Monthly Archives: May 2025

May21

have a cup on international tea day.

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(not me, or my people, and I wasn’t invited to the tea party)

“In Ireland, you go to someone’s house, and she asks you if you want a cup of tea. You say no, thank you, you’re really just fine. She asks if you’re sure. You say of course you’re sure, really, you don’t need a thing. Except they pronounce it ting. You don’t need a ting. Well, she says then, I was going to get myself some anyway, so it would be no trouble. Ah, you say, well, if you were going to get yourself some, I wouldn’t mind a spot of tea, at that, so long as it’s no trouble and I can give you a hand in the kitchen. Then you go through the whole thing all over again until you both end up in the kitchen drinking tea and chatting. 

In America, someone asks you if you want a cup of tea, you say no, and then you don’t get any damned tea. I liked the Irish way better.” 

― C.E. Murphy

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International Tea Day is an opportunity to celebrate the cultural heritage, health benefits and economic importance of tea, while working to make its production sustainable “from field to cup” ensuring its benefits for people, cultures and the environment continue for generations.

 

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photo credit: Irish Tea Party early 1900s, Valentine’s of Dundee, Scotland

 

May20

bloom.

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one of my daughters

gave me

a small bunch of peonies

when suddenly

one bloomed 

 making a very grand entrance.

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“a flower does not use words to announce its arrival to the world; it just blooms.”
― matshona dhliwayo, canadian philosopher, entrepreneur, and author

 

 

May19

‘there is a place where the sidewalk ends.’ – shel silverstein.

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  • walking downtown
    loving the sign
    showing and telling me
     where the sidewalk ends
    different today than yesterday.

    —

    ‘you could start at a path leading nowhere more fantastic
    than from your own front steps to the sidewalk,
    and from there you could go… well, anywhere at all.’

    -stephen king

May18

left or lost?

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came across this journal

tucked into the base of a tree

was it left for someone to find?

was it lost by someone and dropped?

either way i left it undisturbed

to finish out its story.

 

—

‘the true delight is in the finding out rather than in the knowing.’

-isaac asimov

May17

petit pique-nique.

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when the squirrels have their own picnic table

‘

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‘there are few things so pleasant as a picnic eaten in perfect comfort.’

  • -w somerset maugham
May16

we all need a little Bara Bada Bastu in our lives.

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Eurovision, the annual international song competition run by the European Broadcasting Union, kicked off earlier this week. So far, 16 acts are confirmed for Saturday’s final, including Sweden’s KAJ — pictured above and among the favorites to win. Click here to listen to their competition song, “Bara Bada Bastu,” but be warned that it’s quite catchy.

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“my taste in music ranges from,

“you need to listen to this,”

to,

“I know, please do not judge me.”

-author unknown

 

 

 

 

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image credit: Harold Cunningham/getty images

May15

poppy.

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morning, out walking, seeing the sun hit just right, on this poppy

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‘of all of  the wonderful things in the wonderful universe,

nothing seems to me more surprising

than the planting of a seed in the blank earth and the result thereof.

take that poppy seed, for instance;

it lies in your palm, the merest atom of matter,

hardly visible, a speck, a pin’s point in bulk,

but within it is imprisoned a spirit of beauty ineffable,

which will break its bonds

and emerge from the dark ground

and blossom in a splendor so dazzling

as to baffle all powers of description. ‘

*Celia Thaxter

 

*Celia Thaxter,( 1835 – 1894) was an American writer of poetry and stories. For most of her life, she lived on the Isles of Shoales, a group of islands off the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine.

 

May14

making paper.

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I have always been drawn to beautiful paper of all kinds

especially homemade paper

recently I had the opportunity to make paper

with a small group of fellow enthusiasts 

we began by collecting invasive plants on a park trail

choosing stems, green leaves and blossoms

some with a faint scent

some with color

added some torn pieces of reused papers

 chopping, mixing, blending 

all the pieces with water

mashing, straining, draining, shaping

adding details, textures

each piece it’s own style

finally set to dry

now inspired to try more pieces

loved working with the botanicals 

maybe add some threads,

some hints of finely crushed stone?

—

‘fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.’

-william wordsworth

May13

we become it.

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Study Finds We Don’t Just Hear Music — Our Brains and Bodies “Become” It,

A recent study found what many of us know to be true: When we listen to music, we embody it on a deep, physical level that goes beyond hearing.

Drawing upon insights from neuroscience, music, and psychology, the study out of McGill University supports the neural resonance theory, which suggests that our brain and body’s oscillatory patterns align with a tune’s rhythm, melody, and harmony — “from the ear all the way to the spinal cord and limb movements.”  These patterns help shape our musical preferences, sense of timing, and instincts to dance to the beat.

While other research has suggested that the brain relies on learned expectations and predictions to feel music, these findings present a different explanation: “This theory suggests that music is powerful not just because we hear it, but because our brains and bodies become it,” said co-author Caroline Palmer. Researchers show brain rhythms sync with sound to create emotion, movement and meaning.

Potential applications of the theory include:

  • Therapeutic tools for conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s and depression
  • Emotionally intelligent AI that can respond to or generate music more like humans
  • New learning technologies to support rhythm and pitch education
  • Cross-cultural insight into why music connects people around the world

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“music is an outburst of the soul.”
― frederick delius

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Source credits:

Study was led by Edward Large (University of Connecticut) and co-authored by Caroline Palmer.

Canada Research Chair and NSERC Discovery, McGill University, Science News, Science Discovery

Nature Reviews, Neuroscience

May12

‘dandelions don’t tell no lies.’ – mick jagger.

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i just love this painting. simple, yet so very much to see.

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‘organic as a dandelion seed, the ship of our imagination

will carry us to worlds of dreams and worlds of facts.’

-carl sagan

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art credit: “Dandelions” by Susan Cairns, Ireland,  Oil on board.