Yesterday we saw flowers that looked just like these popping out of the ground all along the paths at our favorite park. While most people are posting pictures of crocus, daffodils, cherry blossoms etc., here in Halifax these mysterious things that look a bit like dandelions are the first wildflowers of spring. They may be catsear but I'm not sure. If you happen to know what they are please let me know. Eventually we'll see all the rest - usually over the course of two weeks just before summer hits.
Lately I've been back to bead weaving bracelets. Why, I don't know - perhaps because doing something that's both complex and mechanical is soothing while the rain falls. Now if I could just figure out a way to take consistently decent pictures of them I could show you more. Then again, maybe this is enough:
Meanwhile, I found myself reading some quotes fit for any season by George Carlin. I have, however, left out the rude ones:
Swimming is not a sport. Swimming is a way to keep from drowning. That’s just common sense!
If the Cincinnati Reds were really the first major league baseball team, who did they play?
Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.
Ever notice that anyone going slower than you is an idiot, but anyone going faster is a maniac?
If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.”
The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept.
I put a dollar in a change machine. Nothing changed.
Here’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see: “We are the proud parents of a child who’s self-esteem is sufficient that he doesn’t need us promoting his minor scholastic achievements on the back of our car.”
I love and treasure individuals as I meet them; I loathe and despise the groups they identify with and belong to.
One great thing about getting old is that you can get out of all sorts of social obligations just by saying you’re too tired.
Nobody “owns” anything. When you die, it all stays here.
May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.
♡
In my late teens through early thirties, George was my anti-hero. and I darned near worshiped him. After that he was my role-model. I'm still trying to live up to him.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same, Martha. It's just too bad he never had the opportunity of hosting Meet the Press.
DeleteI'm glad to see the signs of spring in your neck of the woods! Carlin is both wise and funny- thanks for the great quotes. I'm guilty of the practicing the third one from the bottom.
ReplyDeleteAnd your bead weaving is gorgeous, Susan, I so admire your patience with those tiny things. (I suppose you don't have a scanner which might give you very detailed results, if you aren't happy with photos?)
It's pretty strange seeing these little yellow flowers just sticking up out of the bare ground. Soon there'll be mayflowers and forget-me-nots too. Very nice after such a long and harsh winter.
DeleteThanks for your kind words, Marja-Leena. The one here that I managed a decent picture of was made last year. I do have a scanner but scans of them haven't been too satisfactory either. It's ironic I have the patience to make these things but run out of same when it comes to documenting them.
No, Susan, this one picture of one of your bracelets is not enough! That is exquisite work, and, of course, it is art with a message as I would expect from you! I love it.
ReplyDeleteOne of my regrets is that I never saw George Carlin on stage. Therefore, I was grateful to read some of this wit and wisdom once again.
Those little flowers are precious. I want to know what they are too and wonder if they would grow here (doesn't just about anything grow in the Willamette Valley?!). I am glad you are seeing the start of spring. You deserve a beautiful one.
Ah Lydia, I'm delighted you like them enough to want to see more. I just wish they didn't prove so difficult to photograph without the benefit of an expensive little studio set-up. Hopefully, one of these days I'll get the hang of it:)
DeleteI never got to see George Carlin either But I'm happy there are some good videos of his later performances.
Several people have identified the flowers as coltsfoot. They appear to be very invasive once they get going so I'd advise planting a few random daffodils here and there instead. I loved that people had don that all along Terwilliger.
Coltsfoot, I think - see this site http://commonground08.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/plant-of-the-week-coltsfoot/
ReplyDeleteThanks, Vincent! You're right, of course, but I couldn't find them at all until you and another friend told me.
DeleteRobins in my front driveway this morning; there are junco's on the foot of snow that still cover my yard; temperatures are reaching into the fifties and sixties and I can feel the season change though it is not visible - no grass - no crocus yet. I had a visit from crow yesterday; he sat on the branch of the maple tree behind my cabin and looked in my living room window. I am not sure of his destination, but I appreciate his dropping by.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard
Yes, we saw our first robin just a few days ago and there are tiny birds singing in the park (we couldn't see them) that definitely weren't there until now. The grass blades are greening here and there and I saw some crocus in a yard around the corner. Happily, spring is underway.
DeleteCrow did mention having seen you during a recent fly-around of the northeast. He's so lucky he doesn't need a passport or gas money. He was glad to see you both in good health.
Flowers, the sign of spring. At first I thought they are dandelions, but then recognized they are not. Hope you are enjoying your rain; we got a bit of snow, but it didn't last. Fortunately. Though it is a reminder that we get six months of winter on the Prairies (mid-October to mid-April, roughly).
ReplyDeleteI saw Crow yesterday, too. He was coasting along right by my car, and we did have a bit of a chat. But then he became distracted, and well. . . . I guess we all get to that age.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Rainy springs are pretty much the norm around here but we've had enough precipitation in these parts I'd be delighted to share the rest with our friends out west. Even though our winters here aren't quite so long as yours (4-5 months) I do miss the Dec. through Feb. winters we had in Portland. Oh well, there are compensations.
DeleteI wondered where Crow had gone off to yesterday afternoon. He likely got distracted when he remembered I'd be warming his brandy. :)
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteLike the Halifax spring flowers sounds like you’re now well settled there as your home after a few seasons of ups and downs!! Here is another quote to complement your list: Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing.
William James
Best wishes
Thanks, Lindsay, for remembering we're still fairly recent arrivals here on the east coast of Canada. I'll likely always miss the gentle springs of Portland - never mind the profusion of flowers - but Nova Scotia has its benefits.
DeleteI love the comment by William James. It's so true.
It's Huflattich, my dear. :)
ReplyDeleteI like Huflattich - I shall remember it :)
DeleteHa! those were funny. I need all the funny I can get, what with WE have no flowers, just got three inches of snow and I stubbed my toe in the middle of the night while going to the bathroom. But inb the spirit of things I offer
ReplyDeleteJean-Paul Sartre is sitting at a French cafe, revising his draft of Being and Nothingness. He says to the waitress, "I'd like a cup of coffee, please, with no cream." The waitress replies, "I'm sorry, Monsieur, but we're out of cream. How about with no milk?"
It's hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally.
Day 19, I have successfully conditioned my master to smile and write in his book every time I drool.- Pavlov's Dog
The programmer's wife tells him: "Run to the store and pick up a loaf of bread. If they have eggs, get a dozen."
The programmer comes home with 12 loaves of bread.
Lenin's tomb is a communist plot.
An engineer and a physicist are lost in a hot air balloon drifting down a canyon somewhere. While the physicist is trying to use the angle of the sun to figure out how long they have to find help until night falls, the engineer shouts "Hey! Where are we?" A few seconds later, they hear a voice, "you're in a hot air balloon." The physicist then remarks "that must have been a mathematician," "Why?" "Because the answer was both completely correct yet entirely useless"
well, I ain't no Carlin, but like Oscar Wilde said...
".Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about"
I'm sorry you have no flowers and can only hope (under the circumstances) you didn't stub your toe outside on the way to the bathroom.
Delete“Is it solipsistic in here, or is it just me?”
Everybody knows coffee with no milk tastes a lot worse than coffee with no cream.
“A biologist, a chemist, and a statistician are out hunting. The biologist shoots at a deer and misses 5ft to the left, the chemist takes a shot and misses 5ft to the right, and the statistician yells, ‘We got ‘im!’ ”
“Pavlov is sitting at a pub enjoying a pint, the phone rings and he jumps up shouting, ‘Oh shit, I forgot to feed the dog!’ ”
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
― Oscar Wilde
Ha! the Pavlov was great!
DeleteThat was my favorite too.
DeleteWell, yay for flowers of ANY kind and Carlin. I've never seen anything like these strange little gems but am glad there's some color emerging in your world. Speaking of better late than never, your box in again in the mail, after having to be reboxed by husband because i had used the wrong one and it would have cost me $51 to get it to you!! Yikes! Anyway, you should have it by mid-summer! ;)
ReplyDeletexox
These little flowers turn into tall scraggly plants as time goes on and eventually have seed heads that look much like dandelions too (but smaller). Soon there will be mayflowers, raspberry and blackberry blossoms, forget-me-nots and iris in the park too. There are even a couple of very old apple trees right near the beach.
DeleteThat's so nice of you to send me the rose petals. I'm really looking forward to them and I'm sure they'll get here sooner than mid-summer. ((((♡))))
Mail costs are a real problem around here for sure. A first class stamp is now 85 cents if you buy them in a package, but a dollar for just one. Also, they charge by the mile here! Meanwhile, mail delivery is five days a week and may be cut back further. Yeah, they can tell us again about progress and convenience, can't they?
xoxo