Happy Mother’s Day!

Just a quick, floral Happy Mother’s Day. To anyone who fulfills a Mother role — whether through biological motherhood, stepmothers, grandmothers who stand in for mom’s, or those who nurture others and our Mother Earth and Her creatures in profound and loving ways — thank you for being you. I wish each and every one of you a special day filled with love and beauty.

Spring 2018 Update

Returning from some quite Otherwordly adventures, I wish you a belated Happy Equinox! I cannot even begin to explain how vastly my inner world (and thus also my outer world) has shifted in the past two weeks. Tania Marie just posted her epic Grand Canyon adventure overlapping some of that time, and I will just say that I’ve experienced something similar in terms of integration, timeline shifts, healing, courage and more. Maybe someday I will tell these stories as fiction, because few would believe them as fact. In any case, the internal shifts have created some lovely external manifestations, which I’ll share here.

During this same time period, I’ve noticed clients growing by leaps and bounds, too, so this energy shift seems available to many. I’ve witnessed people coming out of a fog, reclaiming sovereignty over body and soul, embracing an expanded life path, and many people finally clicking in with deep, nourishing soul mate romantic connections. My work

Leaves and Blooms

I love that the yard just keeps blooming and blooming, but even in a lull of blooms, different colored leaves make things interesting. Below, you can see anise hyssop and purple sand cherry mixing things up beyond the blooms. As I design our new yard, I look to the old, seeing what works, what forms I love, what colors and tastes I simply cannot live without, and which ones fit here but not there — everything in its proper time and place. For now, I thought I’d share some loveliness with you:

Those lime green leaves will eventually sport delicate purple flowers that the bees absolutely love, but even without blooms, I enjoy the anise hyssop pop of color tucked among the yet-to-bloom irises.

These candy cane tulips

Today’s Beauties

Lunaria and Fancy Tulips

This Lunaria comes all the way from Bealtaine Cottage in Ireland! Well, the seeds did. I got them from Colette a few years ago, and the Lunaria has finally found its favorite spot at Faery Hof:

The perennial tulips I fell in love with two years ago at Tulip Fest in Holland, Michigan have begun their show:

Easter Flowers

I picked these beauties for David’s parents — the tulip for his Dutch dad and a cheery mix of daffodils for his mom. Thought I’d share some loveliness here, too:

Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan with Two Dutchmen

For David’s birthday this past Thursday, David, his (Amsterdam born and raised) dad and I set out for a much anticipated day trip to Holland, Michigan’s “Tulip Time” festival. The day actually began with a third Dutchman, author and Lyme activist Huib Kraaijeveld, who had sent me a complimentary print copy of his fabulous new book, “Shifting the Lyme Paradigm: The caretakers’ guide on a hero’s journey.” The book arrived registered mail, so we stopped at the post office on our way out of town. David’s dad had been to Holland, MI in 1998, and David and I had never been there. Not knowing what to expect, we found the entire day filled with surprising delights, including the first parade I’ve enjoyed in decades. You’ll notice an improvement in the usual quality of posted photos, because David took all of these except for the one with both of us. (His dad took that.) I hope you enjoy this “oud wereld” excursion as much as we did:

Not surprisingly, Tulip Time included lots of tulips — all over town, of all shapes and sizes.

All the children in Dutch costumes were adorable!

This little girl loved posing for tourists. She had such a sunny personality and brightened everyone’s day.

History of the Dutch in Michigan

I wore orange for the “House of Orange” and my two Dutchmen’s favorite color, but little did I know I’d match so many tulips.

Flower Faery

As mentioned, I actually enjoyed the parade with its many creative costumes and touches of whimsy.

These “Dutch Masters” had flowers for palette colors.

The children reenacted Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting, as well as “Starry Night” and other famous Dutch paintings and stories.

After the parade, we went to the charming “Windmill Island,” because what’s Holland without windmills? This one focuses on sustainability and is a real, transported historic windmill from Holland.

Another view on Windmill Island.

Apparently, David and I both dressed for the occasion.

Those without a green thumb can at least grow wooden tulips to go with their wooden shoes.

An authentic Dutch street organ, complete with posing worker who runs the music twice per hour.

If I ordered correctly after a full day of searching for where to buy tulip bulbs at Tulip Time, we should have these beauties in our yard next spring.

According to David’s dad, the Dutch have been working for decades to breed a black tulip, but usually wind up with shades of purple. He was most excited to see these at the very end of our day.

Success at last! David’s dad has been telling me about the quest of the black tulip since we moved here. What a fitting way to end our Holland tour.

Signs of Spring

Eight yellow crocuses and four tulips (not the ones I planted) just beginning to emerge. The ones I planted are in a bit cooler microclimate due to morning shade, so I hope the squirrels left a few for us to enjoy! I found this one poking through the edge of Mount Mulchmore the other day. Good thing I got back to work.