“It just makes me happy, and that is reason enough.” Maybe a smile a bit wider than the usual boundaries, or eyes open just an eyelash more than the norm—I whole heartedly agree. Magic always seems to ride on the coat tails of happiness. I love your back door display—the Tansy hanging on your beautiful layering of colors designed to accent any season. What a gorgeous invitation—‘come right in, you are welcomed here’. I’m smiling a little wider now, we share a few of the same special events—hummingbird conversations, I greet the day by walking right up to the bentwood hanger of the feeder, hung at eye level, to bid good morning to Herman, who joins us for every meal, perching on the hanger, content to listen in. Dress code is non-existent, come as you are. It is berry time, starting today! The blueberries are ready to be picked in the most magical place. A small organic farm with an honor system for payment. A lovely hill side overlooking a remote trout pond. Home to a mating pair of Common Loons that seem to know we would love some live music as we wade through bushes taller than me. In case you are wondering, yes, I wear a bell, bears are welcome as long as they are able to read the sign that keeps them in their own rows and out of mine. Yes indeed, tis the season of treasures and small acts of magic. Thank you for sharing yours. Oh, you might like my bug deterrent or you might want to wear it, it smells so good: lavender and red cedar. I agree with Susie,her last paragraph.
Thank you for this lovely post, Dave……. I fully empathize the way you celebrate berry season and other garden foods. So delicious to harvest something in its prime!
I have to tell you a story about tansy and how I started to grow it.
My Acadian grandmother (Memere) used to harvest it from the wild each summer in New Brunswick (eastern Canada) to use all year. She dried it by hanging it upside down on her clothesline, she must’ve had to bring it in somewhere / sometime but I do remember seeing it on the line.
It was absolutely a staple for her. She used it mainly for “poultices” to cure infections, but also as a tea for female cramps. She would question my sisters and I (in the ‘80’s) whether we had our winter supply! 😀 I had never heard of the insect repellent but I’m sure she was aware of that as well.
So fast forward to the early 2000’s and I’m planting an herb garden. I got quite carried away with the idea of having lots of variety, and thinking back to my grandmother, I ordered some tansy seed.
Well it certainly grows well here and started taking over the herb garden as well as seeding other parts of the yard. I couldn’t believe they’d actually sold seed for it! Like you’d buy dandelion seeds.
It still has a place behind the garage, where it grows tall and plentifully. Remnants grow in the lawn and around sheds. A little reminder of my grandmother ❤️.
David I have never heard of Tansy so this was a great education about it and what it can be used for. O also had never heard of pennies in a zip lock bag. I assume it has to be left open to worn. Love your door. I hope some day I will get to get back out to Oregon?Washington state area and just wander around the less populated areas. Thank you for this lesson.
In New England, of course, it was the first fiery color of autumn leaves, a patch of ten or twenty reds and oranges on a high branch above the winding highway as we drove north into New Hampshire for our last summer camping trip. And even more leaves turning color as we returned home a week later. Those were blissful deep blue days, when the sky would fill your heart with its own beauty till it hurt. Lakes plunged with sunlight into their depths wielding green and brown revelations of secrets deep below. We played more intently. We held each other tighter.
Those fiercely bright omens of fall signaled the change of seasons. Time to wrap up our outdoor living. In went the tent and sleeping bags. Out came the rakes and wheelbarrow, the gloves and camera. Soon we would revel in being surrounded by the brilliant reds and oranges of our own maples and oaks overhead. They formed a canopy framing that brilliant blue sky. I felt I could just die then and there, as the song goes, and be happy with all life had brought.
Noisy ducks and geese would be pointing south again. The indescribable pungency of wet woods and leaf decay would diffuse everywhere. My autumn high was Nature changing its colors and naturally composting at each summer’s end. I would inhale deeply as to never let go. Endings. Each fall, readying for winter.
Well I wish tansy grew here... I haven't seen any for a long time what with the madness of ditch spraying that has seized the state of MN. I have railed to no avail against this asinine practice. My old neighbor friend who died at 106 this past January, told of ditches awash with blooms and wild fruit. We, humanity deserve the meagre future we are making for ourselves... if we could only wake from this fever dream! My 80 acres, now that's a different story. Tons of blooms and creatures to sip their nectar.
I appreciate the photos, stories, editing and time involved with your posts. I also did that during my launch into a nomadic/retirement journey in 2020 when most folks were home bound during the pandemic. A couple years in I rescued a puppy from the AZ Navajo Nation begging for food at a remote gas station. She completely took over the narrative and story line and how we operated. I eventually couldn’t keep up with the stories because I now had a high energy res dog that required my attention. I’m going to assume you are on the west coast for the tansy and rufous hummingbird. I just allowed myself to hike and photograph the riverside flowers and mushrooms in the beautiful Connecticut woodlands. Nava the nomad is now an adult dog and could be free to explore and I automatically resumed my passion.
The words and photos are so inspiring David! Tansy is such a pretty plant. And your door...it is gorgeous and rather magical too! Thank you for sharing little slits of your timeline!
I know of only one rocky, very difficult to get to place on the back of the hill—north facing—where it just might have kept enough of its cool facade for the tansy to remain alive and beautiful during beastly record breaking temperatures this summer… it is a month at least since I have wandered along that track and I had forgotten it entirely.
For your reminder, thank you.
For always having good words to say when everything is feeling more than a little crappy, thank you also, you just might be my hero today!
Love Tansy. Fairy buttonholes and insect deterrent is a great reason to grow it here. Sadly mine didn’t like this summer heat and has departed for pastures new. I will get more though. Thank you for your magic reminder to keep high days and holidays Dave. Tomorrow we are having a small gathering of family of choice to celebrate life itself. We’ve all had a very hard couple of years and it seems a good reason to celebrate Life. No big deal just 6 of us who appreciate waking each morning.
You, dear Ambermoggie are my kind of person. I adore the idea of your posse of a half-dozen gathering to celebrate life itself. I'll carry that thought with me all day. Thank you for being part of the goodness of the world, and for making time to offer such kindness and encouragement. You rock!
This was just a pocketful of magical sunshine ☀️✨💛
“It just makes me happy, and that is reason enough.” Maybe a smile a bit wider than the usual boundaries, or eyes open just an eyelash more than the norm—I whole heartedly agree. Magic always seems to ride on the coat tails of happiness. I love your back door display—the Tansy hanging on your beautiful layering of colors designed to accent any season. What a gorgeous invitation—‘come right in, you are welcomed here’. I’m smiling a little wider now, we share a few of the same special events—hummingbird conversations, I greet the day by walking right up to the bentwood hanger of the feeder, hung at eye level, to bid good morning to Herman, who joins us for every meal, perching on the hanger, content to listen in. Dress code is non-existent, come as you are. It is berry time, starting today! The blueberries are ready to be picked in the most magical place. A small organic farm with an honor system for payment. A lovely hill side overlooking a remote trout pond. Home to a mating pair of Common Loons that seem to know we would love some live music as we wade through bushes taller than me. In case you are wondering, yes, I wear a bell, bears are welcome as long as they are able to read the sign that keeps them in their own rows and out of mine. Yes indeed, tis the season of treasures and small acts of magic. Thank you for sharing yours. Oh, you might like my bug deterrent or you might want to wear it, it smells so good: lavender and red cedar. I agree with Susie,her last paragraph.
Thank you for this lovely post, Dave……. I fully empathize the way you celebrate berry season and other garden foods. So delicious to harvest something in its prime!
I have to tell you a story about tansy and how I started to grow it.
My Acadian grandmother (Memere) used to harvest it from the wild each summer in New Brunswick (eastern Canada) to use all year. She dried it by hanging it upside down on her clothesline, she must’ve had to bring it in somewhere / sometime but I do remember seeing it on the line.
It was absolutely a staple for her. She used it mainly for “poultices” to cure infections, but also as a tea for female cramps. She would question my sisters and I (in the ‘80’s) whether we had our winter supply! 😀 I had never heard of the insect repellent but I’m sure she was aware of that as well.
So fast forward to the early 2000’s and I’m planting an herb garden. I got quite carried away with the idea of having lots of variety, and thinking back to my grandmother, I ordered some tansy seed.
Well it certainly grows well here and started taking over the herb garden as well as seeding other parts of the yard. I couldn’t believe they’d actually sold seed for it! Like you’d buy dandelion seeds.
It still has a place behind the garage, where it grows tall and plentifully. Remnants grow in the lawn and around sheds. A little reminder of my grandmother ❤️.
David I have never heard of Tansy so this was a great education about it and what it can be used for. O also had never heard of pennies in a zip lock bag. I assume it has to be left open to worn. Love your door. I hope some day I will get to get back out to Oregon?Washington state area and just wander around the less populated areas. Thank you for this lesson.
No tansy. Just ragweed.
In New England, of course, it was the first fiery color of autumn leaves, a patch of ten or twenty reds and oranges on a high branch above the winding highway as we drove north into New Hampshire for our last summer camping trip. And even more leaves turning color as we returned home a week later. Those were blissful deep blue days, when the sky would fill your heart with its own beauty till it hurt. Lakes plunged with sunlight into their depths wielding green and brown revelations of secrets deep below. We played more intently. We held each other tighter.
Those fiercely bright omens of fall signaled the change of seasons. Time to wrap up our outdoor living. In went the tent and sleeping bags. Out came the rakes and wheelbarrow, the gloves and camera. Soon we would revel in being surrounded by the brilliant reds and oranges of our own maples and oaks overhead. They formed a canopy framing that brilliant blue sky. I felt I could just die then and there, as the song goes, and be happy with all life had brought.
Noisy ducks and geese would be pointing south again. The indescribable pungency of wet woods and leaf decay would diffuse everywhere. My autumn high was Nature changing its colors and naturally composting at each summer’s end. I would inhale deeply as to never let go. Endings. Each fall, readying for winter.
I agree with sister Susie — your good good words!!
Blue Tansy does not grow on my Blue Ridge but I do put a drop of its essential oil in my moisturizer, especially during this heat.
Do your Hummingbirds like the Blue Tansy nectar? And, in general, are the flowers they love still aligning with their migration? 🩵Katharine
Well I wish tansy grew here... I haven't seen any for a long time what with the madness of ditch spraying that has seized the state of MN. I have railed to no avail against this asinine practice. My old neighbor friend who died at 106 this past January, told of ditches awash with blooms and wild fruit. We, humanity deserve the meagre future we are making for ourselves... if we could only wake from this fever dream! My 80 acres, now that's a different story. Tons of blooms and creatures to sip their nectar.
Thank you for inviting us to celebrate as we are inspired 🌻❤️. Tansy is a treasure and worthy of a celebration- agreed.
Wow! I never knew about tansy’s anti-insect properties. Thank you, David! ❤️
What a blessing you are, dear David
I appreciate the photos, stories, editing and time involved with your posts. I also did that during my launch into a nomadic/retirement journey in 2020 when most folks were home bound during the pandemic. A couple years in I rescued a puppy from the AZ Navajo Nation begging for food at a remote gas station. She completely took over the narrative and story line and how we operated. I eventually couldn’t keep up with the stories because I now had a high energy res dog that required my attention. I’m going to assume you are on the west coast for the tansy and rufous hummingbird. I just allowed myself to hike and photograph the riverside flowers and mushrooms in the beautiful Connecticut woodlands. Nava the nomad is now an adult dog and could be free to explore and I automatically resumed my passion.
The words and photos are so inspiring David! Tansy is such a pretty plant. And your door...it is gorgeous and rather magical too! Thank you for sharing little slits of your timeline!
I know of only one rocky, very difficult to get to place on the back of the hill—north facing—where it just might have kept enough of its cool facade for the tansy to remain alive and beautiful during beastly record breaking temperatures this summer… it is a month at least since I have wandered along that track and I had forgotten it entirely.
For your reminder, thank you.
For always having good words to say when everything is feeling more than a little crappy, thank you also, you just might be my hero today!
Love Tansy. Fairy buttonholes and insect deterrent is a great reason to grow it here. Sadly mine didn’t like this summer heat and has departed for pastures new. I will get more though. Thank you for your magic reminder to keep high days and holidays Dave. Tomorrow we are having a small gathering of family of choice to celebrate life itself. We’ve all had a very hard couple of years and it seems a good reason to celebrate Life. No big deal just 6 of us who appreciate waking each morning.
You, dear Ambermoggie are my kind of person. I adore the idea of your posse of a half-dozen gathering to celebrate life itself. I'll carry that thought with me all day. Thank you for being part of the goodness of the world, and for making time to offer such kindness and encouragement. You rock!