Sunday Dinner: Coincidence

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“I don’t think that anything happens by coincidence…

No one is here by accident…

Everyone who crosses our path has a message for us.

Otherwise they would have taken another path,

or left earlier or later.

The fact that these people are here

means that they are here for some reason”…

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James Redfield

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“I’ve often noticed that when coincidences start happening

they go on happening

in the most extraordinary way.

I dare say it’s some natural law

that we haven’t found out.”

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Agatha Christie

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“I like coincidences.

Seems like when you have a coincidence

it is a clue to how the world all fits together,

even though things

may look to be wide apart.”

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Marilyn Oser

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“I do believe in Providence.

There have been far too many

tiny perfect coincidences in my life.

At some point,

they cease to be coincidences.”

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Caspar Vega

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“We cannot see how our lives will unfold.

What is destiny and What is accident?

And how can one ever be certain?”

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Cathy Ostlere

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“If we stay aware

and acknowledge the great mystery that is this life,

we will see that we have been perfectly placed,

in exactly the right position…

to make all the difference in the world.”

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James Redfield

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2019

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“Of course, a story always begins

with such a coincidence.”
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Kōji Suzuki

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Sunday Dinner: Transposition

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“The divine laws are quite simple –

they state that every ending is the new beginning.

This world isn’t ruled only by two forces –

the Creation and the Destruction.

The third force – Transformation –

the force of Nature, exists too,

and is, in fact, the blend of the other two.”

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Tamuna Tsertsvadze

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“What transforms this world is — knowledge.

Do you see what I mean? Nothing else

can change anything in this world.

Knowledge alone is capable of transforming the world,

while at the same time leaving it exactly as it is.

When you look at the world with knowledge,

you realize that things are unchangeable

and at the same time are constantly being transformed.”

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Yukio Mishima

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“Scared and sacred are spelled with the same letters.

Awful proceeds from the same root word as awesome.

Terrify and terrific.

Every negative experience holds the seed of transformation.”

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Alan Cohen

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“He was trying to find his footing

in a world both familiar and foreign”

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H.W. Brands

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“Nobody really metamorphoses.

Cinderella is always Cinderella, just in a nicer dress.

The Ugly Duckling was always a swan, just a smaller version.

And I bet the tadpole and the caterpillar

still feel the same, even when they’re jumping and flying,

swimming and floating.

Just like I am now.”

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Holly Smale

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“Light precedes every transition.

Whether at the end of a tunnel,

through a crack in the door or the flash of an idea,

it is always there,

heralding a new beginning.”

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Teresa Tsalaky

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Photos by Woodland Gnome 2018

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“We must live in the radiance of tomorrow,

as our ancestors have suggested in their tales.

For what is yet to come tomorrow has possibilities,

and we must think of it, the simplest glimpse

of that possibility of goodness.

That will be our strength.

That has always been our strength.”

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Ishmael Beah

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A Profusion of Flowers: Dogwood

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There is nothing quite like a flowering tree to fill the garden with a profusion of flowers.  Our native dogwood, Corunus florida, which explodes with flowers each April, remains my favorite.

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Chosen by the Virginia Native Plant Society as their Wildflower of the Year for 2018, flowering dogwood is an easy to grow understory tree which adapts to sun or partial shade.

Native across most of the Eastern half of the United States, from Florida to New Hampshire and west to Texas in zones 5-9, dogwood adapts to many soils and climates.  They prefer neutral to slightly acidic, moist soil and afternoon shade.

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Dogwoods are found growing along the edges of deciduous forests, but are also popular trees for parks and neighborhoods.  Their clouds of white or pink flowers, when in bloom, show up through shady woods or down winding neighborhood streets.  They grow to only about 30′, which makes dogwood a good landscape choice close to one’s home.

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Dogwoods are one of our most wildlife friendly native trees.  They offer nectar to pollinators early in the season, and their canopy supports over 100 species of butterfly and moth larvae in summer.  Many other insects find shelter in their branches, which makes them a prime feeding spot for song birds all summer long.  Birds find shelter and nesting spots in their branches, and in autumn  their plump scarlet fruits ripen; a feast for dozens of species of birds and small mammals.

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The beautiful white ‘petals’ which surround a dogwood’s flowers are actually bracts.  The flowers are small, almost unnoticeable and yellow green, in the center of four bracts.  A cluster of drupes emerges by September, rosy red and beautiful against a dogwood’s scarlet autumn leaves.

Birds distribute dogwood seeds over a wide area, and they grow easily from seed in the garden or the wild.  Young trees grow relatively quickly and are seldom grazed by deer.

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I am always happy to notice a dogwood seedling crop up in our garden and astounded at how quickly they develop.  A seedling dogwood will most likely bloom by its fourth or fifth spring.

Dogwood trees may also be started from cuttings, especially if more trees of a particular form or color are needed.  Their seeds may be gathered and planted outside in a prepared bed in autumn.  They need cold stratification to germinate, and so an outdoor seedbed is a reliable method to grow new trees from gathered seeds.

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There are many dogwood cultivars and trees found with white, pink or red bracts.  There are also several other native and Asian species in the Cornus genus, some with beautiful variegated foliage or colorful stems.

All are relatively pest free and graceful plants.  The Anthracnose virus is a problem for dogwood trees in some areas.  Good hygiene, removing and destroying any affected plant tissue, is important in controlling this fungal disease.  Keeping the tree in good health, especially irrigating during drought, helps to prevent disease problems.

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The last time I counted, we had at least 15 native dogwood trees around our garden, filling it, this month, with billowing clouds of flowers.  It nearly takes my breath away when the sun is shining and we see them against a colorful backdrop of budding trees and clear blue sky.

There is such prolific beauty in April, how can one person take it all in?

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Woodland Gnome 2018

For the Daily Post’s

Weekly Photo Challenge:  Prolific