February 5, 2011

This week found us in the throws of a blizzard. The first blizzard we have had for quite a few years. Nature's wrath is still wrapped in the same mystique that it was when I was a child! There is something majestic about a blizzard and the control it still can hold over mankind. I have found that it is so much easier to give in to Mother Nature than to try to fight against her power.

Thus I stayed in the house for two days and slowed my world and regaled in the beauty of her power. I enjoyed the quiet and the seclusion from all the world's woes for two days and sat transfixed by the beauty of the storm. Oh what little power mankind really has.


During the respite I found this humorous take on American Gothic! Winter can be maddening for those who fight her. Try having a sense of humor when the snow lays deep on the landscape. It will make the days until springtime arrives, pass more swiftly and indeed more pleasantly.

The Lovely Month of May

May is just around the corner and with it comes one of my favorite little known holidays in the U.S. May Day. I have observed the tradition of May Day since I was a small child. I always make a point to make four or five homemade May baskets and fill them with candy and flowers for some unsuspecting friends. On May 1 at dusk I take the homemade May baskets and hang them on the doors of my friends, ring the bell, and rush off before I am detected.

Some of my May basket recipients are elderly widows who live alone and I watch from an undetected station as they are pleasantly surprised to see the basket hanging on their doors brimming with flowers. I also always give a couple of baskets to neighborhood children who are not as enamored with the flowers, but are always happy to see the candy that is tucked into the basket. They are also usually giggling and wondering who left them the colorful basket on their door knob.

Of course if anyone asks----I know nothing of the enterprise. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised in turn by a basket on my door as well. My niece who is now grown sends me a bouquet of flowers every year on May day in place of the May basket she would make if she were nearby.

Our grandmother got us started making May baskets each year and it is well worth the effort. It is one of those simple pleasure that is bound to give a whole lot of enjoyment for a brief moment or two to someone you know.

If you have never made a May basket----this is the year to start. Bake a few cookies, some brownies or some store bought candy and place it into your basket and then cover the contents with a lovely spray of seasonal flowers. It can be as simple as violets, lilacs, daffodils or forsythia---all are plentiful now. Map out your destinations and carry out the route at dusk.
You will be pleasantly surprised at how much fun this can be. May first is upon us----get ready and have a little fun!

Initial and Final Blog

The initial and final blog for this class can be found at the following blog address:

http://www.undertheshadeoftheoaks.blogspot.com