Inside The Blacksmith's Garden ~ Talbot St. Cayuga

Gardening Begins on Talbot Street ~ Cayuga

On Hand-writing ~

"The handwriting of Robertson Davies, the Canadian whose magical novels moved an American critic to call him 'the white-bearded magus of the North,' was neat, elegant, and supremely legible but, while composing fiction, he used a typewriter.  'I type because writing by hand I find to be a very great betrayer,' he said in 1989.  'If you try to write [by hand] legibly, as I do, you finish a page and think, That's a handsome page.  This absolutely wrong.  Also, you can only write so long with a pen before your hand becomes tired, and then your invention begins to tire.  If you type. . .you have what you've written there before you--cold and bare.  Then you can go over it, and it is as though someone else had written it and you can edit it with great severity."

~ Harry Bruce, Page Fright, Foibles and Fetishes of Famous Writers, McClelland & Stewart Ltd., 2009.

The Dear Little Shamrock

There's a dear little plant that grows in our Isle,

    'Twas St. Patrick himself sure that set it:

And the sun on his labour with pleasure did smile,

   And with dew from his eye often wet it.

It shines thro' the bog, thro' the brake, thro' the mireland,

And he called it the dear little shamrock of Ireland.

(Chorus:)
The dear little shamrock, the sweet little shamrock,
The dear little, sweet little shamrock of Ireland.

The dear little plant still grows in our Isle,

   Fresh and fair as the daughters of Erin,

Whose eyes can bewitch and whose eyes can beguile,

   In each climate they ever appear in.

For they shine thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,

Just like their own dear little shamrock of Ireland.

(Chorus:)

The dear little plant that springs from our soil,

When its three little leaves are extended,

Denotes from its stalk we together should toil,

And ourselves by ourselves be befriended.

And still thro' the bog, thro' the brake, and the mireland,

From one root should branch like the shamrock of Ireland.

(Chorus:)

The Grand

"In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you."

~ Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) Russian novelist, Philosopher.

"The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowlege and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises."

~ Leo Buscaglia PHd (March 31, 1924 - June 12, 1998) American author, known as Dr. Love.

Vicky Peart

Vickie Peart, professional calligrapher, will be our guest speaker next Third Thursday, March 19.  Vickie is well known in Haldimand County for her work with the Caledonia Fair.  What may not be as well recognized is her passion for calligraphy.  Since 1986, Vickie has been studying, travelling, learning all there is to know about calligraphy. Her fascinating stories include the Saint John's Bible Project ~ the first handwritten bible in the "New World" ~ a multi-million dollar millennium project commissioned by St. John's College, Minnesota.

We welcome Vick and look forward to learning about her work in calligraphy.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 at 1:00 p.m.

[Apologies to Vickie for the incorrect spelling of her name.]

Smile for Today ~

For our friends in Florida

[Photos: Monday, March 9, 2015 lbw]