You make a mandala with the debris…
We had some pretty strong winds blow through here over the weekend, and sadly, the lilac in my garden took some damage. One of its main branches split. Luckily, that branch was on the backside, so it doesn’t affect the overall appearance from my view. Lilacs are hardy shrubs, so I’m sure it will bounce back. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that my grandpa planted this lilac for my grandma like 75 years ago, so it has definitely weathered its share of wind and storms over that time.
The lilacs are just getting ready to bloom here and I was sad to lose one of the main branches of potential fragrant blossoms, so I decided to snip some of them off that broken branch and put them in a vase anyway. Maybe they will end up opening? Or maybe not. But they still look pretty in a vase…
The Rhododendron on the front corner of the house is in its absolute glory right now and thankfully didn’t suffer any damage from the wind. Well, except for this rather unsightly hole…
So I decided to take some of those blossoms and put them in a bowl of water to help preserve them for a little while. But they were lonely in there, so I added a bright yellow dandelion and a few violets.
I adore violets, sweet little things!
I don’t usually like to pick flowers or things of nature, because then they die, but I’ve been missing my granddaughter so terribly that when my daughter told me they had been out picking violets (we usually do that together each spring), I had to go out on my own and gather some too. The little basket above is the one my granddaughter usually uses for foraging on nature walks when she’s at my house and I have to admit it made me feel sad to use it without her. It makes me sad right now typing about it…
I hadn’t intended on sharing anything sad in this post, I was actually wanting to share about how you can turn life’s ‘storms’ into something beautiful, because I do truly believe that, but gosh my heart aches right now. I blame my sharing about that little basket.
I know I’m not the only one facing heart ache right now and my heart goes out to everyone. Love and Light to you all. May you find beauty, hope and joy today.
✿~Peace & Love~✿
Ramblings From Jewels 
You could create lovely wedding bouquets
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I would LOVE doing that, Annette! Of course, I have no idea how to do that, but I could learn! 🙂
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What a beautiful bush and collection of flowers. I’m with you Julie and mostly enjoy them on the plants but sometimes it’s good to treat ourselves. BTW, I can’t tell what the big bush is but the flowers in the image below look like azalea blossoms to me. How nice to have the house and plants where your grandparents lived.
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Thanks Brad. The bush is a Rhododendron, but I believe they’re in the same family as azaleas. From what I’ve read, all azaleas are rhododendrons, but not all rhododendrons are azaleas. 🤷♀️ It is wonderful living in my family home where so many memories (and plants) are stored. I think I’ve mentioned it before, but 6 generations of my family have lived here. 🙂
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Wow. I can’t even imagine that kind of family history. I come from a small, wandering, disjoint family. Cool. I didn’t know about azaleas and rhododendrons being related. The rhododendrons from back east look very different with scraggly branches, not a full bush like azaleas.
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Stay strong and safe Julie, it’s lovely to be able to make something of some very pretty debris 🙂
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Thanks so much, Andrea! 🙂
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Beautiful mandala, Julie. It’s nice that you create ephemeral beauty, prior to composting. 😉
Lilac stems clog quickly, so are prone to wilt… try lightly splaying cut ends with a hammer and recutting again every other day. You might just be rewarded for your efforts.
I share your violet picking sadness, too. For the past ten years, I’ve invited the girls next door over for our annual Violet Tea, but sadly, this year things are much different. I’m desperately scheming for an outdoor, mask-wearing, bring your own teacup while we sit far apart gathering, but I need their mom’s input and okay on that. We’ll see.
I bet you are really missing your grandkids and their hugs. These girls are the closest I have to grandkids, it feels the same.
Hang in there, we can do this! ❤
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Thanks for the tip Eliza, I may give that a try! Oh yes, I remember your little annual Violet Tea with the neighbor girls, such a sweet tradition. ❤ I hope something can be arranged for it to still somehow take place, even if it has to be in a new and entirely different way. I really am missing my grandchildren and oh gosh, I'm starving for their hugs. I'm not looking forward to Mother's Day this year without my daughter and grandchildren, I actually don't even know how I'm going to deal. I am very grateful I get to spend it with my mom though. ❤
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Maybe you can FaceTime or Skype? How about a drive by? Like you said, we’ve got to get creative! ❤
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Oh yes we’ve been video chatting daily. Sweet Noelle hugs the phone and my little grandson blew a kiss back to me the other day! He’s only 17 months, so he hadn’t done anything like that before. My heart melted into a puddle on the floor! My mom and I did a drive by birthday for my brother today and I decorated my SUV with balloons and streamers, that was fun. My mom was sad not being able to hug him though. It’s those darn hugs that are such a loss. I’m hugging everyone the whole wide world when this is over! 😉 ❤
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Oh, I love it. I agree, the dearth of hugs is the hardest thing.
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We are all in need of catching our second wind. Your girls will be happy to think you gathered flowers with them, metaphorically at least, just hours later. My sister and I seem to be doing the same or very similar walks a few days apart. It feels a little weird, but a little comforting too.
My mama used to have a saying about a lilac tree that said the harder you cut them back, the better they are. It sounds as if the wind cut it back pretty hard so let’s hope her saying had some truth in it.
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My sister and I have been doing similar things apart/together too and you’re right, there is a little comfort in it. And I did feel the connection with my girls while I was gathering those violets, it was just hard doing it ‘alone’ – their presence brings so much joy to every activity. ❤
That's a good saying about lilacs, I hope there's truth to it too!
Thank you for commenting and being an encouragement to me, Susan! 🙂
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cathynative77@gmail.com Pastor Cathy Native
On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 10:28 AM Ramblings From Jewels wrote:
> Jewels posted: “You make a mandala with the debris… We had some pretty > strong winds blow through here over the weekend, and sadly, the lilac in my > garden took some damage. One of its main branches split. Luckily, that > branch was on the backside, so it doesn’t affect” >
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Hey there, long lost blog friend! Beautiful flowers as always! I still think of you sometimes, while I stand over my sad little garden, and wonder how you do it! I can only assume you’re a witch, lol! Glad to see you’re doing well. ❤️
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Hiya Lisa! Longtime no see! Yes, it’s definitely sorcery – I’m great and powerful garden wizard! 😉 It’s so good to hear from you, I miss your humor! 🙂
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AhHa! I knew it! ❤
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I’m sorry about the damage, but you have made the best of it. May your granddaughter use her basket again soon
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Thanks so much, Derrick. I hope she uses her basket again soon too!
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Gorgeous indeed! WOW
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I picked lilacs (as I always do) and put them in water beside my bed and they smelled heavenly for darn near a week! ❤ Wonderful *sigh*
The violets are so sweet, dotting the grass as they do.
There's lots of good out there, and I'm glad you shared your creations and thoughts with us.
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Lilacs by the bedside = bliss! Ours are just about at peak now. I may need to follow suit and snip some for my bedside as well! ❤
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