Once again, we've come to the end of a year of gardens, writing, plants that came and went, and of course,
Skywatch Fridays. This is the first snowy Skywatch for me since last winter, but I can pretty much guarantee it won't be the last one. 2011 looms ahead in a few hours, and although I plan a retrospective or two, they're not for today. Today, I celebrate the return of the sun and the garden of the mind's eye.
Gisela of Guildwood Gardens quoted a phrase from another writer to me last year that I've kept in my notebook of wonderful thoughts. I had been lamenting the lack of sunlight as winter began, and was creating my own sunlight with collections of golden flowers.
Gisela quoted
Katherine S. White (writer and wife of E. B. White), saying: "From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens-the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind's eye."
Isn't that just the truth, especially for those of us in the wintery parts of the Northern Hemisphere? (Y'all in the southern hemisphere are having summer right now so we just cheer you on, and offer you snowy scenes to cool the heat.)
So on this last day of the year, when we're having another pristine day of sunlight after countless grey or stormy days, I'm holding on to the garden of the mind's eye. We need this downtime from our gardens, so we can rejuvenate, and cultivate those gardens of our mind's eyes. There are plant and seed catalogues to drool over, plants to put on our 'want' lists, blogs to read, books to read...we're still gardening, but in a slightly different way.
One housekeeping note, before I sign off for 2010: Bloomingwriter is undergoing some design changes, including a "break" (jump to next page) in blog posts/feeds to help reduce the feedscraping (ie theft of writing and photos by those too lazy to do their own work) that happens from time to time. I've also accepted a little 'for pay' advertising, but I hope it's not intrusive, and I don't expect anyone to click through if you don't want to. Please bear with me while I tweak settings and refresh the layout!
Okay, with that out of the way, on to the good stuff. To all friends near and far, heartfelt pals for many years and new friends met through the joys of the gardening blogosphere, to all gardeners of all types, wishes for a wonderful, peaceful, and greenthumbed New Year! See you all in 2011.
Beautifully cheerful collages. Yellow is such a magnificent colour.
ReplyDeleteI too have (nervously) accepted some advertising and hope for more. Like you, I am apprehensive about how people will respond but I'm also quite excited. Good luck with yours.
Was immediately struck by your new layout. I'm not sure I understand what you are describing for your next stage but will soon find out!
Very many good wishes for 2011.
Esther
Jodi,
ReplyDeleteThat first picture is a great one! I love the way the sunlight colors the snow. As for advertising - it won't bother me. I've considered using the break for that same reason so I can't blame you for trying it out. Might be a good way to disappoint a few lazy scrapers!
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Jodi. Love all this golden color. It was like springtime here today. 61F. Crazy.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear the sun returned to you as it did to my garden today. The sunny yellow flowers do brighten a mood don't they? Happy New Year to you, Jodi.
ReplyDeleteJodi - if you don't mind my asking, what type of gadget creates the photo collages in your blog?
ReplyDeleteI've seen it used in a few other blogs as well - and I really like the symmetry of it. I use 'blogspot' as my blog tool, and sometimes my photos seem to dominate too much of the page. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Your blog is an inspiration to so many! Thanks for the generous contribution to the blogosphere.
Best Wishes in 2011. --Shyrlene
One of my favorite stories to tell is about a scientist-gardener friend from my Michigan days. He was a Professor at MSU - and I went to a talk once that he gave, in a large auditorium - I arrived a bit late, and was sitting in the back row. At the end of his seminar, he caught my eye - and after the question and answer period (about cancer and nutrition) he walked back to me, leaned over and said 'isn't the winter garden simply the best? in my mind, there are no weeds, no pests, no drought - and everything is beautiful'. I just love that - in the winter, as the days are slowly growing longer (thank goodness) - our gardens in our minds are pure potential!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Jodi for a wonderful New Year.
Beautiful sunny collages Jodi! Lovely post. Wishing you a Happy New Year! May your book become #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List!
ReplyDeleteJodi, Happy New Year to you. And, as Carol says, I hope your book is a best-seller.
ReplyDeleteLove all the creamy yellows. Ah, feels very springy! :)
ReplyDeleteA very happy New Year to you and yours!
Yay… a break from white! Thanks for your wonderful sunshine montages. I’m guessing you will need many more breaks from the white cold stuff than most. Wishing you a very bright and cheery 2011:-D
ReplyDeleteI’m all for design changes too and anything to stop feedscaping has my vote. Good luck there :-)
Excellent, I see you are using ‘read more’ I’d like to set that up too but as we (OH really) made many ‘hand’ changes to my template I would lose too much. We are thinking about a way round this.
Advertising is a tricky one. Yours is subtle there so that (for me) is good. I don’t like flashing ads. I’d like to be brave enough to consider it too. Look forward to hearing how it works for you. Good luck there too :-D
Nice sunshine sky-shot Jodi. I'm glad the sun has peaked out if only for a short time. I love Katharine White too. Happy New Year to you and may your 2011 garden be everything you hope. Hugs, Grace
ReplyDeleteVery pretty yellows! Your first photo is beautiful. It is always fun to look back on sunny days with blooms. Also, my garden in my mind's eye sure does have to be patient. Happy New Year, Jodi!!
ReplyDeleteMe again...Is your book out, yet? I would love to know more about it. :)
ReplyDelete