Snippets Of Life

Sunshine, Paperweights & The Magic Of Perspective

/ Ally Bean / 16 Comments

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I noticed that in the late afternoon the sun shines into our dining room through the French doors.  I have a paperweight collection on a table that happens to be in the path of the sunshine.

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When the light passes through the paperweights it makes beautiful patterns on the wall.  The patterns are easy to see, weirdly shaped and fun to capture with my camera.

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On a whim I adjusted my camera focus to distort the sunshine as it went through the paperweights and I found something different to see.  Something vaguely familiar, yet unique.  Proving once again, that what you see is all in how you go about looking at things.

As Summer Begins, A Snake In The Mulch

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

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Neither one of us asked why it was there.  Or how it got there.  No, we went straight to the WHAT IS IT DOING? question.

I was standing outside on the front sidewalk talking with the UPS delivery woman.  She had dropped off a package, knocked on the front door and was walking back to her truck when she saw it.

When I opened the front door to retrieve the package she turned to me and pointed to [what I believe is, but could be wrong about] a milk snake in the planting bed nearest the house.  I walked out to where she was standing and saw Milky.

He was doing his snake-y thing.  Slithering.  Sticking his head into various heretofore unnoticed holes in the ground around the roses.

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After watching Milky together, the UPS delivery woman told me that this was her first snake on the job.  She’d been warned that things like this could happen, especially out in wooded suburban developments.

For her, Milky was a milestone.  And she left our property with a smile on her face, pleased with her find.

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But as for me, Milky’s existence has brought a new level anxiety to my life.  I realize that if he can get into the planting beds this close to the house, he can slither his way up onto our front door stoop and greet me when I step out of the house using the front door.

So, I’ve done the only thing that I know to do.  I’ve put a note on the inside of the front door where I will see it before I open the door.  The note is short and to the point.  It says: REMEMBER THE SNAKE.

And with that thought in mind, my summer begins.

I Love You, But You’re A Fruit Loop

/ Ally Bean / 20 Comments

This made me laugh at myself.  File it under: Make No Assumptions.  Ever.

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Sometime last year I met a woman at a business function and we talked about social media.  She knew that her job responsibilities were changing and that soon she’d be expected to contribute to her company’s blog and Twitter account.

She also knew that I had a blog so I gave her my blog’s card thinking that she might want to see what I do and how I do it.  She seemed appreciative.

Or at least that is the way I chose to interpret her actions.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I happened to run into this woman again.  She mentioned my blog and I thought: How wonderful!  Someone who I met in real life is reading my sweet little bloggy. 

But my assumption about this woman’s behavior could not have been any farther from the truth. 

She happily admitted that she’d never read my blog.  Then she went on to tell me that she could make my blog popular because she knew how to do that now.

According to her, what I wrote was not important because a blog’s popularity had nothing to do with content– and everything to do with salesmanship.  Specifically, her salesmanship.

And with that she babbled onto another topic of conversation, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she’d insulted me.

This left me wondering: who is the fruit loop here?  Is it her for being unaware and self-absorbed?  Or [more likely] is it me for even listening to her to begin with?

All I know for sure is that there’s another fruit loop to add to the bowl.  😉

My Report On Periwinkles, A Spring Flower That Is Often Overlooked

/ Ally Bean / 24 Comments

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I call these vines, which are growing in the shady area around the base of our deck, Periwinkles.  Currently the lavender-blue flowers, which contrast so beautifully with the dark green leaves, are in bloom.

Aren’t they pretty?

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“Originally a native of southern Europe,… ‘Periwinkle’ is thought to be an old Slavic word, pervinka, meaning ‘first’ and referring to the early spring flowers.”

~ C. Colston Burrell

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A few years ago when the landscapers put these Periwinkles around the deck, a little plastic gardening tag embedded in each of the plants told me that they were called Vinca minor, not Periwinkles.  Since then I’ve come to realize that sometimes these trailing vines + flowers are also called myrtle.

Such a humble plant to have three names.

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“Periwinkle vines gently embrace one another, clinging gently to their surroundings, and therefore are associated with fidelity in folk magic.”

~ Feri Tradition

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According to the Victorian language of flowers, Periwinkles mean early friendship.  This makes sense to me because they bloom early and because they look approachable & non-threatening.

Who doesn’t feel comfortable around simple little flowers on sturdy vines?

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“Through primrose tufts, in that green bower, The periwinkle trailed its wreaths; And ’tis my faith that every flower Enjoys the air it breathes.”

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I’m glad that I snapped a photo of these little flowers.  They’re easy to take for granted.  I imagine that it’s difficult to be a periwinkle, especially when you are surrounded by showy daffodils, pushy tulips & spazzy forsythia who get all the springtime attention.

Makes me adore Periwinkles even more.