Upside Down Skies

a birdbath on a fall day

at my fingertips —

the sky

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Now or Later: Fall vs. Spring Clean-Up

"I'm a fall clean up person.  When the snow flies I like to look out and see all my flower beds put to sleep for the winter, knowing they're nice and clean," says Chris, contributor to garden.org.

I feel the same way. My flower garden will meet winter looking like this:

Hard to believe there'll be things growing here next year, but it'll happen.

Check out Chris' article  "Fall Flower Garden Clean-Up" (originally published in 2011 and re-posted a couple of days ago.) 

Even though cleaning up your flower garden in the fall is a matter of preference, Chris gives quite a few reasons behind his decision not to put off this task until spring.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Fall's Garden (poem)

Springtime is lovely, so they claim

I dare not strip it off its fame

Of earth’s awakener, yet I

Have grown to find Spring rather tame

Each year it urges me to try

To turn back clocks and be the shy

And silly child I used to know

Oh no, the apple of my eye

Aren’t you, sweet Spring, and long ago

My childhood like a timid doe 

Ran hiding in the falling dusk

Away from me, its biggest foe

No, I’ll stay here until I must

Go with the changing leaves I trust

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

prompted by dVerse

Fall (square poem)

Leaves fall

Fall leaves

This couplet became part of a collective poem "Grass of Leaves" prompted and put together by David Lehman.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Falling (poem)

free for a shining moment brief

fall’s printed folded airborne leaf-

lets sail the blues on winter’s eve

let’s fail with grace, then take our leave.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Flower Power: Harvesting Marigold Seeds

Marigolds -- the last thing standing in the vegetable garden. We planted them there to help keep pests at bay; and besides, they just look and smell nice. 

If it hadn't been for the warm dry weather in which marigolds continue to thrive, and for this post by Janet, I would have made a very silly mistake: I would have finished cleaning up the garden throwing away whatever's left of marigolds -- pods and all.

For some reason it never occurred to me that I can harvest seeds from my marigolds. Well, lesson learned. Here're the pods I've collected today, and there's plenty more where that came from:

Each of these pods is full of seeds. And I could've wasted them!

I'm going to let the pods dry a bit for a few days, although most of them are pretty dry already. Then off to the fun part of fishing the seeds out. I'm curious how many seeds one pod contains on average...

Any guesses? 

Will keep you posted.

Happy harvesting!

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Spring into Action: Planting Bulbs in Autumn

The daffodil, tulip and hyacinth bulbs are sleeping in the shed under the sand blanket. Cannot wait to plant them, but here in Maryland, especially with the record high temperatures we've been having, it's still too early...Not ready yet.

Are you ready? Once the temperature drops to below 60 degrees Fahrenheit in the soil, it's safe to plant your spring flowering bulbs.

Bulb planting isn't rocket science, but there's a few tricks to it.

Watch this short video to see if, for instance, you know:

• what flowering bulbs love
• why you shouldn't treat them as "little soldiers"
• how to protect them from chipmunks, squirrels, etc.

I found the layering technique particularly interesting, and will definitely try it myself.

Happy bulb planting!


Live for the Love of it,
Sasha A. Palmer (aka Happy)

Trees, leaves and shadows

 Cannot get enough of them

Live for the Love of it,
Happy

Friday the 13th

Hang in there...

Live for the Love of it,

Happy

November 2014 Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge: Day 30

As sure as night will fall and slowly blend

In with the dawning day, as sure as fall

Will lay her weapons down and cease to fend

Off winter, and the foes embrace, and all

The seasons come to pass, each in its turn

As sure as hungry hearts will ever yearn

If only for a glimpse of that July

That used to burn within them, that they failed

To keep, as sure as from the truths we try

To grasp, but one old truth will have prevailed

When all the days of ours are through and gone

As sure as life will end, love will go on.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (a.k.a. "Happy")

prompted by Poetic Asides

image credit

November 2014 Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge: Day 29

Hold on to autumn, to this fragile ray

The sun has reached you with, it will not last

This free fall of November, time won’t stay

Suspended what’s to come and what has passed

Between, so hold them close, these final hours

Still clinging to the calendar, for ours

Are those short-lived bright moments that we touch

Without a hope of keeping them, they fleet

And yet remain, and reappear with such

Stark clarity, it sweeps us off our feet

When in the midst of winter’s endless plain

We glimpse our autumn, falling once again.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (a.k.a. "Happy")

prompted by Poetic Asides

image credit

November 2014 Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge: Day 28

It comes as news, although you do expect

It will arrive one day, some distant hour

Way, way too soon it shows up to collect

The things we owned, or thought we did, to our

Most genuine bewilderment… our eyes

We can’t believe, we didn’t recognize

The signs that all were there, albeit concealed

Of seasons melting into seasons, fall

Is drawing to a close, her fate is sealed

And chilling mirrors prove you can not stall

The hands of that unyielding giant clock

But then you find that stealthy cruel tick-tock

Has a nice rhythm to it, and your heart

In unison with it starts ticking, and

The seasons past and current play their part

And what is bound to happen, near-at-hand

Chimes in, and time slows down as you embrace

The crow’s-feet on the fair-skinned winter’s face.

Live for the Love of it,

Sasha A. Palmer (a.k.a. "Happy")

prompted by Poetic Asides

image credit