Middle of June already! We had the coldest May ever, that’s as far as I can remember. The weather really cheated us this year in Ontario. April had some wonderful days, very warm, very promising, just the right weather for planting, and so I did. The unusually cold May almost wiped out all my efforts. Certainly, some plants can withstand fairly harsh conditions, but not all. I doubt cucumbers will be doing well this year again because last year they really suffered of the frequently changing weather.
I am planting potatoes in pots this year. Nothing compares taste-wise to your own grown potato. I am a potato person, always have been, that’s pretty much my bread. My potato plants are getting bigger by the day, it looks like they will be blooming very soon.
My gardening space which I have reclaimed from the park is small. Large trees give a lot of shadow and their roots run far beyond the foliage. Therefore, I plant lots of vegetables and flowers in pots, that’s easy, no weeds, no plant illnesses, and you can change their location at any time. Therefore, yes, numerous pots are getting nicer by the day.
This year, peonies are blooming like never before. They come in different colors and shapes, but it feels like I have fragrant peony clouds floating around. The pink plain ones are nice, too, thanks to their bright color and beautifully shaped petals.
Last year was not very pleasing because of my health issues. It’s not that painless this year also, but I am very stubborn, and I always do whatever I have intended. I don’t want to feel sorry for myself and do nothing. However, I definitely need some relaxing breaks.
What’s better than taking them in this fantastic huge backyard? I’ve told before, it’s actually a very large private park and in the middle of town at that. Therefore, I have wildflowers and wild berries.
Everything strives to bloom, so much wild energy out there and some of it is absorbed by me.
It was plus 19 degrees Celsius during the last week of winter. To be honest, I cannot recall when the end of winter has been so warm and sunny. Brilliant blue sky stretched over us, there was no wind, birds waking up, chirping, getting go with their spring songs. Pure pleasure after the long and nasty winter we had in Canada this year. Well, and it’s cold, rainy and not spring-like today with winds folding the tall trees in half.
Therefore, I make myself cozy. Actually, the first thing my grandson said when he entered our place after arriving from Europe for Christmas was: it’s so cozy and beautiful here! That refers to numerous paintings on our walls and the all-winter blooming room plants since the furniture is scarce and very functional. Cozy has always meant a lot for me.
Small spaces are great to live in, except one has to be extremely organized and conscious about everything which I am. It isn’t complicated: you always put everything back into place where it belongs. That also means that absolutely everything has its place. Watching how people manage that over many decades, I have come to conclusion that this skill comes from early childhood.
My background is so different from what people born in Canada or in the States have experienced! It was such time, and it was such place where my life started that you probably wouldn’t be envious. I had about 2 toys – one blue truck and one doll, a large one. I spent my time mostly on my own because we didn’t have daycares or nursery schools. However, I had numerous fantastically illustrated children’s books, and that is where my first inspiration for art comes from.
I was very often outdoors exploring the neighborhood. The closest farmhouse was about 1.5 km away. We had fields and pastures all around, one narrow road leading to the main road which was gravel at that time. The closest small town to which I walked since I was 6, was about 3 km away. Yes, we walked it when the snow was up to my waistline, or during rain, wind, heat. Mom rode a bike to work; dad had a motorcycle. They worked 6 days a week, long hours, too.
My sister is 4 years younger, so it took a while since she could join me playing. Playing I wasn’t a lot. I got my only doll for watching the small calf we had. My best friend was a wonderful dog we had; he accompanied me during exploration walks and saved from a snakebite once. I was weaving baskets with my grandmother, when I was about 6 years old, helping in the huge garden, picked berries, raked leaves, helped cooking. I also learned to recognize all wild and garden plants around this time. That included wild flowers which I literally adored.
I was the one sewing dresses for dolls later, building toy houses, building small toy apartments with all furniture and everything that belongs. I used simple materials which were in the shed and whatever I found useful. Sister could play with my creations since I liked to make things and not play. I drew an ABC which taught my sister reading way better than the usual ABCs which were available. I always created what I needed since you couldn’t buy anything at the store. I was always a teacher from a young age.
Great advantage of my childhood was that we never used or needed any medications, just herbal tea here and there. Well, there weren’t actually any drugstores around either. All food we consumed was grown and produced by ourselves. Once again, you could buy hardly anything at the store. Up to this day, I don’t like chocolate or ice cream too much, in fact, I rarely eat them, just a tiny bit on rare occasions. It’s also so that this ice cream doesn’t come close to the natural ice cream of my childhood.
So, from very early on, I learned what is cozy, what is nicely organized and clean. I dare saying that many of our habits which either disturb us or help us, come from early childhood. That refers to not only always keeping our space clean and neat, but also to our eating habits. I still don’t drink Cola or Pepsi since I never had them until I arrived in Canada at the age of almost 50. Basically, you cannot like what you never had access to.
Cozy for me is warm, welcoming and comfortable environment, not necessarily luxury and over the top appliances and the likes. Cozy is the fantastic energy which comes from my original art. Cozy is plants – blooming or just having green leaves. Cozy is an amazing book, hot tea or coffee and homemade food. Food which doesn’t make one sick but is made with love so one feels it in every bite.
I wish you a fantastic spring! Maybe we will need less cozy now and more outdoorsy energy. All of that is wonderful. The snowdrops are in bloom, and daffodils are sprouting.
It’s time to pick up myself and get out of the wintery lethargy. It feels today that we are definitely getting closer to spring. It’s like waking up from an extremely long snooze. I didn’t enjoy winter even as a kid. It is tolerable until Christmas, but when the days are so bleak, dull and grey, I have no desire to do anything. I still painted, spring especially, and read numerous books.
Generally, I am like a tree. I shed my beautiful leaves in the fall, with huge regret so, I must say, and I am overwhelmed by the dread of the nearing winter. At this moment, end of February, I am starting to feel that life juices will be running through limbs soon. Once the buds start to open it’s not long till the first leaves and blooms come. Then it’s up to maturity and harvest in the last warm sunshine. That’s my natural cycle of the year.
While this place where we reside isn’t very suitable for growing anything indoors, I do that nevertheless. There are plants which do fairly well and even very well in half-light. Some plants can survive without any direct light. I do love my African violets; they have a small extra space at the South looking window. It’s a tiny space, but enough for my violets. The purple one is 20 years old. Isn’t that amazing?
What do I want from life at the moment? More stability and predictability, less worries, less pain. What happens to the huge goals? Well, I have come to conclusion that doing one’s best is definitely enough. My goals are very realistic; sell more paintings, give more art classes, make a decent living out of that. That’s within my reach and pretty much happening already.
All the best and thanks for visiting my blog which was left unattended for a while!
That’s for sure, I always come back. I wrote these verses about 5 years ago, but it’s a suitable moment, and I decided to publish them. While this year hasn’t brought much pleasure, I am better now, and, therefore, doing a few things which I still assume as being important for me.
The attraction of WordPress for me was always the ability to interact with other bloggers and people, who appreciate what one writes, paints, has discovered and deems meaningful enough to present their fruit of creation to others. It seems, at least from my art website, I won’t see what other bloggers post because there was no Reader. I see the eyeglasses which indicate the Reader only on this blog. It might work, and it might not.
Anyway, the weather is telling us that fall storms and chilly winds will take over here soon. Leaves are falling already, I must admit, that’s early for Ontario. We haven’t had any bright colors yet, and I suppose, that’s still ahead. I am quite happy to be back and sharing my thoughts again. I certainly posted on my art website also, and you get there from the sidebar of this blog where I list the most recent posts.
I hope my poetical writing or poems describe better what I am feeling and what I am up to. Yes, it’s a new awakening, a new cycle in the newer ending renewal of everything and everybody that lives. I’ve been absent for a moment, but that is what happens in this life. It can be very kind to you at some moment and turn the nasty side to you in another moment.
Well, please, read the poems, please try to feel what I am feeling and maybe that inspires you also not only to write something, but planting a garden also.
Getting older is like watching seasons change – late fall can be quite tolerable and even enjoyable at times. The last of golden days will be gone tomorrow. It’s very obvious why poetic people like the slight melancholy which comes with the decreasing sunlight and everything becoming grey. Less and less color, until the white of snow covers up all struggles and dirt.
We often live in waiting – waiting for Christmas, waiting for the New Year which might bring something better, waiting for spring, for time when everything becomes perfect, waiting for wedding, waiting for kids to grow up – endlessly. Quite often the waiting is more satisfying than the actual event. Quite often the beauty is in the fact that all good things come with waiting. On the due time.
Nobody is waiting for old age. Lots of people see it as a dread and disaster. However, if you are privileged to experience it, you should be already happy. As somebody who’s spent many decades researching medical issues and finding out how absurdly complex each one of us is, I often wonder how we just slide over and past all diseases and cure what’s curable. I wonder how we still are with all what’s happening around.
Old age is wise and knows what we tried to figure out many decades ago. There’s so much we learn over our lifetime! Consciously or subconsciously, we are aware of what’s ahead. Many books mention how somebody feels scared and old when they are 40 or 50. No need. In my experience 50-60 is a fantastic time. The saying “If youth knew, if age could” is attributed to quite a few wise men. I don’t care who said that, but that briefly descries how we evolve and, regretfully, are unable to carry out what we know is necessary when we reach really old age which I haven’t yet.
I knew this quote always, cannot remember from where, but I recall it here and there. Therefore, I don’t think people around 20 – 30 can be experts. In science or their occupation, sure, in life – no way. Things change drastically, and only decades later we realize what we did right and what were the crucial life-changing mistakes. No point suffering from regrets. Everything becomes experience – every step, every discovery, every loss and gain. I love myself just as much as when I was younger. I’m looking forward to many more years, I’d love to spend this time just as my parents lived – busy, always doing something, always staying firmly on the Earth.
Wishing you good transition into late fall and early winter!
If I were a musician, I’d put it in tunes. I’m an artist, so I use colors.
My mom was October – colorful, sunny and windy with splashes of rain, putting abundance of harvest on our table. She was talented and wise. October is always my mom’s birthday for me.
Old age isn’t a disaster or bad news. Old age has learned what tolerance means. Old age is forgiving, wise and understanding. Old age knows how to distinct between superficial show-off and true love.
Not all of us are privileged to experience it, but the ones who are, should treat it simply as part of our life cycle.
Wishing everybody fantastic October, the season of poets and artists!
I usually write when slight sadness overcomes me, when I get to think about the unforgiving flow of time. We can reverse and mend many things, but what time has taken, never returns.
Happiness is a rare moment when everything falls into place. It doesn’t require extra words. It either is or it isn’t. No point in verbalizing such moments.
This summer was really bad. Mostly, due to the weather and insufficient portable air conditioner. Heat and extreme moisture caused a lot of physical pain. I cannot also neither write, nor paint when I am drenched in sweat. No normal human can or wants to do something when they feel exhausted, tired and off. Therefore, I didn’t even try. Not a big loss.
I would love the early fall to linger on a bit longer. Finally, it feels like it should have felt during the summer. Plants are still growing, flowers still blooming, huge tomato harvest this year. I don’t think I want to make preserves, but there are definitely too many tomatoes to consume right away.
I use time as well as I can. The older we get, the more we understand how fragile and delicate everything is. Losing days to pain is not what we intend to do, so, the only way to conquer pain means we push ourselves more, grow stronger still and use more efficiently the extremely beneficial things around us: fresh air, great, natural food, outdoor walks and keep busy working and creating.
Wishing everybody good fall season and pleasant weather!
We moved so swiftly from March to June, that I had no time to post anything. Well, I should have. Once the interruption happens, it feels more difficult to get back on track. And it’s hot now. Tough to sit at computer all soaked in sweat. It’s also so that this season has it all: garden work and planting, putting seeds in soil, straightening out the living space you name it. Although, I suffer from chronic pain for 30 years now, I cannot recall when the pain has been so persistent. I’ve kept pain under control for most of the time, but now, it is really interrupting the daily activities. Nevertheless, I go out there and do what’s necessary.
The daily things
I’m somebody who’s very realistic about everything, I don’t live in illusions and hopes, but tackle the things which come at hand. Some days are extraordinary fantastic when I simply cannot stay away from my garden and park. At the moment, we are getting smoke from the wildfires, therefore, it’s better not to be outdoors. Garden isn’t doing anything great yet, but many plants have come up. Want your veggies to last and produce well? Start from seeds, better yet, your own seeds. My favorites are tomatoes, Bell peppers, zucchinis, cucumbers and all herbs. Basically, I prefer meals with very few ingredients, and these vegetables fit the bill.
What I value in blog
Yesterday, Jetpack sent a notification that AI assistant is available. Well, apparently, there’s a need to polish everything to the most perfect perfection, make it impersonal, but grammatically correct. For me, the value of a blog is the personal touch, the individual experience, the simple lives and the things we take for granted, but need on a daily basis. I believe the most interesting blogs are the ones which disclose the personal experiences, give us an insight in the personality of that blogger and show the very unique features he or she has.
Technology moving too fast?
I don’t really care that there is an occasional mistake or a spelling error. I sometimes correct them afterwards. I still care most for the unique and deeply personal content. All the rest is on Google, Wikipedia, search engines. I hate knowing that AI can potentially pick out any content and add to their data pool which most likely will be insanely immense. Who’s to stop that from happening? Once the door is open, it will be unlikely somebody can shut it. I haven’t heard about any tools to stop AI, like what happens if AI decides to go against its creator?
Reality versus virtual living
Anyway, returning to the simple and daily life. Which mine is. Lots of people have already a very complex relationship with reality. Some live in the virtual bubble and when they come out, the actual things make them inadequate for the real life, for what it is as opposed to what it should be. Why should I be worried about virtual belongings and properties when I still need a real bed to sleep in and a real roof over my head? Our pain is also real, and we don’t need virtual food, air or water to survive.
Our current reality
In the real world, there’s quite a lot of smoke in the air in Ontario at the moment. The actual fires are far away, yet, they still take away our breathing space and destroy the air quality. While all windows are closed, I still run outside for a moment. The garden is a pleasure for eyes. A safe place for emotions to cool down and a good place to renew and recharge. Except, we will have to wait until the wind changes direction or fires are put out. Everything is very real in the garden: the flavors, the colors, the growing and developing.
Power of human intelligence
I’ve always been amazed by the human intelligence. By the unbelievable potential it has. By complexity of every single brain process there is. I’ve been always amazed by the power of the human brain and worked towards establishing good ways to maintain brain flexibility and lifespan of the brain cells. I believe I have found a very safe way to stay bright for all of our lifetime. Who reads, who listens? It’s so much easier to take a pill. However, I write about the power of the human brain and human intelligence on my art blog. A lot. You might want to see what it’s about.
I certainly hope the human intelligence prevails. It has taken so long to come to this high level of cognitive abilities, not to mention the countless centuries which were spent gathering knowledge and experience. I am for the art, literature, music which is created by the human hand and using the human imagination and perception of the individual reality. I enjoy discussions with real people. We all have shortages; we all have flaws. That’s what it means to be human. Yet, humans are the only species on this planet who have the ability to experience all kinds of emotions and feelings and express themselves through them. Please, stop the AI. I know it’s utopic to expect that, but still – please, stop the AI! At least restrict its use instead of putting it everywhere, like right now on your blog and website.
Thanks for reading, enjoy the pictures of my reality! Everything is in bloom!
Inese Poga Life School 