Synchronicity

Just looked at the current email from the Old Farmer's Almanac and found the following bit of poetry from Emily Dickinson:

His labor is a chant,
His idleness a tune;
Oh, for a bee’s experience
of clovers and of noon!

–Emily Dickinson (1830–86)

And of course she spoke to the Music of Bees far better than I did in the last post. 

Bee Music

It's been more than a month since my last posting...between settling into the new unit at the Hospital with all of the "working out the kinks" trials and tribulations, trying to keep the garden going and dealing with the heat, I have been rather preoccupied.
However, as I was watering the garden yesterday morning, I found myself missing the "Bee Music" that was so delightful in and around the gardens. It is so delightful to have the constant drone and hum of bees in the Spring and early Summer, but with the increasing heat along with the fading of the fresh blossoms, the bees have come less often to serenade one.  I have tried to encourage those plants which will bring in the bees to help keep the bee population healthy and thriving, for without bees, life would be much more drab and certainly less musical.

Beannachaidhe,

Duncan

Harping in the Hospital---a circle comes round...

This morning after a night shift on the new psychiatric ward at St. Joseph's Hospital here in Bellingham, I took my harp and headed off for the Childbirth Center to play.
This was a special place for me when I was a volunteer with the Spiritual Care Department at the Hospital from 1998 through 2001--I found it especially delightful to be able to bring music to a place of birthing and the start of new life. I was also fortunate enough to spend many hours harping in the Neo-natal unit for premature and at risk infants.
As I have previously written in this blog, I have been harping at the hospital on the old voluntary psychiatric unit which closed at the end of June for our move to the main campus and the new ward. And I was able to play on  another locked psychiatric unit for the seven years before making the move to St. Jo's five years ago.
But as I played this morning, I realized that a circle had come full round for me...just to play as a harper with only the intention of allowing music to flow out and around to hopefully bring ease and delight to those near by.
Most definitely looking forward to harping again in other units of the hospital....

May your harps always be in tune and your music bring delight!

Duncan

The Sound and Music Alliance

I have recently discovered a new and important music resource for those who are working with music and sound to provide healing.

The Sound and Music Alliance may be found here: http://soundandmusicalliance.blogspot.com/, and I encourage you to take a look.

I have recently sent in my application for the Allied Individual level and I am waiting to hear back...do hope they accept me.

Will also add this to the set of links.

Blessings,

Duncan

Will it never end...?

You would think that as a native Washingtonian I would be happy with the rain....but this May seems to be only rain, rain, and yet more rain with no end in sight.

Just in this Sunday morning from checking the garden and I do fear that some of the veggie plantings put in a couple of weeks ago may be water logged beyond the point of survival. We have had rain now for at least 8 days in a row, with minimal sun breaks to help the growing process. And the forecast calls for at least another 5 days of clouds and rain before a possible return of the Sun.

Still, most of the veggies are at least green and appear to be thriving. However, several of the cucumber plants that I planted in the new garden have been savaged by the slugs and won't be producing this year. Also, a few of the lettuce plants in the raised beds are a bit on the limp side, but most of the raised bed plants do seem to be doing okay. And the two rhubarb plants look comatose at best.

However the strawberries, the blueberries and the raspberries seem to be thriving.

But we need the Sun! Speaking of which, here is a great link to some Morris Dancers as they perform a May Day dance to the music of Cloudstreet (a great Australian duo) entitled "Dance up the Sun."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGMRNxTYgi4.

Maybe I should be playing this as background for a few days...do have to say it's a most lovely tune for the harp!

May your gardens be warmed by the sun and your souls be warmed by Music.

Duncan

Garden Music

Finally got the support up for the raspberries bushes--above picture. 

As I have been working in the garden, one of the composers I have been listening to has been Bantock: a Scottish composer of the late 19th C. who wrote some wonderful music and utilized harps in much of his work. At times energizing and at times soothing, perfect music for the rhythms of gardening.

Got the main work done, now have pumpkins, cucumber, corn, tomatoes, lettuce all planted with a second attempt at some rhubarb to be done in next day or so.

Have been working on the Scottish tune Huntingtone Castle which is delightful and I want to add it to my repertoire. Hoping the night shift will allow me some time to play the harp again...been busy the last rotation.

Some pictures of the garden...and look for 2 Greenmen above the main garden!

 

Two of the raised beds with lettuce, chives, garlic and sage starting up again. 

Each year a bit more...and always changes...the lure of the garden.

May Day and Beltaine!

Ah, to truly have the Wheel turn and bring us again to this day is a joy. Spent the first part of the day on a very long walk with Kim to challenge ourselves and to enjoy being out and about.

When I came back, the sun had decided to come out and I told myself it was time to return to the garden. Last year we had a small crop of beans and lots of pumpkins and squash in a small area that I had spaded and added in some good soil. This year I decided it was time to enlarge the garden area and for the last month as time and weather permitted I broke the grass/sod over a much larger area and this is what it looks like: uh, see above. Still haven't figured out to place images in the blog. May not look all that large , but I think we will get a bit of a good return from the work.

Hopefully this picture of some apple blossoms of our new dwarf apple tree will show up in the right place: , well close.

Also got a rhubarb plant in near the blueberries and the raspberries in a cozy and warm place near the fence.
Will be a long wait until next year when we can actually harvest them, but garden time is a time all of it's own.

And of course, there was music...red winged blackbirds, chickadees, crows a cawing while chasing each other all and about.

Happy Beltaine and Blessings of the Spring to you all!

Duncan