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The Calla Lilies are in Bloom Again

Mar20
Calla Lily - All You Need to Know

For the first time in over 20 years, I have a backyard with flower beds. We’ve been living here for about 5 months, from late fall through the winter. Of course, in Southern California we don’t have much of a winter, but the temps do drop a bit and it does effect the local growing season. We’ve had many plants blooming throughout the winter, especially the azaleas and the camellias. Many other plants are blooming now too, but currently the one that is taking my breath away is the Calla Lily.

Calla Lily Bulbs - Aethiopica | Spring Flower Bulbs | Eden Brothers

I’ve never had a Calla Lily plant before, so I’ve never had the thrill of watching the blooms unfurl and opening to such magnificent grandeur! And oh, grand they are! The pure white, sophisticated upright flowers really take my breath away. They are simply the most beautiful, yet simple, flower I can imagine. I am smitten with them!

There is a quote by Katherine Hepburn from the movie Stage Door (1937): “The calla lilies are in bloom again. Such a strange flower—suitable to any occasion. I carried them on my wedding day, and now I place them here in memory of something that has died.” I can imagine Katherine Hepburn holding a bouquet of calla lilies in her arms, cradling them as if she were holding a baby. And sure enough, here’s a picture of just that!

3 Lines About...: The Blooming of Hepburn's Calla Lilies | Calla lily, Lily, Calla

Symbolically, Calla Lilies represent innocence, resurrection, and rebirth. Apparently they are often used at Easter services, but I have only seen Easter Lilies at the churches I’ve attended. And the look isn’t the same. There’s a good reason for that. Calla Lilies aren’t really lilies at all! According to my brief research, they are members of the same botanical family (Araceae) as caladiums and philodendron.

Yesterday, I cleared away an old unhealthy geranium from one of the flower beds. And guess what was lurking beneath just waiting for a breath of fresh air and sunshine. Yes, another Calla Lily! I hope this one blooms as abundantly as the first.

I’m told that cut Calla Lily flowers can last up to two weeks. I think I’ll get out a tall cylindrical vase and put that to the test! I’m so happy the Calla Lilies are in bloom!

Calla Lily Tall Arrangement | FLORALS & TREES | Ethan Allen

Living in a Box

Feb28

I was thinking about how I live my life mostly inside a building…a box! As I pondered that, I came to the conclusion that is not how God, our Creator, intended life to be.

I sit inside and gaze out the window enjoying the view of the pretty backyard. I enjoy seeing the greenery, the trees, the flowers, the birds and butterflies. I enjoy watching the feral cat making his rounds and eating the food we provide for him. Each day, I watch one of the birds steal a morsel of cat food. I’ve noticed the monarch butterflies are back. The citrus trees have buds on them.

But just perhaps I was created to not just be an observer from looking through a window. It’s almost the same as looking at a tv screen…just watching. I think I am meant to be out there experiencing all this wonderfulness first hand. To feel the breeze on my skin. To get my hands into the dirt. To look up to the sky and feel the warm of the sun on my face. To kick off my shoes and feel the cool green grass on my bare feet and let them bond with the earth. I think they call this ‘earthing’. And yes, its a THING!

So here I am living in a house…which is a box. I think God meant for us to have shelter, of course. But not to spend the majority of our life stuck inside and peering out.

And that’s not the only box I live in! As humans, we tend to categorize people…its our way of defining each other.

The biggest box I am in besides the house is “the old lady” box. I look the part. And although I try not to, I suppose I act the part too! I have physical limitations now that I didn’t have when I was younger. Some things are just not as easy to do as they used to be. That’s part of being in the old lady box. Being invisible is another part. What I mean is that old people are often just not noticed….not noticeable. The only people I see taking notice of me these days are other old people who are probably making comparisons to see if they look better than I do. Hey, I do that too, so I know!!

I imagine I’m in a bunch of other boxes too. But that’s a thought for another day.

Right now I’m wondering how hard it is to break out of these boxes. Before its too late and I end up in the final box.

I’m sitting at the kitchen table and looking out the window. I just saw that bird steal some cat food. I think I better go outside and do some earthing while I still can!

Contentment

Jul16

I’m sitting on a beach chair on the grass in the backyard. I have kicked off my flip flops, drinking a glass of Chardonnay, and enjoying the weather on this mid-July day. The cool grass is soft and refreshing on my bare feet. In fact, I am ‘earthing’, which is to say my body is in direct contact with the earth and hopefully those good earth vibes are flowing into me. For the uninitiated “Earthing (also known as grounding) refers to contact with the Earth’s surface electrons by walking barefoot outside or sitting, working, or sleeping indoors .”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/

I have also been bonding with “Jackie”, the feral cat who seems to have adopted us. (I assume Jackie is a ‘her’). Jackie’s ear is clipped, which means she should have been spayed and so I should not be concerned about the little pudge around her middle!!

The weather on this day is simply glorious! At 4:15pm is it a perfect 75 degrees. Where I sit, I see a very blue sky and lots of green in the backyard. Thanks to the weekly gardener, this backyard is lovely. The Lily of the Nile flowers are fading, as is the hydrangea, but the bougainvillea has fresh flowers and some roses are ready to open up.

My focus is on the charming house view, the contented cat doing her preening (after she rubbed herself all up and down my legs), the crows cawing, and the butterflies doing their haphazard fly/dance around the yard.

This is serenity! This is bliss! And this is what contentment looks like!

“I love this place so much”

May4

We are not all fortunate enough to live in places that we love. I am not talking about the actual apartment or house or dwelling, but the place itself. I am referring to the surroundings and the general area.

I started thinking about this topic this morning when I read a comment about my England post. One of my readers (http://creativityinthebox.com/) wrote that she loves living in England. That made me think about where I live and that I love it here too. And what a blessing it is to live in a place that you really love. It makes life exciting and joyful when you can look at your overall surroundings and that it brings a sense of contentment to your heart.

I realize that we are the fortunate few. I suppose that the majority of the world’s population cannot say they live in a place that they love. Those living in war torn areas, or ghettos, or other ugly or violent places may not love where they live.  Some may have been forced to relocate to places that feel foreign to them and they long to leave.

I guess there are as many reasons to hate the place where you live as there are to love it.

love where you live

But my focus right now is on places to love. And I wonder why it is that we come to love them and why they give us a sense of happiness and peace.

I can’t speak for others. I have moved around quite a bit in my lifetime. And I can say that I have generally loved all the different places I have lived and all for different reasons.

Washington State was my first venture away from where I grew up. It was exciting to experience the beauty there. I could sum it up in water and green. Puget Sound and Mount Rainer provided the backdrop for a stunning landscape. And the rain provided the source to keep the trees and flowers and ferns a luscious green. I loved it there because of the natural beauty, which calms the spirit.

Connecticut is a place I will always hold dear to my heart. Living in the woods, surrounded by trees inhabited by a myriad of birds was a blessing I will never forget. I felt I was living close to the land and in tune with the seasons. The towns were quaint and charming. I felt a sense of history and pride that this was where I called home.

New Jersey had an abundance of natural beauty too. I enjoyed living there for several years. I had my birds and gardens to tend to and it was peaceful.

I lived in Pennsylvania two different times. And I consider it my second home. I loved it there for so many reasons: experiencing the seasons change year after year unfailingly, the wildlife we had in our backyard, the charm of the Amish county just a short drive away, the history related to the struggle for American independence, and the friendships that I hope will now withstand the distance. Yes, it is my second home there.

Saddleback Mountain

Saddleback Mountain

But my first home and the place I love best is Southern California. This is where I was born and raised. This is where my family lives. This is where I live now and will stay for the rest of my life. I love seeing Saddleback Mountain tall and unchanging and keeping sentinel over the area.  From where I live, I can look down the street and see it and it always brings a smile because it is part of my remembrances from a child growing up here. I love being near the beach for there is a sense of peace and calmness in watching the sea. There are so many other reasons by I love living here, but the main reason can be summed up in family. Family has drawn me back and that is why I love it the most and will stay.

 

And so I wonder, why do you love where you live?

The Hummingbird

Apr28

Humingbird

The next door neighbors have a dead tree in their backyard. When I look out the bedroom window, there is that dead tree right there, so close I could almost touch it.

When we first moved here several months ago, I would see that tree and hope that the day would come when they would remove it. What an eyesore.

But now that we have lived here for awhile, I’m glad for the tree. It is a roosting place for birds. There are often birds perched there and I enjoy watching them when I am in the bedroom and glancing out the window.

We get a variety of birds sitting there. Mostly I see house finches. I had to look in my bird book to identify the phoebe. I’ve seen pine siskins and of course, sparrows.

But my favorite is the hummingbird. The first time I saw it land there, I was thrilled! I had never seen a hummingbird that wasn’t in flight, and they fly so quickly that you can’t really get a good look at them.

The dead tree seems to be a favorite place for this particular hummingbird. He (or she) never stays for too long at a time, but it is fascinating to me that it always lands on the very same little dead branch, facing the same direction. So I figure it must be the same bird coming back over and over.

I’m glad it has a place to rest and perhaps view the area before deciding where to fly to next to search for some sweet nectar.