Dolomite	Trigonal	3.5	2.85	1.50 - 1.68	0.179
Dravite ( Tourmaline)	Trigonal	7.5	3.06	1.61 - 1.63	0.018
Dumortierite	Orthorhombic	7	3.28	1.69 - 1.72	0.037
Emerald ( Beryl )	Hexagonal	7.5	2.71	1.57 - 1.58	0.006
Enstatite	Orthorhombic	5.5	3.27	1.66 - 1.67	0.010
Epidote	Monoclinic	6.5	3.40	1.74 - 1.78	0.035
Euclase	Monoclinic	7.50	3.10	1.65 - 1.67	0.019
Fire Agate (Chalcedony)	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Fluorite	Cubic	4	3.18	1.43	None
Gold	Cubic	2.5	19.30	None	None
Goshenite (Beryl)	Hexagonal	7.5	2.80	1.58 - 1.59	0.008
Grossular (Garnet)	Cubic	7	3.49	1.69 - 1.73	none
Gypsum	Monoclinic	2	2.32	1.52 - 1.53	0.010
Hambergite	Orthorhombic	7.5	2.35	1.55 - 1.63	0.072
Hauyne	Cubic	6	2.40	1.50	none
Heliodor ( Beryl )	Hexagonal	7.5	2.80	1.57 - 1.58	0.005
Hematite	Trigonal	6.5	5.20	2.94 - 3.22	0.280
Hessonite (grosular garnet)	Cubic	7.25	3.65	1.73 - 1.75	none
Howlite	Monoclinic	3.5	2.58	1.58 - 1.59	0.022
Hypersthene	Orthorhombic	5.5	3.35	1.65 - 1.67	0.010
Indicolite ( tourmaline)	Trigonal	7.5	3.06	1.62 - 1.64	0.018
Iolite	Orthorhombic	7	2.63	1.53 - 1.55	0.010
Ivory	Amorphous	2.5	1.90	1.53 - 1.54	not available
Jadeite	Monoclinic	7	3.33	1.66 - 1.68	0.012
Jasper (Chalcedony)	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Jet	Amorphous	2.5	1.33	1.64 - 1.68	not availble
Kornerupine	Orthorhombic	6.5	3.32	1.66 - 1.68	0.013
Kyanite	Triclinic	5 or 7	3.68	1.71 - 1.73	0.017
Labradorite	Triclinic	6	2.70	1.56 - 1.57	0.010
Lapis Lazuli ( Lazurite)	various	5.5	2.80	1.5	none
Lazulite	Monoclinic	5.5	3.10	1.61 - 1.64	0.031
Malachite	Monoclinic	4	3.80	1.85	0.025
Meerschaum	Monoclinic	2.5	1.50	1.51 - 1.53	none
Microcline	Triclinic	6	2.56	1.52 - 1.53	0.008
Milky Quartz	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Moonstone	Monoclinic	6	2.57	1.52 - 1.53	0.005
Morganite ( beryl)	Hexagonal	7.5	2.80	1.58 - 1.59	0.008
Nephrite ( jade)	Monoclinic	6.5	2.96	1.61 - 1.63	0.027
Obsidian	Amorphous	5	2.35	1.48 - 1.51	none
Oligoclase	Triclinic	6	2.64	1.54 - 1.55	0.007
Onyx	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Opal	Amorphous	6	2.10	1.37 - 1.47	none
Orthoclase	Monoclinic	6	2.56	1.51 - 1.54	0.005
Padparasha ( Corundum)	Trigonal	9.00	4.00	1.76 - 1.77	0.008
Pearl	Orthorhombic	3	2.71	1.53 - 1.68	not availble
Peridot	Orthorhombic	6.50	3.34	1.64 - 1.69	0.036
Petalite	Monoclinic	6	2.42	1.50 - 1.51	0.014
Phenakite	Trigonal	7.5	2.96	1.65 - 1.67	0.015
Phoshophyllite	Monoclinic	3.50	3.10	1.59 - 1.62	0.021
Plasma ( Chalcedony)	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Platinum	Cubic	4	21.40	none	none
Prase ( Chalcedony )	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Prehnite	Orthorhombic	6	2.87	1.61 - 1.64	0.016
Pyrite	Cubic	6	4.90	none	none
Pyrope ( Garnet )	Cubic	7.25	3.80	1.72 - 1.76	none
Rhodochrosite	Trigonal	4	3.60	1.60 - 1.80	0.220
Rhodonite	Triclinic	6	3.60	1.71 - 1.73	0.014
Rock Crystal ( Quartz )	Trigonal	7	2.65	1.54 - 1.55	0.009
Rubellite ( Tourmaline)	Trigonal	7.5	3.06	1.62 - 1.64	0.018
Ruby ( Corundum)	Trigonal	9	4.00	1.76 - 1.77	0.008
Rutile	Tetragonal	6	4.25	2.62 - 2.90	0.287
Sapphire ( Corundum)	Trigonal	9	4.00	1.76 - 1.77	0.008
Sard	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Sardonyx ( Chalcedony)	Trigonal	7	2.61	1.53 - 1.54	0.004
Scapolite	Tetragonal	6	2.70	1.54 - 1.58	0.020
Scheelite	Tetragonal	5	6.10	1.92 - 1.93	0.017
Schorl ( tourmaline)	Trigonal	7.5	3.06	1.62 - 1.67	0.018
Serpentine	Monoclinic	5	2.60	1.55 - 1.56	0.001
Shell	Various	2.5	1.30	1.53 - 1.59	not available
Sillimanite	Orthorhombic	7.5	3.25	1.66 - 1.68	0.019
Silver	Cubic	2.5	10.50	none	none
Sinhalite	Orthorhombic	6.5	3.48	1.67 - 1.71	0.038
Smithsonite	Triagonal	5	4.35	1.62 - 1.85	0.230
Sodalite	Cubic	5.5	2.27	1.48	none
Spessarite ( garnet)	Cubic	7	4.16	1.79 - 1.81	none
Sphalerite	Cubic	3.5	4.09	2.36 - 2.37	none
Spinel	cubic	8	3.60	1.71 - 1.73	none
Spodumene	Monoclinic	7	3.18	1.66 - 1.67	0.015
Staurolite	Orthorhombic	7	3.72	1.74 - 1.75	0.013
Taaefeite	hexagonal	8	3.61	1.72 - 1.77	0.004
Tektites	Amorphous	5	2.40	1.48 - 1.51	none
Titanite (sphene)	Monoclinic	5	3.53	1.84 - 2.03	0.120
Topaz	Orthorhombic	8	3.54	1.62 - 1.63	0.010
Tugtupite	Tetragonal	6	2.40	1.49 - 1.50	0.006
Turquise	Triclinic	6	2.80	1.61 - 1.65	0.040
Uvarite (Garnet)	Cubic	7.5	3.77	1.86 - 1.87	none
Vesuvianite ( Idocrase )	Tetragonal	6.50	3.40	1.70 - 1.75	0.005
Watermelon Tourmaline	Trigonal	7.5	3.06	1.62 - 1.64	0.018
Zircon	Tetragonal	7.5	4.69	1.93 - 1.98	0.059
Zoisite	Orthorhombic	6.5	3.35	1.69 - 1.70	0.010