"The only religion is kindness." ~Dalai Lama
Reading Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy inspired me to build this teepee structure that serves as a cubby hole once the fragrant Moon Flowers grow up the back sides (see Lovejoy's illustration below). The border of my Moon Garden, which is about three feet on each side of the moon cubby, is lined with Nigella, and Asyllum fills in the rest. Asyllum has a rich, sweet honey fragrance. All three flowers used are white.
"Fragrance is the color of night" ~ Sharon Lovejoy
Angelus puts the Moon Flower seeds in water to soak overnight before planting. 
Welcome to Block's, my favorite greenhouse. 
Try This! I picked out three plant encyclopedias from the library: one on herbs, one on annuals and lastly on perennials. I brought them on my shopping trip for quick reference. My focus today was herbs and perennials, I go back later for annuals and vegetables.
If you could smell my flat, you would smell lemons, apples, and mints.
I asked Angelus what kind of plant would he like to buy, he replied 'A pink one!" and later choose Sea Pink (Armeria Maritima). Rumor has it that you will never be poor as long as you have this plant growing in your garden. Plants that help your bottom line should be taken seriously, so I picked up a white version too called Thrift. Armeria Maritima will feel right at home in my butterfly & hummingbird garden, since they attract them.
Angelus and Trinity run around in the Garden of The Leavened Heart, full of herbs."Henry Ford’s wife, Clara Ford, developed this "Garden of the Leavened Heart" in 1938 as a physical symbol of prayer. To "leaven" means to permeate with a transforming element. Just as bees transform medicinal herbs into sweet honey, so in life when the heart is leavened with compassion, it becomes full of joy. If moved to the center, the combined shapes in the garden would from a perfect circle."
Angelus rides a hand-carved carousel horse, circa 1913."Entering Greenfield Village is like stepping into an 80-acre time machine. It takes you back to the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s past. There are 83 authentic, historic structures, from Noah Webster’s home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, to Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, to the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The buildings and the things to see are only the beginning. There’s the fun stuff, too. In Greenfield Village, you can ride in a genuine Model T or “pull” glass with world-class artisans; you can watch 1867 baseball or ride a train with a 19th-century steam engine. It’s a place where you can choose your lunch from an 1850s menu or spend a quiet moment pondering the home and workshop where the Wright brothers invented the airplane. Greenfield Village is a celebration of people — people whose unbridled optimism came to define modern-day America. "
Preparing my own little patch of Earth for all its botanical potential is to blame for my absence around here. I have lots of exciting things to blog about, but garden beckons!
Inscription: Meiurrie (?) From Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Kirby Christmas and New Years 1876 ~ 1877
max·im [mak-sim]
–noun
1.an expression of a general truth or principle, esp. an aphoristic or sententious one: the maxims of La Rochefoucauld.
2.a principle or rule of conduct.
"A man who consumes more than he earns, is guilty of robbery."
"Keep your children at home as much, and together, and long as it possible for you to do it. No better plan can be devised for enabling a household to grow up loving and being loved in all its members"
"If you are well, let yourself alone."
After:
The long wood tray holds printing paper. Pens and scissors are caged under the monitor. The small wicker basket is a charging station for phones and camera, I just pulled the cords through the weaving in back of the basket. A Big basket on top to put the mail.
There's really no putting this in order, it's beautiful chaos. All kinds of fun stuff like tickets, invatations and certificates. That's not the kind of energy I want to trap, it's better to flow free. 
Here's a neat idea I came up with, this tin box holds votive candles and a lighter. You know how it is, at least once a week you read an online request for prayers and energy to be sent to someone in need. Now I can immediately stand up and light a candle in their honor.
One of my favorite places on Earth is Magina Books. I used to stop in sometimes on my way home from from high school in Lincoln Park (longer ago than I care to admit); it was smack dab in the middle of my route. Plenty of afternoons where spent walking home and reading, it was very "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. ::snicker:: This place is an institution for me, it's were I found my first books on metaphysics, witchcraft and esoteric religions. Not to mention some of my favorite V.C. Andrews and Stephen King novels were discovered on these shelves.
Allow me to set the scene. Unlike Borders and modern bookstore chains that smell sweet and caffeinated, Magina books smells old and sacred, like a mummy's tomb. Musty and fibrous aromas entrance you while Haydn's String Quartets lull you through the tight spaces. Every inch is a new adventure and time period. The charm of an old book store is not so much finding the latest best seller, but the mystery of never knowing what to expect. Check back later for a view at my latest acquisition!
"Surprises, like misfortunes, seldom come alone." Oliver Twist
Raven, Kelly, Me, Kenny, Luna, Moonstone.
(Not pictured: Jocelyn, Meave, Hex, Amanda)
Take a fresh and crispy egg roll from Chinese take-out and tear off one end. 
I'm brother Joe is finally back in the U.S. after finishing his second tour in Iraq! He is still on-base in Texas right now, but will be back home for good this summer. We've all missed him dearly, most especially his wife and kids. It's going to be great having him home again. My thanks goes out to him and all the soldiers who put their lives on the line for us, often for reasons we don't understand. I hope it's for the greater good and give my continued love and support to our soldiers. There are many more soldiers still in the desert, may they all come home to their family's safe and be as blessed and lucky as our family is to have Joe back.
What a goober.
I wish my ideas equaled in size to the amount of Earth I actually own.
Worm hunting.
I ♥ Yellow.
OOhhh. Ahhhh.
Poor Ruby. Have I ever told you about Angelus' ear fetish? As you can see he is a thumb sucker, but look closely and you'll see he is an ear holder too. He will hold his own ear if no one else is around, but his preference is to suck his thumb while holding someone elses ear. My ear, Daddy's ear, even Twilight's and Ruby's ear. Perfectly weird.
As promised! This was a Saturday Night Special with the Ya-Ya's. Basically I had to throw something together with the liquor I had on hand. It's 1 part Raspberry Pucker, 1 part Triple Sec, 1 part Rum and 3 parts Club Soda. I'm naming it "Perky".
THE gentian weaves her fringes,
The maple's loom is red.
My departing blossoms
Obiate parade.
A brief, but patient illness,
An hour to prepare;
And one, below this morning,
Is where the angels are.
It was a short procession,--
The bobolink was there,
An aged bee addressed us,
And then we knelt in prayer.
We trust that she was willing,--
We ask that we may be.
Summer, sister, seraph,
Let us go with thee!
In the name of the bee
And of the butterfly
And of the breeze, amen!
A little peak...The awesome winners are getting lots of bits and bobs like rosemary and lavender to start a Practical Magic garden, the previously explored HooDoo paraphernalia, little faces of bone, some Kentucky coal, along with lots of little surprises. Some of them quite random (you can never have too much duct tape). Can't wait till next year!
Angelus leaves his 
