Summer has arrived in New England!

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April Fools! We had hail, sleet and rain yesterday: what the weather professionals call a “wintry mix.” I prefer my wintery mix to include a fire in the fireplace, hot chocolate, a foot rub and my dinner delivered by the culinarily gifted. I wonder if that will ever happen. At least the pizza place delivers. 🙂

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Here are some brave early flowers, just poking up their heads and drinking some rain. The oak trees have started dropping leaves, and new green leaves are sure to be along any day. Warmth and sunlight are predicted, but who knows if the weather professions are just joking or serious.

Have a fun First!

Warmly, Brenda

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Note: For any not familiar with the U.S.A. April First tradition, I will explain. The goal is to get someone to believe something diabolical, and wait for them to interject: “What!?!” Then you yell “April Fool’s!!” And laugh a lot while they groan.

Leprechaun Limerick

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Over the rainbow, Finn danced.
Leprechauns watched him, entranced.
Nibbling clover,
The world over,
Until, on their gold, he chanced. 

Note: The art work is courtesy of my daughter, and the cookie is courtesy of Antoine’s Pastry Shop. I hope you like this limerick for St. Patrick’s Day! A limerick is usually a silly poem with 5 lines having the rhyming pattern AABBA. The A lines are half again longer than the B lines. Even more relevantly, Limerick is an Irish city on the River Shannon.

Just for the love of limericks, here are a few favorites:

There was a young belle of old Natchez
Whose garments were always in patchez.
When comments arose
On the state of her clothes,
She replied, “When Ah itchez, Ah scratchez.”
—Ogden Nash

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, “It is just as I feared!
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
—Edward Lear

There was a small boy of Quebec
Who was buried in snow to his neck.
When they asked, “Are you friz?”
He replied, “Yes, I is —
But we don’t call this cold in Quebec!”
—Rudyard Kipling

References:
http://www.prose-n-poetry.com/display_work/8009
http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-485663-limerick_vacations-i
http://www.thehypertexts.com/The%20Best%20Limericks%20of%20All%20Time.htm
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)

Ice-Be-Gone Spell

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Walking here is a trick
When sidewalk ice is slick.
Slip, slide, don’t move feet,
Ice be gone, meet sun’s heat.
Crick, crack, save my back!
Shine sun, don’t be slack.
I forgot something, you say?
Salt! That will save the day!

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Hibiscus Dish Wish

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Fairy satellite dishes —
Hibiscus dishes — bring wishes,
Bored fairy wing swishes.
Then she hears a message from Queen Mab.
Fairy Della no longer sad and drab —
Delighted with the urgent mission,
Della hurries with an exciting frisson:
She has the spring fairy ball to plan.
She must hide the location from man.
Della has more spring in her step
And joy in the plan kept.
Counting on fingers — only 20 days left.
All the fairies are humming,
Woo-hoo, spring is coming!!

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

A little rhyming inspired by Dr. Seuss
whose birthday is coming tomorrow I’ve heard. The title is a nod to his Ish Wish Dish. 🙂

Blogoversary Cake

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We finally got around to celebrating my one year blogoversary with cake tonight as suggested by a WordPress friend. As requested, here is a photograph of our cake, a cinnamon streusel cake. My children and I managed to devour a whole loaf pan of it in under 20 minutes. Don’t report us to the nutrition police. I’m sure the cinnamon will be good for controlling our blood sugar. The discerning among you will notice that one of my talented children managed to flick some of the streusel into my milk. Two points!

I asked my second son to make a nice arrangement of the candle, the plates, and the cake, I would be taking pictures, and this is what he came up with:

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Not bad. Unfortunately, he put out five candles, planning we should celebrate my daughter’s birthday instead of my blogoversary. 🙂 (I don’t think any of us will be quitting our day jobs to become food photographers.)

Hope you all have happy tummies tonight!

Hugs, Brenda

We’re Being Followed

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Don’t look now, but a tough looking bird is on our trail.

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He’s pretending not to look at us, but he keeps turning up wherever we go!

Grumpy in Paradise

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Grumpy was overheard to say: “Flowers! Where did these come from! What a nuisance! They are making my brother sneeze!”

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

My Prince has Come… and Gone!

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My prince has come!

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My, he seems angry. And he has a hook!

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Now that crocodile has eaten him! He must have gone down well despite the hook and sword, that croc looks so cheerful! What’s that mysterious ticking noise?

The End

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Inspired by the amazing horticulture at Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida. We have left the snow in New England, but we have found Snow White. 🙂 This was for all of you who’ve asked to see snaps from our trip…

Sunshine Spell

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Roll back the clouds,
Bring me some sun.
Go away gray days,
It’s time for some fun!

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Captured for the First Time!

Used with Kind Permission of Tracy at Wanderlust

Used with Kind Permission of Tracy at Wanderlust

Never before photographed in the wild!
The elusive, secretive Ice Snails

Ice Snails clinging
Before the big race
Little hearts singing
Hoping for speed and grace.

Cloaking devices active —
Only frost fairies see snails —
Rainbow refractive.
Snails leave glistening trails.

One will finish first,
Blest by the Frost Queen,
Putting on speed in a burst,
Winning rights to preen.

Fairies celebrate with hot cider,
Made from Autumn’s windfalls,
Berry tart and mushroom slider —
Feasting and fun within Fairy halls.

No wild life were harming in the making of this post. 😉

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Inspired by Tracy’s Ice photographs at Wanderlust. Check them out, they are awesome!

I’ve got my Eye on You

One Eyed Snowman

Anybody seen my other eye?

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

We’re not scared!

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To the drooling snow monster,
who swallowed my thoughts of spring whole,
the sun will be coming for you,
in a month or two.

A few budding artists were inspired to draw their own snow monsters:

By M.H., aged 5, via his mom at Complexity through Joy

By M.H., aged 5, via his mom at Complexity through Joy

Coloring Page by Kyle H., aged 9.

Coloring Page by Kyle H., aged 9.

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Note: Thanks to Janna at Complexity through Joy for the kind permission for use of her snow monster.

The church is near but the road is all ice; the tavern is far but I’ll walk very carefully. Russian Proverb