Artist

Alexander Averin

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Gardens and Blogs



Grandmother's Garden by June Dudley


And when thou art weary, I'll find thee a bed of mosses
and flowers to pillow thy head...
John Keats


Dear Diary,
 
Finish each day and be done with it.  You have done what you could.  Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely.

Ralph Waldo Emerson.


I had a wasted weekend;  Saturday I had an horrendous migraine and had to come home from work; Sunday I had the migraine ‘hangover’ which any fellow sufferer will identify with, that feeling of utter weakness and slight shakiness.

Yesterday morning I was determined to play catch-up and in spite of still feeling a bit on the weak side I donned my gardening togs and spent a very happy couple of hours in the garden - just pottering really, which is one of my favourite pastimes, indoors or out, (please excuse the garden pun there). I also did quite a bit of the never-ending chore that is weeding.  It was very warm yesterday, today it is still very warm but we have had rain - constant rain - that started off so very lightly this morning and now, this evening, is falling heavily. I hope we are not going to have the same weather  we had last year when it rained throughout July and August.  As I am typing this I am watching the river which has taken on a lightish brown tinge and is rising quite quickly.  I pray it won’t flood….

A garden is a bit like a blog, it needs attention every day and much pleasure is gained if you receive positive comments about its appearance or its content.  Both require constancy (I love that word so had to slip it in), hard work, imagination and both benefit from new ideas.  Both require the weeding out of the unnecessary, the unintended or the unattractive.  Both mature with time, they may change direction, stop and start, have growth spurts, parts may die or disappear.  With any luck blossoming occurs.

We like to visit other people’s gardens and a lot of us also visit other folk’s blogs. We may have favourites; many are beautifully designed, are highly original or quirky, we are often moved to make comments, we get ideas, we learn such a lot and we are often inspired.  We may or may not stick to the rules of grammar or the rules of horticulture but we respond to our own moods, to those of the weather or the season, all can affect our practice.  Both can bring rewards; a feeling of satisfaction and achievement and sometimes even a healing of some kind.  Just as writing can be a therapy for the soul so can spending time outdoors in nature working  with the soil and with plants.

Of course both are creative pursuits and seeds are sown which with due care should bring fruit.  However I suppose the difference is that if I gave up tending my garden it would very soon take on a life of its own but with Mother Nature as ever the one in charge but if I gave up posting here my blog would rapidly fade away into obscurity. ……
 
But I’m not planning to do give up either just yet.

Bye for now,
Go mbeannai Dia duit,
Cait



14 comments:

Molly said...

Another lovely post Cait. I think you've about said it all. Do hope that horrible migraine has away and left. Blogging and gardening do so many things. When I am hurting, gardening - even just weeding is so therapeutic and as for blogging - for me - it's opened up a world of new and very special friends who've become so much part of my world.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I'm very glad to hear you have no plans to stop, for your word "garden" is one of my favourites! And I'm so very sorry to hear about your migraine. I was a sufferer for many years. There's nothing so painful.

ds said...

Beautifully said, Cait. I love your use of "constancy." Thank you.

Frances said...

Cait, you had me a bit worried for a minute or three. Very glad to read that you will carry on pottering and weeding your garden, and that this marvelous blog of your will continue to appear.

Hoping that the rain will cease and that the river will return to normal. I do remember your posts about the flooding.

xo

jane said...

Lovely blog Cait I am sure you speak for many of us - guess what my favourite past- times gardening - dog walking - and of course blogging

The bike shed said...

Migraine; hideous. I just want to sleep when they come on. So you did well by the sound of things

Irish Eyes said...

Heartfelt sympathies on the migraines, suffered for years and then they just disappeared...don't even contemplate giving up blogging; we cannot loose you! I love the line from Yeats, it is one of my favourites and so apt for so many things in everyday life.

There is something about a garden that just lends itself to a blog when the labours of the day are done, it is an inspirational "chore" that makes life so much better.

Lovely blog, but then when did you ever put up a bad one?

Marcheline said...

I agree - about the gardening and the blogging!

Don't you hate it when you have a surge of blogging energy, and you write some really cool stuff, and it seems like all your blog readers have gone on vacation without notice? Or maybe they're reading it and not commenting, thus depriving you of the small satisfaction of reaction? (rhyme alert)

My assessment: Gardening is more rewarding in the summer and blogging is more rewarding in the winter.

8-)

Posie said...

Migraines are so horrible, glad you are through the worst of yours and how healing to have a day in the garden. A lovely comparison. I left my blog for a good while and it did fade away sadly, hopefully with careful nurturing I will be able to get it back on track again. Love the words and picturs as always Cait, I haven't had much chance to listen to the music lately as I too have been so busy outdoors. x

Fennie said...

Migraines are hell. I don't suffer from them now, luckily, but Elder Daughter does still. Very sad. Still at least with a migraine you know you exist.

Which is why, I suppose we blog: to know we exist - so that people can comment which it's always very pleasant to do - and so tell us that we exist. Do gardens tell us we exist? I suppose they do. Would you make one on a desert island. Yes, I think I would. Though perhaps I'd spend more time blogging than gardening. But what would be the equivalent. Would I scratch a message on a piece of birch bark with a quill and ink made from a toadstool and put it in a bottle (though where do stranded desertisland folk ever find their bottles?) It's when you call and there's no echo that you doubt your existence, though a message in a bottle would be a mighty slow echo.

CAMILLA said...

So sorry for being here late Cait,just catching up. Do hope that your migraines have gone, migraines are horrid. Would be sad to think that we would not be able to see your blogs Cait, each and every one of them are a gem, full of beautiful pictures and writing that they cannot help but cheer us.

Gardening is so theraputic, when I am having a bad day just doing some weeding helps clear away the blues.

Love the little picture of Grandma's Garden Cait and it's verse.

xx

CAMILLA said...

Another wonderful post Cait, so sorry I am here late, just trying to catch up.

I cannot imagine not being able to read your posts Cait, they are filled with such beautiful pictures and writing, real gems, they always cheer me.

When I am having a bad day, doing some weeding in the gardens always seem to help brush away the blues, so theraputic.

Do hope you are feeling better after the bouts of those horrid migraines Cait.

Love your picture of Grandma's Garden and Verse Cait.

xx

CAMILLA said...

Hope you were able to see my messages here Cait.?

xx

FireLight said...

I have been reading and catching up on your blog here. I have enjoyed Springteen and Paul Simon and all the fabulous quotes about libraries...love the Walter Cronkite. Don't you even dare to give up this blog! Where else can I find wisdom and Paul Henry and the 7 year old Monet and a garden full of fairy folk? Love it!
Wishing you NO MORE HEADACHES!