Firecrackerplant. This is the hardest flower to photograph in my garden. I simply can’t get detail even at a close range.
Since it is May Day—once one of my very favorite holidays–I’m including some links to past May Days: This One with photos of May Baskets I made for friends in 2017 and This One entitled “Scissors, Tissue Paper and General MacArthur” written in 2013 about May Baskets made when I was a little girl.
For Cee’s FOTD
Since I couldn’t send you all a May basket on this first day of May, here are some old ones:
Because my startup disc is nearly full, I don’t have access to any new photos, so I’m reposting some flowers from the past until my problem is fixed. These flowers were made from egg cartons, glue and paint and included in May baskets I took to friends that year. I remember I couldn’t resist eating the caramel in this one, so had to go buy another on the way to my friend’s house to deliver it. The first is a basket made of shredded paper and white glue formed over a custard cup and peeled off when dry. The second is cut out of tissue paper–a pattern shown to me by my mother.
May Day
When I was seven and when I was ten,
the meaning of May Day was different back then.
It conjured up candy or flowers and fun
not fear of a shipwreck or missile or gun.
We’d construct baskets of paper and glue,
put in some candy and a flower or two–
marshmallow peanuts so rubbery and chewy,
jelly beans, candy corn, gumdrops so gooey.
From a big ribbon, they’d hang like a fob
so the basket could hang from a door handle knob.
We’d sneak to a friend’s house and ring the doorbell,
leave the basket and take off, running like Hell.
If anyone caught us, a prize they would seek–
a slap on the arm or a kiss on the cheek.
The boys gave the slaps and the girls gave the kisses–
(the reverse of our wishes for all of us “Misses.”)
For friends who lived farther than six blocks away,
our parents would drive us some time in the day
before school or after to deliver our gifts.
We escaped easier when we had lifts.
We once strung a Maypole from tether ball staff
that was rather disastrous—more of a laugh
than a sweet springtime rite filled with dancing and grace.
When our ribbons got tangled, they laughed in our face.
When our class bully fell down, exposing her panties,
we all joined in with our uncles and aunties,
our moms and our dads and even the teachers,
the school board, the doctor, the priest and the preachers.
Everyone roared at this May Day disaster,
then we picked up our ribbons and ran even faster,
some unfortunate dancers wrapped tight to the pole
until finally the school bell began its slow toll,
telling us all to disband and depart,
weak from the laughter and lighter of heart.
A day in my memory much better than payday–
the one time when May Day was also a mayday!
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/your-life-the-book/
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 