"Happy are those who sing with all their hearts, from the bottoms of their hearts. To find joy in the sky, the trees, the flowers. There are always flowers for those who want to see them."
- Henri Matisse
- Henri Matisse
Weldon Spring is acting a bit like Toronto this year. A few feeble daffodils have appeared, rather faintheardedly, but the cold wet weather has yet to yield to enough sunny hours necessary for the usual springtime profusion of blooms.
This means I'm forced to look for other forms of beauty on my regular walks at the Weldon Spring City Hall nature path. Here's what's been going on:
The new Big Red Barn (replacing the old one that burned down last summer) was installed in the fall.
It's very handsome, don't you think?
Apparently, plans are underway to spruce up the front of
City Hall as well:
They're breaking up the old concrete driveway...
And preparing for a brand new two lane road.
Brother Heron and I have become much better at
not frightening each other...
Along with the Canada Geese, he now allows me to watch him fish for his dinner...
...though I'm pretty sure he went 0 for 5 on this outing.
I found this perfectly formed little home for some creature
in the back part of the trail, which calls for further
investigation as Spring continues...
and the sky was as beautiful as any impressionist painting...
So yesterday I tried, and will continue to try, to see the flowers. As Matisse suggests, sometimes it's simply a matter of choice.
Today, I hope you see the flowers.
I've selected a beautiful orchestral work to share with you this morning, Gabriel Fauré's "Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50" written in 1887. This one is performed by the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, and is conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy (be still, my beating heart!).
Fauré wrote this pavane ('pavane' is a piece of music named for a stately royal court dance of the same name) for a patron of his, Countess Elisabeth Greffulhe, and it originally included dancers and a chorus of singers in a spectacle to be performed at her garden parties in the Bois de Boulogne. Oh, yeah...if I close my eyes I can see the flowers now. Enjoy!
jo - i live about one hundred kilometres northeast of toronto but i get into the city itself maybe once or twice a year so i don't really know how the flowers are coming along. two yellow snowdrops poked their heads out of the ground to see what's been happening while they've been asleep. bunnies and cats are parading through the gardens and of course the birds are making out everywhere. oh yeah! steven
ReplyDeleteI'm off to eastern Ontario tomorrow - a stop in Toronto to change planes will allow me to comment first hand on Toronto weather!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely walk you had. Don't you think that all barns should be red?
Steven, Snowdrops and bunnies and cats, oh my!
ReplyDeleteSpring is springing...finally. Oh YEAH!
xoxo
Hi Pondie,
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to hear how Toronto is really faring this spring. As for all barns being red, YES! Not only that, but I think all city halls would do well to have one! It just makes my heart smile. :-)
♥
What lovely music to accompany us on our walk-a-long today! Great pics and so agree on the red barns. Our flowers are bursting open, what a delight...
ReplyDeleteLove and peace to you today.......
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Thank you, Linda! You seem to be a little ahead of us "northerners" but today when I was out I noticed a "flash mob" of Red Bud trees...they were appearing full bloom out of everywhere! Yay...SPRING!
ReplyDeletehaha...I got so excited I forgot to add my usual closing! I DO love you, missy. ♥♥♥
ReplyDeleteHere in Toronto, there is nothing out yet......... the wind chill is still way too cold. The sun is warm in mid-afternoon, but by nighttime it's freezing once again. Those red buds in full bloom are not even close here yet. It will be a couple of weeks before we are that far. There maybe the odd snowdrop in a protected area, close to a building, but that's all. The forsythia bush is looking a little yellower (it has taken on a yellow aura) this week, but not ready to pop, YET. Soon!! Your walk looked lovely. Next year, when my vision is better, I will be able to go out and photograph signs of spring. YAY!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJo is saying to herself, "She can't even see. How does she know what's blooming?" LOL It's taking pictures. They are blurred in the lens. =D
Okay, Vicki...I called you "Linda" earlier! yikes! I really AM excited about spring...sorry!
ReplyDeleteLINDA, I don't wonder how you know what's blooming, I know you've got it all figured out. Taking pictures then looking at THEM to see what you were looking at...ingenious! xoxo
I'm so happy you're befriending the heron. Of course he/she feels your beautiful vibration, and is not afraid. The energy of those birds is so graceful; I see them now and again at the Potomac.
ReplyDeleteThe barn is lovely and the sky? Magnificent. May flowers soon appear in Weldon Spring! May it be so.
Thanks Jo. The tulips are funny this year. Not out everywhere but in Waterford, there is a patch of them. The daffodils have been out in full force. But the tulips are acting like they've got a "climate change" thing going on. Glad you and the heron are working things out. Play nice with each other!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Reya...things have changed dramatically in just 24 hours. Spring has sprung at last!
ReplyDeletexoxo
Dubby, you must be just far enough south to benefit those lovely daffodils. They are as scraggly as the tulips here. In fact, I haven't actually SEEN a tulip here yet. Sheesh! It is a funny spring, isn't it?
ReplyDelete♥