Oh my goodness, the end of May!

It just seems impossible to think that

 5 months of 2014 have already passed.

I know that all of a sudden it will be

 mid-August, then Halloween and finally

Christmas !    But for now I will look 

forward to the month of June and all

it's glories.   Please join me.

PEONY TIME !

For a real treat CLICK HERE  to visit 

my friend Debbi's blog and fabulous post 

on PEONIES !

Here is one of her gorgeous photos ....

Apple Blossom Time

 Apple blossoms with bee.

~~~ I'll be with you in apple blossom time
I'll be with you to change your name to mine

One day in May, I'll come and say
Happy surprise that the sun shines on today

What a wonderful wedding there will be

What a wonderful day for you and me

Church bells will chime
You will be mine in apple blossom time

I'll be with you, when?

 In apple blossom time
Then what will you do?
Then, I'll be with you to change

 your name to mine
When will that be?
One day maybe in May
Then what will you do?
I'll come and say to you dear
Happy surprise that the sun shines on today

Then what a wonderful wedding there will be

One day in May
What a very, very wonderful day for

 you and me dear
Church bells will chime
You will be mine, when? In apple, in apple blossom time. ~~~

  (I'll Be With You) In Apple Blossom Time was written by Albert Von Tilzer and lyricist Neville Fleeson in 1920.

Make one person happy each day and in forty years you have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time at least.  

 From The Book of Good Cheer. 1911

Apple Blossom Seashells

Baby Apple Blossom Fairy

In the morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present,---"I am rising to the work of a human being." 

 ~~~ Marcus Aurelius

Full Flower Moon and Enchanting Planet Earth

The Flower Moon of May is sometimes referred to as the Corn Planting Moon because corn is ready to plant.  Other full moon names include the Hare Moon and the Milk Moon.

When it warms up here at the Cottage

 we have large gnats called Lake County gnats, a type of midge.  They measure 

about 3/4 of an inch wide and resemble  a mosquito, making a high pinch buzz and really annoying if one gets  inside the house.   They only live long enough to mate and lay their eggs....usually within a week or can die within a day too.  But since there are thousands of them in swarms they always seem to be around.  They appear at dusk.   Fortunately they don't bite.

Image from tierraadentronm.org

I just found an enlightening video I wanted to share with you about astronauts and their profound experiences (The Overview effect) after viewing planet Earth from space.  It is 19 minutes long, but worth every minute, especially around 3:45 into it.   The images are simply incredible.  To watch (and please do)  CLICK HERE  

Image from earthobservatory.nasa.gov  

The Overview effect is a cognitive shift in awareness reported by some astronauts and cosmonauts during spaceflight, often while viewing the Earth from orbit or from the lunar surface.  It refers to the experience of seeing firsthand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, "hanging in the void", shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. From space, the astronauts tell us, national boundaries vanish, the conflicts that divide people become less important, and the need to create a planetary society with the united will to protect this "pale blue dot"  becomes both obvious and imperative.  From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_effect

For more info Overview Institute

~~~~~~~~~~

What was most significant about the lunar voyage was not that men set foot on the moon, but that they set eye on the earth.

--- Norman Cousins

FOXGLOVES

O Solitude! if I must with thee dwell,

Let it not be among the jumbled heap

Of murky buildings: climb with me the steep,-

Nature's observatory-whence the dell,

In flowery slopes, its river's crystal swell,

May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep

'Mongst boughs pavilioned, 

where the deer's swift leap

Startles the wild bee from the foxglove bell.

But though I'll gladly trace these scenes 

with thee,

Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,

Whose words are images of thoughts refined,

Is my soul's pleasure; and it sure must be

Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,

When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

--- John Keats

My 4 foxgloves I planted last year (there's a yellow one on the left side not seen) finally blooming this year !   I would love to have a long flower bed with these along the back.

Foxgloves in a Mendocino garden.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

I bless and celebrate all mothers.  

A mother's love is strong.  It protects and comforts, nurtures and forgives.  It is uplifting, supportive and unconditional.  A mother's love begins before birth and continues without end.  It is an expression of the Divine.

--- Today's Daily Word May 11, 2014

A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. ~Victor Hugo

My Mother and me.

HAPPY MAY DAY!

All is of God that is, or is to be,
And God is good.
--- John G. Whittier