Monday Morning Musings:
In June, my world is greening, growing
high, the sky in shades of blue and grey,
but showing a spark, a glow, some bit of light,
even on a cloudy day
before daybreak, the robin sings, brings
the pink of dawn, so bright, the sight
awakens geese and bees to hover on
some golden flowers, and in delight
When you can’t decide what color to wear. Two-toned hydrangea at Red Bank Battlefield. ©️Merril D. Smith, 2021
the little ones scamper, goslings, rabbits, deer
hiding in the shade, wade through bushes for the blooms
of orange, yellow, red, violet, and green
growing, knowing all too soon
the colors fade,
but grandmothers with grey-haired wisdom weigh
and know how plants, pictures, stories grow
when nourished with love sway past grey, to stay
beyond June, in memory greening, growing,
like the mockingbird’s song all night and day
holding heartache into laughter flowing–and showing
a path to make everything okay.
South Jersey field, taken from the car.©️Merril D.Smith, 2021
Merril’s Movie Club: We watched Minari this week. We both liked this lovely, tender movie very much. It’s the story of a Korean American family trying to make their own American dream on a farm in Arkansas. The dream is really the husband’s, which causes some conflict in the marriage. Yuh-Jung Youn, who plays the grandmother, won an Oscar for her role. She plants minari, a leafy green plant often used in Korean dishes, and also creates a bond with her grandson, after a rocky start.
Thinking about the movie and seeing all the color in this growing season made me think of my mom. She didn’t know anything about planting, but she did teach my children how to see plants and how to paint them, and she loved flowers and color.
We went to Vino and Vibes at William Heritage Winery with daughter and son-in-law, and we returned there on a Sunday for a members’ only event.
Wine and Mac and Cheese 
Wine Glass Shadows 
Members weekend at William Heritage Winery
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
Delightful, Merril!
Thank you very much!
What a beautiful and uplifting post, Merril! Your pictures and poetry are divine.
And thanks for the movie suggestion!
Thank you so much, Dale.! I’m pleased you liked them, and I think you’ll like the movie, too. 😀
I did. And I have to remember to write it down! You’ve not steered me wrong, yet.
Nothing like nature to lift your spirits😊
That is so true. Thank you!
Beautiful musings today, Merril! I love all of your gorgeous photographs.
Thank you so much, Jill!
Thank you for this splendid blog post. Your poems flow so gracefully and wisely with your great photos. Love seeing hydrangeas (ours aren’t blooming yet), your mother’s paintings, and the faces of you and your family! Also the photo of mac & cheese with glass of wine makes me hungry… yum!
Hi Will. Thank you for your lovely comment! 😀💙
Such a delightful time of year, and it looks as though you are making the most of it 😊
Thank you very much, Ingrid.
Your poem and photos play so well off each other to convey the quintessence of June. Until reading your post, I hadn’t really thought in any depth about why I enjoy June so much. Now I know!
What a lovely thing to write, Liz! Thank you so much!
You’re most welcome, Merril!
Happy days. And as always, wonderful glimpses of the natural world.
My local cardinal is singing and singing right now, although I can’t locate him. Birds! (K)
Thank you so much, Kerfe. They’re harder to spot now that the trees are so full.
Beautiful photos! I need to watch Minari! Where is it playing? Is it on Netflix or something?
Thank you. Luanne!
We streamed Minari from Amazon Prime. It’s probably available On Demand and maybe some other platforms. It was actually just playing at a real theater in Philadelphia.
I get Amazon Prime! We almost never go to a real theatre. The gardener’s back hurts and he can’t eat the popcorn because it’s not gluten free, so the smell makes him sad.
It’s a slight rental from Amazon Prime–maybe $5? We used to go to the movies all the time, but we haven’t for over a year now. We don’t get popcorn very often. 😀
So much love, laughter, and light in these photographs! 🙂 Hydrangeas are one of my favorite flowers…the pink and blue blend is marvelous. Thank you for sharing your June world with us…
Thank you so much, Linda! I’m so pleased you enjoyed the post. 💙
Such a lot of life in your life! All those babies and growing things. Your mother’s paintings are lovely! I especially like the two still lifes at the bottom, all blue and red.
Thank you so much! Yes, lots of growing things. 😀
It’s funny, but after I wrote the post about color and blue, I looked at these paintings (on our living room wall) and saw all the blue.
The colour combination is lovely. So bright!
😀🌞
Green and growing, glowing and utterly gorgeous Merril. A delight to see and read thank you!
Thank you very much, Susan! I so appreciate that.
Oh, I love your mom’s paintings. What a wonderful vision!
Your photos are wonderful too 🙂 How nice to have a winery nearby. My husband and I had a favorite when we lived in CA (V. Sattui). They have lovely picnic grounds and a deli, and we enjoyed lingering there. About a 90-minute drive I think, one way, so we didn’t go often. Lots of fond memories, though.
Thank you so much, Marie!
Wineries have become a thing in S. Jersey. There are so many now! There are many we’ve never been to. It’s a way to preserve farmland and orchards. This one is one of the older ones. Daughter works at a newer one.
Gee, Greg and I need to think about a trip to S. Jersey 😉
Hahaha. Or back to California. I hear there are a few wineries there. 😏
S. Jersey is closer 😉
😀
You always have such great nature shots. Do you live at the water’s edge?
Or are you in a sparsely populated area?
Should I do musings on my surroundings, they would probably be bruisings.
Thank you, Resa. 😀
We live in a sort of suburban area, but not a development. It’s a tiny borough with a park that’s on the Delaware River. There was a Revolutionary War battle there. There are also some other places I can walk to that lead to the river, and there are some wooded patches and grasslands. But we’re only about 20 minutes from Philadelphia.
Sounds perfect!
It’s a definite that our surroundings effect/inspire us. LOL or infect us!
I’m going to write some prose/poem when I’m in my neighbourhood alley. I love the art in it, but it’s been 2 years since any new art has appeared there. So, why not write a few lines…. I really do love being in alleys.
So true. 😀 South Jersey has its own vibe. We’re not from here originally.
If you ever get to Philadelphia there are some cool alleys. They were originally where laborers and craftspeople lived, but now some are expensive/historical areas. Of course, there are more typical city alleys, too. 😏
Ahh, the rich come to the alleys to eat cake. 😀
Or just to live. 😀