In Praise of Idleness Drawings 59 and 60
December 13, 2016
In Praise of Idleness Drawings 6 and 7
November 1, 2016
Words from today’s pages: “The ‘contemplative habit of mind’, which makes the pursuit of such knowledge [valued for its own sake] possible, requires an idleness in which individuals become lighthearted, playful and able to engage in freely chosen activities, which are at the same time constructive and satisfying.”
— Howard Woodhouse, from the Introduction to In Praise of Idleness
Intensely Ordinary
October 18, 2015
Last of the Zinnias at Jello Mold Farm
October 11, 2015
“In any careless combination they delight.
Pure peach-cheek beside the red of boiled beet
by the perky scarlet of a cardinal by flamingo pink
by sunsink orange by yellow from a hundred buttercups
by bleached linen white. Any random armful
of the world, one comes to feels, would fit together.”
— from “A Bouquet of Zinnias” by Mona Van Duyn
I love how Van Duyn’s poem celebrates the brilliant multi-colored pageantry of the zinnia flower. As summer fades to fall, the tenacity of this flower means that we will enjoy their splashes of color when other summer blossoms are spent. The poem is brought to life in the zinnia beds at Jello Mold Farm.
“How tough they are, how bent on holding their flagrant
freshness, how stubbornly in their last days instead
of fading they summon an even deeper hue
as if they intended to dry to everlasting,
and how suddenly, heavily, they hang their heads at the end.”
— from “A Bouquet of Zinnias” by Mona Van Duyn
Contemplating the Beautiful Things (Like Colorful Zinnias)
October 3, 2015
Jello Mold Farm in October
October 13, 2013
On my recent trip to the Skagit Valley, I stopped in at Jello Mold Farm to see what was happening in the flower beds. Not surprisingly, they were harvesting decorative pumpkins and gourds, but their dahlias were still blooming, too (in great numbers).
I love the fall color palette with its golden yellows and rich, jewel-like purples and reds.
The ‘Queen Lime’ zinnias are still some of my favorites.
And I like to see what other unusual floral fixings catch my eye.
The compost heaps grow large at the end of the peak growing season, an emblem of these plants’ life cycles and regeneration.
The Earth at Jello Mold Farm Laughs in Flowers
July 23, 2013
“The earth laughs in flowers.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
— Claude Monet
There was so much to see at Jello Mold Farm at this time of year. It’s a busy time for flower growers. These Skagit Valley flower fields were bursting with exuberance and beauty. Zinnias, dahlias, sunflowers, bee balm . . . they all shout “summer!”
And always, flower gardens remind me of time passing . . . for everything there is a season.
Zinnias in Art
September 23, 2012
I came across this Mary Cassatt portrait, which features a red zinnia. That was inspiration enough to try my hand at painting one (which ended up being two).
Eye-Popping Zinnias
September 22, 2012
Zinnias
by Valerie Worth
Zinnias, stout and stiff,
Stand no nonsense: their colors
Stare, their leaves
Grow straight out, their petals
Jut like clipped cardboard,
Round, in neat flat rings.
Even cut and bunched,
Arranged to please us
In the house, in water, they
Will hardly wilt—I know
Someone like zinnias; I wish
I were like zinnias.
— from All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
These brilliantly colored zinnias are gracing the parking strip of a neighbor’s home. Aren’t they amazing!