Everyday Wonderment

Most every Saturday morning, I make my way to the Royal Oak Farmers’ Market.  I love going…being there awakens every sense in me.  This week as I walked around, it was these lovely orange carrots that caught my eye – they looked so fresh!  By the time I actually took this photo, several had already been eaten – yum!  They were sweet, tender and crunchy!

You may or may not be a fan of carrots, but if you feel at all inclined, may I suggest you take a trip to your local Farmers’ Market this summer.  Like me, you may get hooked – and the farmers will thank you for buying local!

Today, one thing we can be sure of – each and every day, Monday thru Saturday, no matter the weather, our mail will be delivered to us.  Whether it be a birthday card, a magazine we enjoy, a postcard from a traveling friend, catalogs or bills, all are brought directly to our mailbox.  The mail may be sent from an area close to where we live or we may receive something from the other side of the world.  That is a wonder!

Remember the phrase “the mail must go through”?  Gratefully, it does…

Yesterday, I went out to my garage to get a pot to plant something in.  The one that was the right size, already had some soil in it left from last year and I saw what I thought was a weed growing in it.  When I pulled the “weed” out, near the end of the stem, I discovered an acorn.  What I thought was a weed was actually a baby oak tree that I’ve now re-potted.

I’ve heard weeds referred to as anything you don’t want in your garden and after my experience, I must say, be careful what you call a weed, whether it be in your garden or your life.  It may, in fact, end up being an unexpected treasure, one that you will nurture and love…

Seeing this beautifully crafted wrought iron gate brought back a memory for me from many years ago where at Greenfield Village I watched a blacksmith as he heated metal in a forge until it was red hot and then was able to hammer, bend and cut it.

Although the metal seemed so strong and unbendable, it’s another reminder that with the desire and the proper tools, most anything is possible…

The joys of swinging – feeling the sun and the breeze on your face, the metal chains in your hands, pumping with your legs – legs out, legs in, legs out, legs in.  We pump and pump to get ourselves as high as we want to go.  Like riding a bike, once we learn, we never forget.

No matter how much equipment a playground may have, I still tend to gravitate toward the swings.  We have lots and lots of warm days ahead of us – for some simple fun, find yourself an available swing, and pump away…

A big yellow school bus – you can’t miss it if you’re driving in traffic and there’s one on the road with you, or if it’s coming down a residential street making stops along the way.  The school I attended did not have school buses but I’ve always enjoyed seeing their beautiful yellow color and hearing the sounds of its motor in a neighborhood.

It won’t be long before many schools will be closing for the summer.  Thank you to the school bus drivers who, in all kinds of weather, have transported children from home to school, and back home again…

It’s early May, and trees in Michigan are in all different stages of leafing out.  You can stand in one place and see some trees whose leaves are that new green chartreuse color, others whose leaves are barely open, and still others that don’t show a sign of a leaf yet.

This time is precious, it happens quickly and changes daily – enjoy it now…

Seeing this collection of beautifully used, galvanized metal watering cans gets me thinking — whose hands held the handle and filled it with water to give to a living plant?  Was it used by one person or shared by many – outdoors, indoors, or maybe in a greenhouse?

One can use most any container for watering plants, but there’s something to be said for using a tool that someone else used before you – passing it on – from one hand to another…

Watering cans available at Goldner Walsh Garden & Home

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goldner-Walsh-Garden-Home/98779395970

When asked, plant lovers everywhere are usually happy to share a cutting from one of their mature plants.  The first thing I do when I receive one of these gifts is place it in a glass jar filled with water.  I put the jar on a windowsill where I know I will keep an eye on it, making sure to check the water level, and adding more when it gets low.  You may need to be patient, but in time, roots will emerge.  Note the gracefulness of these roots and their color.  I never knew roots could have color, too.  Once the roots have grown, you can plant the cutting in soil or just enjoy it in the water.  Whichever you choose, it’s the beginning of a new life…

On this brisk April day in Michigan, I was walking near the water’s edge, when along came these two ducks traveling freely next to me in the lake – no ice, no snow – nothing in the way of any of us moving with ease.  For this, we can be grateful…