Happy Earth Day

I was puttering on my balcony today, talking to my plants and herbs and re-potting a holly tree I gave my husband at his birthday request. She's a lovely lass. So many of the blogs I follow were lamenting the tardiness of Spring this year. So I want to share a glimpse of things to come, from my little corner of the earth. They make me happy and I hope tending them makes earth happy.

Rosemary made it through the winter and is bigger and more beautiful than ever. She's on tonight's roasted potatoes.

These open in the sun and close at night or when sun goes in. My neighbor loves that!

We're harvesting herbs daily. Dill on tomatoes with fresh mozzarella is my favorite. Mint, which made it through the winter well, goes in the sun tea. Celery is about to become soup stock.

The lavender made it through the winter as well and is thriving again. Hot peppers next to it then jasmine.

This is called rucola here and I put it on my sandwich or salad every day, also yummy on pizza.

Gardenia laden with buds before it blooms.

Holly, the lovely new family member, She'll fill up that corner nicely. Did you know holly can be male or female? Maybe I'll get her some company.

…Ah, to understand how to bloom: then would the heart be carried beyond all milder dangers, to be consoled in the great one.

Rilke

from: "How to Bloom"

What green things are you doing today?

Rain Forest Flowers

Here are just a few of the flowers I've met along the way in Trinidad, some on hikes in the rain forest, some in my daughter's yard and some in a friend's garden (thank you Bunty and Rory). 

It's a beautiful time of year in the Caribbean. 

Please enjoy...

Croton

Another color of Croton

Clerodendron:

Butterfly lilly:

French kiss:

Locally known as the Snake plant:

 Red ginger:

Oxalis:

Agouma:

No one knew the name for this:

Costus sp., known locally as the penis plant:

Chaconia, Trinidad's national flower:

Poinsettia:

Heliconia; known locally as Sexy pink:

Aphelandra sinclairiana:

Angel's trumpet:

Orchid (they grow wild all through the rain forest):

Anthurium:

Ixora:

Crown of thorns:

Hibiscus:

Having my camera always with me this trip has kept my eyes open in a new way to this environment. 

It's been a visual feast for me. What's catching your eye these days?

"One tiny spot of beauty..."

Friends, we are traveling together.

Throw off your tiredness. Let me show you

one tiny spot of the beauty that cannot be spoken.

I am like an ant that has gotten into the granary,

ludicrously happy, and trying to lug out

a grain that is way too big.
(Rumi)

I follow Ruth's blog, Rumi Days, which posts a Rumi poem each day. I've come to look forward to the inspiration I find there. I had taken some photos today about the small pleasures gathered on my balcony and this part of a Rumi poem seemed perfect as the lead in.

My balcony is a tiny spot of beauty. I feel happy there. Here's what I'm grateful for today:


Roses from my rose bush. It was a gift from my neighbor. It continues to give beauty and lovely scent.



Geraniums and begonias in pink, red, coral,
blooming boldly in the warm Italian sun.

Strawberries,

sweet and red,

delicious

on my cereal.








Tomatoes growing on the plant that was barely 6 inches high when I planted it. I went away for a week and they were just marble sized beginners. When I watered them today, I was surprised how they've grown and how many there are.


If you can't tell, growing my own veggies is entirely new and such a kick for me!





The soft evening light on my current favorite view from the balcony.

It's an ancient stone house on a hill surrounded by fields, vineyards, olive groves.

This vista fills me with peace.




Thanks for letting me show you my tiny spot of beauty. I hope it brings you happiness as well.

To Bee or Not To Bee

I was sitting and watching bees loving my lavender plant. At any one time I saw 6-8 bees swooning (as I do) over these fabulous blooms. Look closely and you'll see them. Then I read that bees are in trouble.

I hesitate to bring this up just now since it's day 36 of a major oil spill, but in my little corner of the world, the bees are dying by the millions. Their dying is signaling woe for the environment because they are sentinels of the environment, much like butterflies and fireflies. They are extremely delicate and will not adapt to a negative environment. They are being killed by a virulent new generation of pesticides that are also, alas, longer-lasting. Bees don't survive contact with these toxic substances and die before they reach their hive.

Why be alarmed? Because bees are flower feeding insects. They are beneficial since they produce honey and beeswax and they are essential in pollinating flowers. They have a symbiotic, life-giving relationship with the plants.

Do you know that bees communicate with each other by dancing? Or that worker bees (females) must visit over 4,000 flowers to make just a tablespoon of honey? Honey bees are social bees and live in colonies (not all bees do). The males are called drones and basically sit around and wait to mate with the queen bee. My husband thinks that's cool.

So I went from admiring these industrious bees who live their lives amongst the flowers and use dancing as a language to feeling really distressed at how much harm our species is doing to theirs. My husband said that if the bees died out, life as we know it would end. If people died out, all other life would thrive. How sad is that? How can we turn this around?