Friday, September 26, 2014

A Case, (or Two, or Three), of Mistaken Identity

 Case #1
What are these gnarly globes, decked out
 in a patchy, Granny Smith hued suit,
bordering the more easily recognizable,
 plump and purple fruit? 


This sour apple/pear impersonator,
  too tart and tough in its raw state,
 is commonly cooked up into spicy compotes,
 thus, more pleasing to everyone's taste.




 Case #2
Now, let's see, what could these knobby, red buds be,
bursting from the rain stamped greenery? 

source

To me, they resemble these pungent pretties,
  packed with Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.


  Case #3
But, what have we here?
 No clues regarding shape or colour.
Nothing at all to help us uncover
 the cryptic contents of a delivery,
 wrapped up in a sack, of this
  'hard nut to crack' of a mystery!


 Any ideas as to the ID of these three?
Guesses, hunches, theories, and predictions
are all welcome in the comments section.
Stay tuned, and see you soon for the solutions!
Until then, thanks for visiting,
and have a happy weekend!



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Monday, September 22, 2014

A Rooftop Refreshment


Black and white: alluring opposites, a dynamic duo.
Both beautiful, they boldly cover my wardrobe, sparingly
 dot my decorating, but never represent my thinking,



as most topics of conversation, opinions, attitudes,
 and beliefs, fall somewhere in between, for me. Life is not
black and white; if anything, it's filled with vibrant colour!


 And so, we come to the subject of this black bistro set, 
that crossed the Atlantic in a container from Canada,
along with several antiques, and second hand gems,
many years ago.  In its prime, it was quite pretty,


  but, due to the negligent behaviour of its occupants, 
(the guilty yours truly and hubby), having literally, been left out 
in the cold, and clearly, not rejuvenated by the rain,
 its brilliant, black radiance was unfortunately, 
 (but not intentionally),  reduced to a corroded, rusty malady.


It was time for a much needed makeover. Two coats
of creamy white for metallics were sprayed on, and,


like magic, the weary, wrought iron trio 
morphed into a lovely and lustrous place of leisure;


 a rooftop refreshment, with which to peruse



 the picturesque and panoramic 'Poppy Views'.


Thanks for visiting and
have a wonderful week!





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Thursday, September 18, 2014

Brushstrokes in Bali


Recently, I visited the seaside settlement of Bali, Crete, although, judging from the image above, one would think 
I had spent my days floating on a cushion of clouds, 
rather than bobbing on wavy pillows in the sea.


Can you spot the dab of a sailboat on the
 canvas of dreamy blues in the distance? 


A whisper of white, it silently floats, to and fro, 
creating just a sliver of contrast against
 the palette of marine toned hues.


From afar, it seemed that a pack of gigantic sea monsters, were keeping the little boat at bay, the latter, fearful of anchoring at the ghost town the brutes had created earlier.


 As we headed inland, I wondered how long it could linger there, cradled in the wavy safety of the sea.


Then, pausing to take one last look, I was startled to discover, that the hazy horizon was suddenly, and puzzlingly, sailboat free.


Thanks for visiting, and
have a wonderful weekend!

xo
Poppy 

Thursday, September 11, 2014

The Tricoloured Trio

 

Yesterday, while splashing about in the pool, 
swimming lap after lap, in order to stay cool,


 I noticed a symphony of yellows, greens and blues,
around the surrounding stage that is my garden.

 
  Luminous, the lantana, like lyric sopranos,
dotted the scene in sharp staccatos, 
while the pale, periwinkle blue plumbago, 
mimicking a low profile, rather quiet alto,
hid behind little canopies of green.


  Cypresses, crowned in tones of gold,
 bookmarked the blues up in the sky,
and as the maestros of this lullaby,
conducted the clouds to descrescendo.


With the puffy masses in pianissimo,
the yellow, green, and blue trio
speckled the countryside
 in complementary hues,
in a melodic melting pot of solos. 


Thanks for visiting!

 xo
Poppy

Sharing at: 
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Saturday, September 6, 2014

Garden Gossip


 Today, the Tecoma Capensis, or Cape honeysuckle,
almost had a temper tantrum, claiming that I had not
properly acknowledged its presence, since it arrived more
  than a week ago. Hence, the close up of its 'good' side. 


 It huffed and puffed that, while it was 'on leave', it had
heard through the grapevine that, despite the maple's 
burnt leaves, the tarnished tree was the most
 photographed subject this past summer -


even more than the ravishing red verbena, (horrors!),
 whose petals, it professed, were surely pure perfection!


 Of course, being the designated photographer
of these garden roomies, this was completely untrue.

The green with envy grapevine, hiding in the huddle.

Hmm. I needed to get to the bottom of this, so
off I went to the aforementioned grapevine, 
which miraculously, always seems to have
 the latest scoop on this gullible garden group!


I wasn't surprised, (or convinced),
 when the conniving vine
 tried to pin the whole thing
 on the Goldcrest cypresses!
Its motive? Jealousy: 
for being evergreens,
 and getting to hang out with the
 herbs, and the flowers and the grass,
 rain or shine, unlike the vine, 
that runs out of time,
 deprived of that precious,
 all season pass.


Thanks for visiting
and happy weekend!


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Monday, September 1, 2014

To Market, To Market


To market, to market
To buy farm fresh goods,


 Home again, home again,
To play with the food!


This summer, our garden granted us with plenty of
   veggies, in many different varieties. From zesty
  tomatoes, cool cukes, and an abundance of zucchini,

  

 to sweet cooking onions, the last of which were
 harvested a few days ago, braided, and left outside to dry.


A few weeks leading up to their harvest, their leaves
 were picked upon demand, to be featured in salads, 
 tarts, fricassée, (a lovely, lemony, Greek version),


 and of course, bouquets for this blogger's styling fix!


Plans for the winter shift are already in progress,


 and include spinach, romaine lettuce, collard greens,
and leeks, all rich in antioxidants and a host of vitamins!


But, until then, our local farmers continue
 to provide us with fresh, seasonal fare.


 Versatile, these summer starlets take direction well.
 So, until you decide their fate of whether to bake, puree, 
 boil or sauté, why not have some fun first, and simply play?!


Promise to visit you all soon;
it's been a busy weekend! 
Thanks for visiting and
have a wonderful week!