HerbnArts

HerbnArts: Summer Kiss... :   Feu...a kiss; a fire    Embrasser (ahn-bra-say)...to kiss, hug, enfold, take up    Embraser (ahn-bra-zay)...to set fire to, to catch fir...

  Feu...a kiss; a fire    Embrasser (ahn-bra-say)...to kiss, hug, enfold, take up    Embraser (ahn-bra-zay)...to set fire to, to catch fire     ...The French have the best words about the ways of love and passion.  Even something as seemingly as simple as a kiss can ignite the senses.  While driving home one evening I happened to be travelling through downtown Akron, which caused me to pass by the local art movie theatre.  As I zoomed by I spotted a couple standing in front of the theatre.  As I slowed down for the changing traffic light I watched the two as they positioned themselves in front of each other.  The fella was dressed in casual slacks and a short-sleeved dress shirt appropriate for a date on a very hot and humid evening.  Wearing a simple summer frock, the lady stepped closer as the man cautiously placed his hands at her waist.  In one fluid movement the lady wrapped her arms around the shy gentleman ...

...Sitting in the car waiting on a friend, I wondered where all the dragonflies had been all summer.  In the past I had been graced with morning visits from a sleek bejeweled  beauty who I named Delilah.  Flitting from herbs in my garden to sitting on my teacup she stayed for a short visit every morning for a week. Those special visits usually began in late spring or early summer. As the season progressed my morning tea party was also visited by delightful bees and a parade of spectacular butterflies.  Not so this year. Murderous heat has me indoors and few winged visitors have stopped by.   But today as I waited in the car, a dragonfly the size of a corporate jet hovered in front of me.  Wow!!! Finally, a dragonfly sighting!  As it hovered in front of me it looked as if it was about to say, "Where have you been?  I've been looking all over for you!"  Since that day I have had several more dragonfly sightings...apparently ...

     ,,,Where did June go?  As I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging, suddenly it is July.  Once we h it the summer solstice on June 20th, the fourth of July slipped in there before we knew it.  Heat and humidity hit Ohio with a vengeance as temperatures hit the high 80's and the 90's. Now that it is July there is very little rain.  Browning lawns quietly recede as they give way to every weed known to mankind. After starting my second round of sunflower seedlings we are finally on our way, though slowly, to producing sunflowers. Thanks to my resident groundhog the sunflowers won't be worth much until fall, but that's okay.  Better late than never.  My solitary coneflower, a.k.a. Echinacea, is tall and blooming this year.  I started it from seed last year, but it never got big enough to produce blooms.  The good news is that it is blooming, the bad news is that something is eating the petals.  I am yet to spy the guilty party, ...

Lilacs Forget-me-nots tPink Passion tulip    ...Color, clarity,  cut, carat...wait, this wasn't diamonds I was looking at.   Three out of four,  not bad. Color, white not yellow, always a plus. Clarity,  definitely lightly wet and icy, perfect for packing. Cut, a perfect round hand-roll. Consistency, the substitute for carat weight. Each rounded missile was formed to perfection.  April's last snow produced the perfect snow for the Great Snowball fight. But wait, this was late April, for Pete's sake!  Somehow this is just wrong after having had such a  mild winter here in Ohio. ..                                                      Moving on to May, we are still on a rollercoaster ride as far as the  weather is concerned.   The trees are bursting with new leaves and delicate floweri...

Sage, Thyme, and Holy Basil      ....Spring 2016.  Easter has come and gone, and still we are riding on the rollercoaster of temperature changes here in Ohio.  Everything is greening up and the bold spring bulbs are sporting their glorious blooms in spite of the cold weather.  Easter day was wonderfully sunny and warm in the 70 degree range.  But as usual, Monday has turned a nasty wet, cold 45 degrees.  The color scheme of the day is battleship grey.  Enough already! We need some solar coaxing to leap into real spring mode.  When I worked for a local bookstore I remember a co-worker telling me that she had just visited a local greenhouse nursery for just the smell of moist earth after a long winter away from the fragrance of growing green things.  As soon as I was able, I, too, made the trip to a nursery to enjoy the humidity of a warm greenhouse and the smell of little green plants.  Best therapy in the ...

      ...Shadows on the snow...Sunshine and snow...So far this is the offering  for our late February and early March here in Ohio. Winter has come lately to us.  Fortunately it has not been brutal compared to even a year ago. Oh well, if you aren't happy with today's weather, as the saying goes, just wait an hour for something different. We have experienced some pretty high winds, but compared to other parts of the country with their high tornado activity, we simply enjoy the gusting and dream of kites to fly as it warms up eventually.  I for one have always been exhilarated by windy weather, though I realize it can mean power outages.  March is nearly upon us and with it comes that windy weather.  Warm days and steady breezes are what I am looking for kite flying.  It will come.  Meanwhile, I will have plenty of time to make that all important kite design selection...       ...