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Spring and Fall: To A Young Child by Gerard Manley Hopkins

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The 2014 National Poetry Month  Blog Tour is hosted by Serena at  Savvy Verse and Wit  to celebrate poets and poetry in April. Let me share one of my favorite poems. Spring and Fall   by  Gerard Manley Hopkins                to a young child Márgarét, áre you gríeving Over Goldengrove unleaving? Leáves, like the things of man, you With your fresh thoughts care for, can you? Ah! ás the heart grows older It will come to such sights colder By and by, nor spare a sigh Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie; And yet you will weep and know why. Now no matter, child, the name: Sórrow's spríngs áre the same. Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed What heart heard of, ghost guessed: It ís the blight man was born for, It is Margaret you mourn for. - See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16074#sthash.GsA1Cneo.dpuf My thoughts:  I fell in love with this short poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins when our English teacher introduced it to us in our first year in college. A

Backyard Flowerbed Centerpiece

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We planted this flowerbed this summer with marigolds, zinnia, and a few blue and purple flowers in the center, a nice centerpiece to sit around right outside the back door. My husband plans to make it larger and to add wildflowers. This spot gets a lot of sun in the days. 

Wordless Wednesday: Peace Rose

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Join  Wordless Wednesday ; link your photo to the website.  photo by Harvee The star of my backyard garden.

Wildflower Wednesday: Clover

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Wild clover on a sidewalk in Toyohashi, Japan. Caught two weeks ago on our morning walk to the coffee shop. It stayed on the flower long enough for me to take this picture.  The butterfly is a  Pale Grass Blue , native to Asia. I was delighted to see it feeds on clover blossoms. For more wildflower pictures, visit Gail at  Wildflower Wednesday

Japanese Maple: Green

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I went under the tree in summer to take this photo some years back. This ornamental maple is getting more straggly due to the clay soil but it still looks good in the front yard. The leaves will turn yellow in the fall. 

Wordless Wednesday: Day lilies

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Join Wordless Wednesday ; link your photo to the website. I must have taken this photo at night. Hence the dark background.

Purple cone flowers

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Someone saw birds selecting seeds from a row of purple cone flowers last year and thought it would be great to plant them in the garden. Why attract only butterflies and bees with flowers. Why not plant to draw birds as well? I got a shot of this flower bed in front of a public building, with its combination of cone flowers, daylilies, and yellow daisies.