Sweet Saffron by Barbara Carvallo

At the end of the gardening season the domesticated fall blooming crocus (Crocus sativus) comes out to show. They are believed to be descendant from the eastern Mediterranean Crocus cartwrightianus, also known as “wild saffron” and originating in Greece or Crete. Inside the lovely blooms three stigma or threads bear the rare spice Saffron.  At one point in antiquity Saffron was considered currency and was a valuable pigment used by artists.  Cleopatra put it in her bath as scent it is said.

Today one would need to plant approximately 80,000 flowers to obtain a pound of Saffron, commonly known as red gold, selling for between 500 and 5,000 US dollars per pound. 

If you have fall blooming crocus and are thinking of harvesting some Saffron make sure that you can identify true Crocus sativus.  Other fall crocuses like Colchicum Autumnal (Meadow Saffron) are not edible and indeed have toxic properties, particularly for dogs.  Also very beautiful the Colchicum blooms contain three clusters of stigma, yellow gold in color. 

Aesthetically, the type of crocus hardly matters when one sees the sweet blossoms laid out on autumn’s canvas in light and shadow. They are a delight for the eye as winter comes on.

Photos of Saffron Crocus courtesy of High Country Gardens

Photos of Meadow Saffron Crocus by Barbara Carvallo

LZ by Peno Hardesty

come nina

close your eyes
the ocean is before you
there the beautiful fruit trees
hear the click clack on the cobblestone streets of old san juan
abuela cooks the rice
the dogs bark
the goat needs milking
music from the cafe
checkers
poems
stories
family
feel nina
feel the breeze as it tickles your nose
it is the island
you are of the island
the island is in you
in your blood
in your dna
breathe nina
breathe
breathe for those who struggle
you are
the future
the hope
you are the life
you are
the healer

old ma p loves you baby lz

After the Storm in the Rabbit Hole by Peno Hardesty

I WAS BIRTHED ON THE ROCKS OF THE GREAT SOUTHWEST
RAISED BY THE MIGHTY ATLANTIC OCEAN
I KNOW THE POWER OF THE NOR EASTER
I HAVE SEEN THE HOPE OF THE SUNRISE OVER THE MESA
THE SUNRISE OVER THE MESA
AND FELT THE EVERGLADES PULSE BEATS STRONG
I HAVE MADE LOVE TO THE GHOSTS IN NEW ORLEANS
AND CLIMBED TO THE CROWN OF OUR LADY OF THE HARBOUR
I KNOW THE POWER OF THE WAVES
AND THE THIRST OF THE DESERT SUN
WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS WHO I AM ANYMORE
THIS STORM HAS CHANGED ME
THIS STORM
NO ORDINARY STORM
THIS STORM HAS CHANGED ME

today i found a rock and a feather-----healing blessings------today i pray for the islands-----today i give thanks for life---today i remembered the storm-----like remembering a long ago tap routine ---did it really happen-----did i really remember all the steps-----or am i just the observer---the storyteller----or is it maria---and act two ----my god could there be a third act?

A Bitter Harvest by Barbara Carvallo

On the Pagan calendar Mabon is the second great harvest at the end of the year.  Lammas or Lughnasadh is the first, and Samhain – Halloween to the uninitiated – is the last.  As Samhain is our New Year, Mabon is our celebration of the Fall Equinox.

The Equinox occurs this year on the 21^st of September, and on that day light and dark will hold equal sway over the Earth. Accordingly, Mabon is a celebration of balance. Witches value balance in the practice of our Craft.  Just as Jung valued balance in the health of the psyche.  He spoke of the Mysterium Coniunctionis , the alchemy of opposites joining in a union of balance. We who stand at the Cauldron on Mabon will honor the Mysterium and the transformation its alchemy brings. We will bid farewell to the long days of light and welcome the restful darkness.  We will prepare the garden of our soul for a planting to be harvested next Mabon. First, we must harvest that which we planted last year.

The crop that I will harvest this year is bitter, full of rage and pain. The seeds I planted last year have yielded a crop of fury at those whom I oppose. I cannot bear to look at them, much less talk to them. This, dear Goddess, is my failing.

As I light the candles on my altar this Mabon I will ask Hecate with each flickering flame to help me select better seeds. Come spring I will plant them carefully in my heart, and water them with the blood of my faith in the hope of harvesting a crop of greater enlightenment next year. 

Regardless of the harvest there is always a immense lesson to learn, as it is the alchemy and the transformation that create my path to consciousness. To understand my path I must be good a gardener – diligently watching the light, the air, the Earth, the wind and the creatures Goddess sends to help me. So, I watched the butterflies today clustering in unusual numbers on my Agastache, dancing over my roses and sampling the herbs in my flowering pots. I realized that these lovely creatures are the Goddess’ symbol of transformation.  From egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to the Painted Lady waltzing in the sunlight just beyond the reach of my hose, the butterfly embodies the circle of transformation that is life. This, I believe, is the message Goddess sends me on the wings of the gentle butterfly – transform, adapt and be ready for the next thing because no nightmare lasts forever. We must all be ready.

May I wish you, my friends, an abundant and golden autumn, a warm and restful winter in which to select the seeds that you will plant in spring and nurture through the long days of light for harvest next Mabon. May you harvest joy, understanding, kindness and peace with every seed. Blessed Be.

ANGEL IN THE RABBIT HOLE by Peno Hardesty

i don't believe in angels or heaven or hell---i was getting something out of the car---
excuse me--do you have water?
yes---i can give you a gallon
he was older---riding a bicycle---pulling a homemade trailer
oh no no---do you need water? someone brought me six gallons i only need two so i thought i would see
if anyone needed some
after days of watching folk hoard water and batteries i started to cry--then i found myself sobbing
he pushed his to the gate
are you ok? are you scared?
no sir-----gracias kind sir
we hugged
he would not take a gallon of water from me but he left me these words that i share

THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE PURE LOVE OF THE LONELY
THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE PURE LOVE OF THE UNWANTED
THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE PURE LOVE OF THE LOST
THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT HUMANITY THAT IS BEAUTIFUL

he said he lived up the road although i have never seen him before--
there is something about........

blessings

With a hurricane roaring toward her home Peno finds love and shares her profound wisdom. She is a treasure to all who know her.

In the Rain by Barbara Carvallo

I found these Ladies smiling in the rain. Goddess gave us Roses so we could know that true beauty is of the soul; true grace is of the heart; true dignity is of the mind. Blessed Be.

Welcome to the Colorado Shakespeare Gardens 7/29/17

Colorado Shakespeare Gardens

A WHISPER IN THE RABBIT HOLE by Peno Hardesty

lash flood waters recede slowly
dampness clings to the leaves
night comes 
amid the debris a stirring
leaves wet don't crackle
listen
where was the cure for smallpox
you hung her at salem
and heart disease
he was a german jew--you know what happened
and cancer
he was freed but then the klan caught him
autism
she drowned fleeing syria
where is the answer to peace 
it is in the heart of every one
buried beneath racism and religious intolerance
hidden beneath the guns and the fear of other
can you teach us
i tried
i tried to teach you
but you killed me

The Day Lily by Barbara Carvallo

The taxonomy of the day lily includes the following:

Kingdom – Plantae – plants
Division – Tracheophyta – vascular plants
Class – Magnoliopsida
Family – Xanthorrhoeaceae
Genius – Hemerocallis L. – the day lily

There are many species, a number of hybrids and dozens of cultivars.  They all share a common genetic foundation, a family in fact, and yet they are all different.  They have different sizes, different shapes, different colors, some scent and some don’t. In the garden of a day lily aficionado one might expect to find 50, 60, even a hundred varieties – they are as passionate as any rose grower.

The moral of this story of the day lily is that nature will not tolerate intolerance.  She mandates diversity.  As gardeners we can’t imagine a world where all flowers, trees, shrubs and grasses looked alike.  It is in the nature of gardeners to seek imperfect balance and perfect chaos because that is the definition of beauty. 

Gardening is a spiritual craft, a prayer planted in the soil, nurtured with the hand and heart and made manifest through good will and faith.  I have never understood the blindness that would rob the world of diversity that would make all flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses and people the same. Such sightlessness is spiritual suicide, prayer without hope, profound neglect, a corruption of the will and the antithesis of faith.

Behold the lovely day lily, Goddess’ testament to the magnificence of diversity.

Tea in the Garden by Barbara Carvallo

Welcome to the Colorado Shakespeare Garden

Europeana by Barbara Carvallo

Europeana is a very hardy, disease resistant floribunda rose.  Bushing round and tall with thick clusters of blooms so prolific as to often obscure the beautiful green foliage and bronze tinted new growth that surrounds them, this rose lasts the summer never daunted by the heat.  These velvety red roses hold a sweet tea scent.  Taken all together this is a perfect rose for the first time rose gardener.

A Riot in the Garden

I think formal gardens, although beautiful, are a sign of human hubris. Nature owes us nothing and shares everything with us. To constrain Her, to force Her into patterns and method is a step too far. Therefore, my gardens are chaos itself, color, scent, texture and size run riot. Blessed Be.