"It always seemed to me that the herbaceous peony is
the very epitome of June . . . and when it finally
drops from the vase, it sheds its petticoats with a bump
on the table, all in an intact heap, much as a rose
will suddenly fall, making us look up from our book
or conversation, to notice for one moment . . .".
VITA SACKVILLE-WEST
quote found on AZ Quotes
We woke to a summer morning that you want to hold onto forever. It was practically perfect in every way: warm enough for sleeveless but not sweltering; gentle breezes, not the hard cold winds we've endured of late; rains that finally came and made everything green, green, green and helped with those early spring wildfires in the region. Birds twittered - robins are more scarce now but the wrens and chickadees were whistling and chuckling. And baby magpies squawked as they hopped around.
I admit not wanting to be indoors this morning, even though I'm sitting in my favourite room with the window overlooking the back garden. But I had to check in with you, dear readers, as it's been a while. Today will be short(er) and hopefully sweet, as you don't want to have your eyes fixed on a screen on such a luminous summer day. Here are five quick things that caught my attention over the last little while. Happy Friday!
One
Oh, the joy of finding a whole pot of self seeded johnny-jump-ups.
All I did was water when they first sprouted.
I love their cheeky resilience and persistence—
I could learn a lesson or two from them.
Two
We have a small flock of pelicans on our nearby pond. What a
thrill to see this one so close up feeding along the water's edge.
Three
An open-faced sandwich photo I found on Mediterranean
Tasty Recipes (Facebook) that looks so appealing to me:
Toasted sourdough bread spread with
cottage cheese
a layer of sliced ripe tomatoes
a drizzle of olive oil
a spritz of balsamic vinegar, and
a finger sprinkle of sea salt.
I would add some fresh basil leaves.
Four
Words that I had to write down for the light in their message:
❧
"I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And I gave it up. And took my old body
and went out into the morning
and sang."
MARY OLIVER
❧
"May all that has been reduced to noise
in you, become music again."
ATTRIBUTED TO DAVID TEEMS
❧
"Joy doesn't cancel out the heavy things
but gives you little pockets of
strength to carry on."
from SHARECARE, on Facebook
❧
"I will not allow my life's light to be
determined by the darkness around me."
SOJOURNER TRUTH (1787 - 1883)
Five
Recently finished and enjoyed reading the following:
While Still We Live
by Helen MacInnes
(historical novel, 1944)
Unfinished Portrait
by Mary Westmacott aka Agatha Christie
(fiction, 1934)
Farmer Boy
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
(children's historical fiction, 1933)
The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans (epistolary novel, 2025)
Chocolat
by Joanne Harris
(novel 1999 - library book)
Dumb Witness
by Agatha Christie
(Poirot mystery, 1937)
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
(classic fiction, 1925)
Summer reading pile:
Agatha Christie: An Elusive Woman
by Lucy Worsley
(biography, 2022)
Ordinary Grace
by William Kent Krueger
(novel, 2013)
Orwell's Roses
by Rebecca Solnit
(biography/nature, 2021)
The Nightingale
by Kristin Hannah
(historical novel, 2015)
The Story She Left Behind
by Patti Callahan Henry
(novel, 2025)
❦
On that note, I'm wishing you a beautiful weekend,
Brenda
Photo credits:
Feature photo, Photos One, Two, Four
by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life
Photo Three - found on Mediterranean Tasty Recipes
Photo Five - Image by Marketing BS from Pixabay
Lovely post as usual! I enjoyed every quote and I think I’ll have to try that delicious-looking sandwich. I could eat sandwiches every which way, any day. -Janet
ReplyDeleteJanet, I'm with you on the sandwiches - I LOVE sandwiches and can eat them every which way, any day. Except now I have to watch my carbs intake as I deal with T2D. Thanks for your note.
DeleteWelcome back, Brenda! I have to say that your Johnny Jump-Ups are the nicest display of them I've ever seen. I have them in my garden, jumping up here and there and looking cute, if random. And then before I know it they are acting like pernicious weeds in the asparagus beds and looking straggly everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI hope the remainder of your summer provides more days such as you wrote about here, with good weather, good sandwiches, and good books <3
Gretchen, I know about those little lovelies getting straggly looking as the season wears on. Thankfully, because they are so prolific, I never worry about pulling them up at that point.
DeleteThanks for your good wishes for the summer. I wish you beautiful days ahead.
That sandwich looks scrumptious! And I have every ingredient except the sourdough bread, but I'll try it with what I have. I agree about the basil leaves (have those too!). The quotes will go into my quote book - tomorrow, it's very late as I read this.
ReplyDeleteI was thrilling with the green green green while driving the country roads today. The vistas would rival anything Jane Austen would expound on. Yes, summer is making a very fine beginning.
Did you try the sandwich yet? I have the cottage cheese but I too don't have any nice sourdough bread in the house at the moment. It needs to be on nice crispy toast whichever bread is used. And like you, I'm so enjoying the green, green, green of these rain-soaked summer days.
DeleteHere's a poem I found by e.e. cummings that fits the green theme:
"I thank you God for
this most amazing day,
for the leaping greenly
spirits of trees, and for the
blue dream of sky and for
everything which is natural,
which is infinite, which
is yes."
I do agree, Brenda, a basil leaf or two would be essential with those lovely tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteI love basil, and this summer I seem especially compelled to adding basil in many recipes.
DeleteWishing you a beautiful day, Barbara.
Those johnny jump-ups are really showing off for you! I've never seen a lovelier pot of them. The sandwich looks delicious, too. Interesting that you just finished Unfinished Portrait by Westmacott/Christie. I did, too, and didn't know quite what to make of it. An interesting character study, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteEnjoy summer days, for we know that they are fleeting.
That pot of johnny jump-ups have been an unexpected delightful surprise. They really outdid themselves this year.
DeleteI've been reading Agatha Christie's biography by Lucy Worsley. Along with Agatha's autobiography and Lucy's additions, it's been a lovely look at Agatha's life and career as an author. I had heard years ago that Unfinished Portrait was semi-autobiographical (I think it was her grandson who thought so but don't quote me on that). Lucy in her biography does confirm that the book and many others that Agatha wrote are bits and pieces from her own life. If you haven't read Lucy's, I think the book is well worth reading.
Hi Brenda, your sandwich 🥪 looks delicious 😋 Lovely photos and quotes. I especially love ❤️ the water photo and pelicans.
ReplyDeleteHere I am, one whole week after you published this post. We have been visiting with family and now we're back at home. How quickly the days fly by! I love your cheerful pot of johnny-jump-ups! And how cool that you have your own flock of pelicans! :)
ReplyDelete