Stuffing It In

Its a cool, showery day and I like it. My plan was to garden on my first day off but today's weather is preventing that. It's perfectly ok though because I'm having a restful day instead. Vacuuming, dishes, changing beds, and three loads of laundry don't mean that I'm not resting. I've painted, caught up on some web surfing, went for a short visit, answered some e-mail, did some research I've been wanting to try to find time to do, and slept in till seven thirty. It is a glorious feeling.

I watched Oprah while I folded laundry. She had a story on Nadia Schuleman, the Octomom, and it was mind boggling to see her and all those little children. Fourteen children - that mom doesn't get much sleep so I'd better stop talking about being busy.

Spring around these parts is at a bit of a standstill as far as sunshine is concerned. We've not received much precipitation but we have had cool, cloudy conditions ever since our bout of really lovely weather over Easter. I'm itching to get into the garden. I have a lot of work to do. I plan to make my vegetable garden larger and the flower gardens are sorely in need of attention.

I've had daffodils for over a week and the ones in the back garden are slowly getting bigger and stronger but not bursting forth like they would in warm sunshine. I will enjoy them even longer this way. A friend gifted me with a vase this week. It's a lime green which is fantastic with daffodils. When the large garden has hundreds in bloom I can't wait to see this vase filled to the brim. I have a frog in it at the moment with nine daffodils and it looks ok but will look super when stuffed. Much like the one below. I love this vase and it is wonderful when filled with large bunches of flowers.


An old favorite song of mine, repeated more than once on this blog is covered here again but by someone new. Bop Ensemble is a group I featured a while back because a cover of theirs, the Paul Simon song, Peace Like a River, was stuck in my head. This time they take on Bob Dylan's, Buckets of Rain. Also on the playlist here this week is The Duhks, with their song, Three Fishers. My son and his friends have hardly been home since fishing season began on the fifteenth. He is fishing now as a matter of fact. The weather doesn't seem to be a factor in whether or not they go out. He brought home trout the other night that were so big that a friend and I ate only one each with our supper. I froze the other two. This song is in appreciation of fish and the fishers.

I must go put my fourth load of laundry in the dryer. I put in a load of jackets that are being put away for the season. That's a real sign that winter's over.

Bright and Beautiful

Autumn continues and is still beautiful. We were expecting a nor'easter mid-week which would have taken the leaves down but thankfully, it didn't materialize. It is windy and rainy this morning so we won't be walking today. I opted out yesterday which is unusual but had a concert to attend.

I saw Stan Carew and the Magpies at the PEI stop on their theater fund-raising tour. Stan is the host of a very popular, Halifax-based, CBC radio show called Weekend Morning. Stan and I have had correspondences several times over the years so it was great to put faces to the names. The show was very enjoyable with a Texas swing or Rockabilly country style.

I'm hoping for some nice weather this week to finish up the outdoor chores. Saturday was beautiful and I did a bit of these jobs but was quite exhausted from the earlier hike so did not finish. It's ironic that on nice days when it's good for working outside it's good for hiking and rainy or windy days are good for neither. I am still painting chairs so have chores to do no matter the weather.

With the weather forecast featuring Nor'easters and lots of wind and rain these days, I thought I'd provide some appropriate music. First, here's Ollabelle with The Storms Are On the Ocean and a favorite of mine, Buckets of Rain. This Dylan song has been covered many, many times and I have lots of versions but here is the original from The Bob himself.

Counting the Days Till Spring

In my Shutterchance blog it is spring. It's beginning autumn in South Africa and though the Australians haven't mentioned it, summer is fading there as well. In Europe however it is spring. David from outside Dublin has been photographing daffodils for weeks, France has had the earliest spring ever on record and England, though it varies throughout the regions has green grass and daffodils too. We are the land of freezing rain and snow. It's always been normal for us to have this weather but Europe and the southern states have me feeling a bit envious.

Ralph wrote about gardening today and shows a photo of his green grass. I long for May's green grass but will patiently wait. There is not much we can do about this change in circumstance or physical area but much we can do to keep showing nature as it moves acroos the world. We in Atlantic Canada will eventually get spring. Someone commented on Ralph's blog yesterday about looking for relief from the heat and wanting cooler temperatures in July and August. It will be my turn to feel sorry for them then. We love July and August.

What is spring but Buckets of Rain. Being one of my favorite Dylan songs I have a few versions already up. Number one, two, and three . Here's another by Neko Case. Since we have Neko Case up here's another song of hers; Look For Me I'll Be Around. She's moody by the way.

Good Weather For Mushrooms

Click to Play:
I Think It's Going To Rain Today - Randy Newman
I Think It's Going To Rain Today - Nina Simone
I Think It's Going To Rain Today - David Gray
Buckets of Rain - Bob Dylan
Buckets of Rain - Jimmy LaFave
Buckets of Rain - Beth Orton & M. Ward
Eighteen Inches of Rain - Ian Tyson

Buckets of Rain - Miles of Roads

I was too tired for my hike yesterday so did it today. I didn't really listen to the weather forecast so got caught in a few rain showers. We were out for two and a half hours and it was absolutely great. You could ring out our socks when we got in. Today's route was new to me in that we were on a road that vehicles can travel on as well. That's not usual for us but this route took us to our regular woods roads and afforded some really great views of wet, curvy, red dirt roads with gorgeously coloured trees.


We plan to go again on Saturday but I just hear that rain is expected for that day. My friend can't go tomorrow and I can't go Thursday or Friday so, we'll see what Saturday brings. We were both willing to walk in the rain today so we maybe will do that again. It certainly was a great workout today and I want more!

I've got some rain songs in honour of today's soaking wet footwear. One of my favorite Dylan songs is Buckets of Rain. I put up this one by Jimmy LaFave in June on the first day of summer. Here is Bob's version and one by Beth Orton and M. Ward. Love that song!

Rain on the First Day of Summer - Lovely

Yesterday's plea for summer was for heat and sun. I also wished for rain. No matter what the weather, summer is here by default. It's the the 21st of June.

Innnn (Kenz wanted to add her two cents.) got my wish for rain. We had steady, gentle rain all day. It was wonderful. Finally! I feel replenished. I've always been a lover of the rain. It matters though if it is a reasonable amount of rain. There is nothing more depressing than too much. My visit to BC for three weeks, years ago, convinced me that I could never live with their extreme rain. My brother lives in a rainy area along the BC coast and he is fine with it.

You've probably guessed the music today. Rain, of course. Light Rain is a lovely, mellow folk tune by Eric Von Schmidt. Buckets of Rain is an old favorite of mine by Bob Dylan and it's up somewhere on Page One of the music pages. Take time to look for it if you want to hear the original. Here's a great version by Jimmy LaFave. I like it a lot. I have other versions too that will eventually make it up here.