Poetry Thursday: William Wordsworth

Book Inscription 1881

One hundred and forty-three years ago, a man gave his wife a Christmas gift of the book, The Poetical Works of Wordsworth. The pale pencil lines he made to insure his script would be straight are barely visible. There are also light pencil marks in the table of contents marking some poems. To my surprise, the poem I chose to quote below, is one of them. Eerie.

From The Oak and the Broom, a Pastoral, VIII, 

O the Same Flower, last stanza, page 146:

Bright Flower! for by that name at last,

When all my reveries are past,

I call thee, and to that cleave fast,

        Sweet silent creature!

That breath'st with me in sun and air,

Do thou, as thou art wont, repair

My heart with gladness, and a share

        Of thy meek nature!

1805

William Wordsworth

Pastoral in poetry
William Wordsworth

Thinking of Spring

Forget-me-not

 The background photograph of forget-me-not was taken several years ago in my tiny flower garden. The plant was a stray inside the shrubs that I transplanted. Alas, it bloomed a few years before it didn't bloom again.

Lately I've been pondering style, mine as well as the world around me. I'm not up with fashions, the shopping scene. I don't go anywhere that I need to look all spiffy. As long as I'm comfortable, and like what I'm wearing, there's no struggling with what to wear that I have to deal with. Why I'm spending time (again) thinking about my style is a mystery to me. I guess seeing the beautiful spring flowers makes me want to look nice as well.

About the world around me, in a rural area, the colors of spring are beyond inspiring and beautiful. A well put together spring outfit Mother Nature does for herself here in Vermont.

What about you? Do you lean toward sprucing up your wardrobe in the spring?

A Little Birdie Knick Knack Makeover

There is no telling what might strike one's fancy sometimes.

For me, last fall for the holidays, the little resin something birds with scarves and other  decorations were being sold (around $7.00 US).

The bird in the photo had a dark green scarf. It fell off the shelf and broke its tail, and a piece out of its side (under the end of the scarf far left). 

I used glue to stuff and smooth over paper towels in the hole as the piece wasn't found. When it dries, I will use an emory board to smooth it out before painting.

The feet were gray metal. I used acrylic paint to fancy up the scarf. The beak has also been painted. The eye has a spot of blue.

I don't put out a lot knick knacks. But that little bird just makes me smile, so out it goes right where I can see it. The body is a bit smaller than a real robin. A substantail bird, the height of the legs, I feel, makes it stand out more. Dusting my mother's knick knack too almost an hour there were so many.

Do you have a favorite knick knack?