Banjo strap,


Meet my banjo strap
It's custom made from the Etsy shop Moxie and Oliver, it's breathtaking in color and puts me into a peaceful mood every time I look at it.  The postman delivered the strap a week ago, and I've been in awe ever since.

 Without my strap to play a bridge between me and my banjo, I'd be pulling muscles just to hold the heavy instrument. Now with my flower stained harness, I can breath easy and look pretty while doing it.    


I'm hoping the hummingbirds sing straight into the silver strings, and maybe, just maybe, when I pluck on my banjo, it will sound just like a bird's song.

(P.S... Be sure to take a gander at Moxie and Oliver for an array of handmade leather goodness. Think owls on flasks, peacocks on guitar straps, and bumble bees on card holders!!)

Kisses for hummingbirds and handmade things!




The summer calendar,

 
The sky is cloudless today, the tree's shadow is eating the acorns, and the sun's light is giving birth to the apple orchard. I have no bad news, or places to be, just here in my backyard with the sound of flies and bumble bees buzzing.

 I've waited so long for the bold smell of a barbeque, and the sweet taste of sugar-rimmed glasses.   To celebrate the sleeveless weather, I spent my day drinking strong willed gin, and talking of my Summer calendar.
 
 
 
 
 
Sometimes, I wish I could find a magic Oak tree. You know the kind in fairy tales, where the leaves are made of money instead of chlorophyll.  During the light of day,  I could bend the big branches down, and pull the leaves into my pocket. Then maybe, my summer calendar would be filled with looking through windows at crop circles, dining on Italian feasts, visiting faraway family, and soaking my belly on sea rocks.  Instead, I'll have to rise early for labor and teeth grinding in order to afford those airplane tickets...  

(Maybe next year....)

Although I won't be sightseeing in Italy, licking European plates, or traveling anywhere this Summer, I will do my best to be happy at home where the sweet peas grow.  

(This is my first Summer without school, so it just may be the greatest Summer yet.)

My Summer to do list:
  1. eat watermelon and pineapple every week
  2. play my banjo in the sun below the may tree
  3. swim in a natural lake
  4. listen to the birds in the morning very carefully
  5. play blues music on the porch while the sun goes down
  6. convince carter and my mum to watch the stars with me
  7. hike trails and follow the rabbits
  8. sip on slushies while stopping to smell the wildflowers
  9. visit my Vernon BC family and eat ice cream with them
  10. lay on cotton sheets naked with the windows open
  11. go to the calgary folk music festival and eat onion cakes
  12. plant flowers and herbs / don't let them die
  13. be happy and sun soaked e v e r y d a y

 
Clouds shaped like whales,  buckets of iced tea,  curtains all high and mighty

All I ever do is write about the weather, but when you feel the sweat dripping from your brow, and the light of Spring tickling your fingers, it's hard to think of anything else.

What are your plans for Summer??


Outfit Details
white vintage dress *jumble boogie * $15
harvest floral crown *handmade* 
Floral Tapestry Wedges *www.asos.com* $100 
wearing cosmo pop lipstick from lime crime



Poetry // where goes the Petunia,

 
Where goes the Petunia
 by Amy Nelson

You have made my bosom move while garments billowed out below,
without your knees,
the clouds won't hang,
and the petunia heads don't grow.

You have made the moon release fair scents while I sleep
without your flesh,
the plainness stays
and the birch brooms do not sweep.
----------

You have put the forests pieces and the gardens on display,
without your talk,
the red finches fall,
 and the stallion does not neigh.

You have made every slow hum into a fragrance of your latch,
without your sleeves,
 the bear's heart dies,
and the chickadees don't hatch.
---------

You have toasted grains and strawberry slop when I've been sick with a shake,
without your stretch,
the pastry is stale,
and the white loaf does not bake.

You have turned these hands into herbs and this tongue into dough,
without your love,
the migration begins,
and the petunia heads don't grow.

 
 
 
 

I've decided to write and publish a weekly poem here on the blog. The poem is written right on blogger with a 45 minute time limit. I'll also post photographs or illustrations to go alongside.  I think it will be a nice challenge for me, and if you enjoy the poetry, you'll know you have something to read *every single* week.


P.S
I think I'll add more to this poem throughout the week... And I'll post the finished product on my poetry page.

(An outfit post is on the horizon... but for now... I must comb these knots out of my hair *)

Thank you for reading.




april / / amy & ashley ramble and roam,

 

It was a day built by the sounds of birds, and if you listened close enough, you just might hear buds crackling and turning into leaf. It was as if the Springtime was sitting on every ankle, just waiting for the perfume of yellow violets to spill.  I could taste the modest flowers and the wild cherries on the horizon.  When I squinted, I could see the green green grass waiting to form.

 It was a Mid Afternoon designed to make those who stood on the hills feel wealthy.

 
 
 
The scents and the sky reminded me of when I was a little girl. I remember watching through classroom windows in April, waiting for Winter's weights to leave. I'd count the clouds and cross my fingers, hoping my little prayers would bring bumble bees and ladybugs. I had no time for mathematics or making sculptures out of clay.  I only had thoughts for Springtime. 

The Spring has been, and always will be, an ally, and a teacher.  You can't use twigs in the winter the way you can in Spring, you can't catch ants, you can't sleep on hills, you can't wander carelessly into the woods, and you certainly can't sulk or laugh in the blooming garden. 

I know Spring hasn't fully arrived, and we're still kissing the tail of winter, but when Spring does arrive, and I'll no longer have to cross my fingers, you'll find me bare legged and belly flopped underneath the daffodils.

 
 
I was very happy to spend the day Rambling and Roaming with Ashley  We started the date with a bowl of oatmeal. My bowl was filled with calories, also known as bananas, peanut butter, and brown sugar.  Ashley's bowl was filled with healthy goodness, also known as apples, and dried cranberries.

We ate our oatmeal, talked of things that happen in life, and drove around looking for a nice place to take pictures.  

 

We ended up finding ourselves standing, sitting, and modeling behind a school yard.  The wind came up for a visit, which tossed my hair like lettuce in a salad pot, but that's what you get for growing your hair long.

 Besides the breeze, it was a beautiful day for picture taking, and collecting thoughts with Ashley.
Even the prairie dogs of the field gathered to witness the Spring air.

 


Outfit Details
pink dress *Modcloth* 
white floral leggings*forever 21* 
flower socks * ardenes* $3
glitter wedges* Aldo* birthday gift 

Ashley's Outfit Details
stripe dress *joe fresh* 
shoes *steve madden*
necklace *h&m*
jacket *american eagle*