New Birth is in the air!

Chirp!
(That's 'good day' in sparrow language).

c.1848

Today I'd like to focus on all the New Birth that this season brings us.

The new birth of baby birds.

The new birth of baby animals.

The new birth of flowers blooming.

and

The New Birth that Jesus Christ gives us with His death and resurrection.

c. 1899

 “Everyone wants to understand painting.

Why is there no attempt

to understand the song of the birds?"

...Pablo Picasso

Rubber stamp image courtesy of VivaLasVegaStamps.

Check out Stampo's wonderful website, listed on the right.

 

“I like pigs. 

Dogs look up to us. 

 Cats look down on us. 

 Pigs treat us as equals.” 

~Winston Churchill

c.1906

wildflowers

"Endless repetition, in and out of season, has spoiled for us

the freshness, the naivete, the simple romantic charm of the Gospels.

We hear them read far too often and far too badly....

When one returns to the Greek,

it is like going into a garden of lilies

out of some narrow and dark house."

....Oscar Wilde, from De Profundis

Here's a sweet bear paper doll, with her baby bears:

 'For God loved you so much 

that He gave His very own Son

 so that when you believe in Him

you won't perish but have eternal life.'

paraphrase of John chapter 3, verse 16, Bible

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures

 from the shelter of compassion and pity,

 you will have men who will deal likewise

with their fellow men."
— St. Francis of Assisi

Let me close with:

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com

Pansy Dreams

A cheerful hello to you!

“Pansies? You praise the ones that grow today

Here in the garden; had you seen the place

When Sutherland was living! Here they grew,

From blue to deeper blue, in midst of each

A golden dazzle like a glimmering star,

Each broader, bigger than a silver crown;

While here the weaver sat, his labor done,

Watching his azure pets and rearing them,

Until they seem'd to know his step and touch,

And stir beneath his smile like living things:

The very sunshine loved them, and would lie

 Here happy, coming early, lingering late,

Because they were so fair.”

- Robert Williams Buchanan

greeting card from cnegeleart.com

Pansies have always been a favorite of mine for the garden. I planted some the first year we moved into our new house. They still amaze me by returning each year - not as many, not as vivid, but they are still smiling! I even have pansies through most of the winter - and we live in the Rocky Mountains, so they get snowed on, and the wind blows fiercely, and yet there they are! I have been experimenting with different colors - there are so many! My absolute fav will always be the purples I think, but some of the others are a wonderful accent.

c.1922 from Indiana Music libraries

A pretty crochet pansy pattern for you:

Placemats and napkin rings with pansy details. Crochet the whole set in Bernat Handicrafter Cotton.

Here is the pdf file:
http://www.bernat.com/data/pattern/pdf/Bernat_HandicrafterCotton530102_08_cr_placematrings.en_US.pdf

“I pray, what flowers are these?

The pansy this,

O, that's for lover's thoughts.”

        - George Chapman

Here is a charming paper doll drawn to look like a vintage bisque doll.

I love all her flower outfits, and of course, the pansy flower costume!

Vagrant Pansies

“They are all in the lily-bed, cuddled close together—

Purple, Yellow-cap, and little Baby-blue;

How they ever got there you must ask the April weather,

The morning and the evening winds, the sunshine and the dew.”
- Ellen Mackay Hutchinson Cortissoz

Years ago, when we were selling our first house and things were not going well,

a neighbor gave me a flat of johnny-jump-ups from the local market. It was the end of the day, and they were pretty pitiful. The flower seller was going to throw them away, as they weren't good enough to sell anymore. My neighbor thought of me (!) and brought them home for free.

That summer I worked out many a frustration by lovingly planting each of those johnny-jump-ups. I would be out there, in the sun (good for improving your mood, among other good things), snipping a little deadhead off, or watering, or just fussing. Those flowers BLOOMED!! They loved the attention and I needed their little smiles. I have never forgotten the kindness of that long ago neighbor.

Here is a pressed pansy flower bookmark, by desertdangles, etsy:

This is a vintage German color clip with an angel and pansies:

“The beauteous pansies rise

 In purple, gold, and blue,

With tints of rainbow hue

Mocking the sunset skies.”
- Thomas John Ouseley, from The Angel of the Flowers

I hope you have enjoyed our little stroll through the pansy garden.
I'm sure that we will have more pansy thoughts later!

inkspired
http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/
http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/
dominoes@myinkspired.com
http://www.myinkspired.com/