My childhood friend used to collect her eggshells starting in March up to May. She would crunch them into tiny pieces and put them in her flower beds to prevent snails from crawling in her garden. If they crawled too quickly (I doubt there’s a chance of that) or not cautiously, the eggshells would cut them. Ouch!! Poor little critters. Before you start feeling all sad about this, I just discovered they enjoy eating the eggshells, it is filled with calcium just perfect for their shells, like the photo above. I wonder if my friend knew that part.
crawling gingerly eggshells in flower beds snail’s obstacle course
gourmet nutrient eggshells in flower pot snail munchies
Years ago I was a teacher’s assistant for a university course. It was a six credit, 2 semester course and one of the most challenging courses that was also a pre-requisite to stay in the programme. It was not difficult due to the academia and theories…the self-discovery and soul searching were the toughest challenges. I really enjoyed working with this professor. He had such a rich experience, having completed two masters in Thailand where he met his wife. He asked each student to purchase 3 balls. At the beginning of each class we spent ten minutes “trying” to juggle while the professor and I were taking attendance. I had to juggle too and times I missed it at school, I tried it at home. After Christmas, we were getting better and now we had to pair up with another person to juggle in pairs. The purpose of the exercise, which he told us only on the last day of classes, was to try something different, to excel outside our comfort level, to be able to laugh at ourselves, make mistakes and see that it will not destroy us. Lots of things we learned and more.
Juggling with too many things in life is another expression we use when referring to juggling. Doing too many things at the same time; unorganized, some will say if we juggle too many things. Interestingly in the true skill of juggling, you must be organized otherwise the items you juggle will fall. You have to keep your eyes open, move up to a rhythm to increase speed all by paying close attention to the task at hand. So, actually, when we say you are juggling too many things at the same time, I find we really mean you took on too much…took on more than what we bargained for, etc.
My haiku starts out thinking of my juggling experience and then I added a few thinking of my grandmother, my mother, my daughter and myself…in life in general…raising a family, working, caring for family, sports, volunteering, car pooling, studying and the list goes on. Thank goodness I did not raise my family during the age of the internet…I would have never gotten anything done…(chuckles) I would have added writing and writing poetry.
The photo below shows a street performer at Montreal’s Old Port specially at Place Jacques Cartier where cobblestone streets are lined with shops, terraces, cafés and restaurants. It is a huge tourist attraction spring, summer and fall.
I came across this cute video and since I love Pharrell Williams…well, it makes me “happy” to share this (grins) Now tell me you were NOT tapping your foot, bobbing your head and swaying those hips after hearing this and I won’t believe you:)
The Eastern Townships are graced with many lakes and mountains. Lake Massawippi is one of those lakes facing Mount Orford and home to many lodges and camps for youths and adults. It is near St-Benoit du Lac, a monastery known for its amazing cheese. What a dream place to live in a small cottage like Wordsworth’s on Lake District and writing to my heart`s content surrounded by trees, water and mountains…and nature’s creatures bidding me good morning each day and the stars winking at me at night.
brunâtre du matin roule doucement sur le lac Massawippi regard! la-haut au ciel couronne sur Mont Orford
early rise fog rolling slowly off Lake Massawippi look! up to the heavens halo on Mount Orford
To follow the mood of this prompt at Carpe Diem, our host has discussed the symbiosis of the birch tree and the mistletoe. Of course when one thinks of mistletoe, we are reminded of kissing during the Christmas holidays.
There are many myths about the how Big Bear and Little Bear who were apparently hoisted in the sky forever to be together. I like this Greek myth. Callisto, a follower of Artemis, virgin huntress and goddess of the crescent moon. Zeus, king of gods, fell in love with her; he disguised himself as Artemis (Diana) to gain her confidence. Having tricked her, she gave birth to his son, Arcas.
Hera, Zeus wife and queen of the gods, discovered the affair and was known to be very jealous and vindictive. It is said that she is the goddess of marriages and protects women. She turned Callisto into a bear. Sixteen years later this bear came upon her son and stood on her hind legs to greet him. Arcas was about to kill the bear and Zeus interfered to save his love and turned Arcas into a small bear. Grabbing both bears by their tails, Zeus hurled them into the safety of the sky to roam forever, together in the sky. Hera enraged that her attempt had failed, appealed to Oceanus that the two might never meet his waters, hence explaining their circumpolar positions.
There are more myths that contradict this such as Arcas became king of Arcadia, but being a mom, I like the idea of mother and son together forever. So here is my haiku with the photo of the grizzly in mind.
With snow-filled sidewalks, I’m forced to walk home on the street. Snow plows were only clearing main arteries and our bus skidded a few times across le Pont Champlain. Challenging snow drifts made me only appreciate more, the crunch crunch underfoot upon virgin snow.
These two shots were taken on my way to my mother’s place last November. I stopped my car on the highway to take a shot on my left, this is the moon and on my right the sun was setting in splendour…cold evening but stayed out long enough to get a few shots.
Early moon rise salutes shimmering star through naked trees
In researching a bit on the powers of the roots, I found that it is a perennial herb with saponins, the root of which is a bronchodilator and expectorant; it is used for abdominal pain, bronchitis, chest pain, colds, cough, diarrhea, oral abscesses, sore throat, tonsillitis. I can see how it is a sacred autumn flower with such properties as to cure many winter colds and bronchial infections. It truly is a beautiful flower, bell- shaped.
Tournesol dans un Jardin 