A Shadow Thought!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

Beware of leaving your afternoon pot of mint tea unattended,

 for fairies are very fond of herbal steam baths!

Happy Belated Birthday, Mr. Shakespeare!

Shakespeare's Garden Central Park ~ 2012 ~

A few days ago, on April 23rd, it was Shakespeare's birthday... and I thought I would celebrate his day by sharing with you dear Zingertalers some of the flora from his time and their meanings.   Here are just a few that I was able to uncover and discover...

In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Ophelia mentions several kinds of flowers and herbs and their meanings:
    •    Pansies represent "thoughts." The English name "pansy" comes from the French word, "pensées," meanings "thoughts."
    •    Rosemary is for "remembrance."
    •    Rue, a bitter-tasting herb, may symbolize disdain; Ophelia pretends to give rue to herself and her imaginary guests. Rue was also thought to protect against spells and was used to sprinkle holy water during church services. For this reason, it is also called "herb-of-grace."
Shakespeare's plays and poetry are filled with references to flowers. In The Winter's Tale, the princess Perdita wishes that she had violets, daffodils, and primroses to make garlands for her friends. The fairy queen Titania, who has fallen in love with Bottom, gives him a wreath of flowers to wear in A Midsummer Night's Dream. In fact, Shakespeare uses the word "flower" over 100 times!

LAST BIT OF ODDS AND ENDS ~ William Shakespeare said in The Winter's Tale, "Here's flowers for you, hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram, the marigold, that goes to bed with the sun, and with him rises weeping.  So Shakespeare Tea is a wondrous blend of lavender, peppermint, summer savory, sweet marjoram, and calendula petals

A Shakespeare garden was added in the anniversary year 1916 to Central Park, New York City. It included a graft from a mulberry tree said to have been grafted from one planted by Shakespeare in 1602; that tree was cut down by Rev. Francis Gastrell, owner of New Place, sadly, the tree blew down in a summer storm in 2006 and was removed.

O' happy day of YOUR, dear Mr. Shakespeare! I am so glad you were born.

The Kousa Tree!

photo by ana traina ~2012~

From a distance I was struck by the beauty and color of this handsome Kousa tree in Central Park. Of course, I just had to run over and take a photo for I could not believe its wondrous color.  Then as I stood admiring these tender buds, I was reminded of Saint Fiacre and his legend.

Saint Fiacre was born in Ireland at the end of the 6th century and was the Patron Saint of Gardens.

The legend of Fiacre goes that St Faro allowed him as much land as he might entrench in one day with a furrow; Fiacre turned up the earth with the point of his staff, toppling trees and uprooting briers and weeds. A suspicious woman hastened to tell Faro that he was being beguiled and that this was sorcery.  Faro, however, recognized that this was the work of God. From this point on it is said St Fiacre barred women, on pain of severe bodily infirmity, from the precincts of his monastery.

LAST BIT Of ODD AND END ~ Funny enough, Saint Fiacre is also the patron saint of taxi drivers. The connection came from the fact that the Hotel de Saint Fiacre in Paris, France, rented carriages. People who had no idea who Fiacre was referred to the small Hackney coaches as "Fiacre cabs", and eventually as "fiacres".

Pausing!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

Underneath the compassionate cherry blossoms all things are possible, 

even our most dubious dream...

YamSurprise!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012~

In my wondrous book, the indoor how-to book of oats, peas, beans and other pretty plants, that I picked up five weeks ago from the magical Mr. Steve, it reads "Your tuber may not take root all at once. Some take longer than others to get started. The time can be as brief as ten days or as long as six weeks. Don't give up on it! " Well I must admit, it was touch and go for awhile with not a single bud or leaf insight for three and a half weeks.  However, I would not, or could not give up, nor did I ever!  What a delicious life lesson in such a simple task! I am so so pleased to be able to share with you, my dear Zingertalers, my fertile endeavor of yam rooting.  Now, in only one weeks time, I will be onto step two, which is transplanting the yam into the soil.  Here are a few things I will need.

Two terra-cotta pots, one  a six-incher, the other and eight-incher (make certain that the pots have adequate drainage, holes, whatever size you decide to use, and they are generously crocked)

Crocking materials (broken pottery does quite nicely) 

Dish to go under pot to catch water overflow 

Humus-enriched, sterilized soil

THEN...

After crocking my pots, I will fill the soil to about two inches below the pots top. Next, I will plant my tuber in the center of the pot and cover. Finally, I will put the water catching dish below and set it back in its sunny spot on my windowsill.

Stay tune, O fearless Zingertalers, for updates on my sunny sunflower seeds and my next daring adventure in rooting, Turnip Tops in a Pot!

Last bit of Odds and Ends... Jarred Pears by Cheeky Monkey, Patti Deihl's label.

Almost a Shadow Thought!

photo by ana traina~ 2012

Sometimes, dancing on treetops can be quite good for the soul,

for it gives you a chance to see how others may live on the northern northside of the Celestial Pole!

Dandelions are not Only for Wishes!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

Yes, dandelions are wondrous flowers to make wishes upon, but did you also know that they can be used as a refreshing mist... Here is a lovely recipe to make at home that I discovered while browsing in Jaqulene Harper-Roth winning book, Beautiful Face, Beautiful Body.

Dandelion Flower Mist
1 tablespoon fresh dandelion petals
1 tablespoon fresh chamomile flowers
1 tablespoon fresh marigold petals
2 cups very hot water

Immerse flowers and petals in water. Cover and steep for one hour. Strain, then funnel into a spray bottle and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Roses are red,
Violets are blue;
But they don't get around
Like the dandelions do.
~Slim Acres~


Happy misting to all!

Wind Sailing!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012~

Sometimes, in our hungry daydreams, we are lucky enough to catch tiny glimpses of what might have been...

The Gentle Specter of the Tulip Garden does...

 photo by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

the crossword puzzle

Temporarily Out of Service!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

Due to the slight (ha) technical problem of my computer being complete void of storage space, zingertales and afunnybunnypicture will not be posting till Monday or there about! Will miss you!! ♥

O' this is where you'll find me... in my favorite spot in all of New York City!

A Shadow Thought!

shadow by ana traina ~2012~

Miss Agnes Adare always wore her heart afloat,

for she was completely unaware of the prickly pinheaded people

who on occasion like to wear Mockinaw coats!

Be it Crow, Magpie, or Raven!

crow, magpie or raven by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

When I was young, I had three aunts who were Italian and very superstitious. They were wary of almost everything, like: Hanging paintings of birds in the house, feathers bring ailments. Killing a spider, (although they passionately hated them.) Breaking a mirror, 7 years of bad luck, (a very big one in my family, indeed.) The bed should never face the door as it resembled a coffin in a church. Giving a handkerchief as a gift as tears could flow. Never cross the silverware on a table as it would bring strife. Always pass each other the salt hand to hand, (without putting it down on the table) or there would be an imminent fight between the two. Never place a hat on the bed as it recalls a scene of imminent, or just occurred death. Never place an upside down loaf of bread on the table. Spilling olive oil. Spilling salt. Seeing nuns. Black cat crossing your path. Walking under a ladder. Crossing arms when shaking hands in a group. Crossing glasses when toasting in a group, Toasting with a glass of water. Owls. The number 17 and 13 people sitting at the table. However, their fear of crows, magpies, and ravens ran even deeper. Upon spying them from an open car window they would immediately in hushed whispers start counting them...

One's bad,
Two's luck,
Three's health,
Four's wealth,
Five's sickness,
Six is death.

Then like a combustible engine, the fights would begin as to the real meaning of such a sudden vision...one aunt would protest that it was a messenger of the gods foretelling good news. While another would say it was probably their old nanny, Ester, the witch! Then there would be a moment of complete and foreboding silence before they all broke out in peals of laugher, saying, between deep chuckles and catching their breath, that sometimes they actually saw real red horns growing out of Ester’s forehead. This, I must admit, frightened me a bit. However, most often than not they believed that crows were harbingers of death and disaster. On spying a crow, they would make the sign of the cross, blessing themselves against evil as they lifted their eyes up to god. But O’ woebegone if upon seeing crows, one cawed!  Cawing is what they most feared, as they believed it was an announcement of a death that was soon to be heard! A death of someone that was likely, very close. Perhaps, even one of their own! Again, they would bless themselves quickly and chant these words..."Go! Shoo!! Be on your way old crow, and bring me only good news." Even now, many years after they are gone, this memory brings a smile and a salty tear because I know, my great love of crows comes from these fond memories of my aunts and their fun fairytale-like ways of giving magical powers to what others might find just, ordinary.

Here are some other reasons why I love crows, that I was able to uncover and discover...

Crows are the bringer of messages from the spirit world, and it is thought to dwell beyond the realm of time and space.

When you meet crow, he could be telling you that there will be changes in your life and that possibly you should step by the usual way you view reality and look into the inner realms… walk your talk… be prepared to let go of your old thinking and embrace a new way of viewing yourself and the world.

Crows live a long time, and are monogamous. If the male crow dies, the female will never take another mate. Crows take responsibility for feeding their offspring, and escort their young in flight. Crows lead flocks of storks when they cross the sea to Asia.

Happy Crow, Magpie, and Raven Spying!

O' HOT CROSS BUNS!

HOT CROSSED BUNS BY ANA TRAINA ~ 2012~

I love Hot Cross Buns! However, I don't think I have taken part in this particularly scrumptious slice of the Easter celebration for at least 20 some odd years! Why, you may ask?  Well, if truth be told, I have been on a diet for practically my entire life.  If not, all my life! I look at sweets and gain ten pounds!! O' the wretched curse of fatty genes. But I digress... What I want to speak about today on this Easter morn is this; on this past Good Friday I was food shopping at Hawthorn Valley, in upstate New York, when I was suddenly stopped, dead in my tracks, by a case full of fresh, out of the oven, aero-aromatic Hot Cross Buns. They were not just calling to me, they were singing songs of my memories past with a full orchestral band... Memories of a snowy April's morn shouting from my highest cortex when I was seven years old. I was instructed to pick up a dozen Hot Cross Buns after mass on Easter morning. I musingly remember that I waited a whole thirty minutes on line outside the German bakery on Riverdale Avenue. I was holding on to my pink Easter Bonnet with a spray of pink shimmering Lilly of the Valley pinned to its side, and of course a ten dollar bill.  I remember thinking, "I am real grown up now to be given such an important errand.", as the wind and snow cruelly pierced my white lace stockings and the slush soaked into my new black patent leather shoes. And finally I remember, inhaling the sweet steamy scent of cinnamon mingling with sugary preparations as I entered the toasty confectionary.  I ordered, with what I believed to be frost bitten toes, thirteen buns, not knowing that I hadn't even enough for twelve. An enchanted voice from behind the counter said, "that will be eleven, fifty." Reaching my hand up as far as I could, merely to the edge of the counter, I meekly replied, "Is this enough?" It seemed like an eternity before the smiling confectioness, with her cherrytwizzler-red lips, leaned over the counter and her butter-silken hand reached down and took my ten dollar bill. With a wink, she said, "Fröhliche Ostern! Perfect!" O' my, a small act of kindness is unforgettable; it silently waits for the right moment to resurrect and remind us that we might not be wearing a bonnet or patent leather shoes, or relishing in a simple responsibility, but that we could be sweetly and forever adorned by someone who joyously gives without a hitch.  O' let the honeyed taste of that Hot Cross Bun fill me for a lifetime.

Last bit of Odd and End ~ "Bath buns, hot cross buns, spice buns, penny buns, Chelsea buns, currant buns-all these small, soft, plump, sweet, fermented' cakes are English institutions...The most interesting of the recipes is perhaps the simple spiced fruit bun, the original of our Good Friday hot cross bun without the cross. These spice buns first became popular in Tudor days, at the same period as the larger spice loaves or cakes, and were no doubt usually made form the same batch of spcied and butter-enriched fruit dough. For a long time bakers were permitted to offer these breads and buns for sale only on special occasions, as is shown by the following decree, issued in 1592, the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Elizabeth I, by the London Clerk of the Markets: That no bakers, etc, at any time or times hereafter make, utter, or sell by retail, within or without their houses, unto any of the Queen's subject any spice cakes, buns, biscuits, or other spice bread (being bread out of size and not by law allowed) except it be at burials, or on Friday before Easter, or at Christmas, upon pain or forfeiture of all such spiced bread to the poor...If anybody wanted spice bread and buns for a private celebration, then, these delicacies had to be made at home. In the time of James I, further attempts to prevent bakers from making spice breads and buns proved impossible for enforce, and in this matter thhe bakers were allowed their way. Although for difference reasons, the situation now is much as it was in the late seventeenth century, spice buns appearing only at Easter--not, to be sure, on Good Friday when bakeries are closed, but about a fortnight in advance..."
---English Bread and Yeast Cookery, Elizabeth David [Penguin Books:Middlesex UK] 1979 (p. 473-5) [NOTE: This book contains a recipe for hot cross buns.]

Olive Green Brown!

drawing by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

Marigold Green and Eleanor Smith live
in that certainly peculiar, roundaway place, christened, Abbottstown.
Where the townfolk only ever wore the finest of silken and satiny evening gown.
O’ the colors were so very varied, from indigo blues,
to mandarin orange, fire like reds to the sun kissed taste of yellowy hues.
However, there was one color that was absolutely, most certainly, not allowed...and that color was, unfortunately for Eleanor Smith, green olive brown.

Now, here is a very curious point in fact, Eleanor Smith, was indeed not invited to the ever so Grand Ball of Abbottstown.
And Marigold Green, being the bestest of friends, was not going to take this snooty snubby snub with a frown.
“No! Not at all!”, Marigold exclaimed. And that is why she invented the great wishing game of Thistledown Down! 
With their eyes closed shut they made a wish, and picked a thistle each.  They wished that all who hated some, would somehow learn and teach. 
But, if all else failed then they would pray, Abbottstown and all its folk, would burn right down, down to the ground.
Thistledown Down, Abbotstown.

Eve's Garden!

photo by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

Darkness falls and the Night Wonders appear, whispering their sugared lullabies to all who will listen...

Cherryblossomtime!

the old robin patiently waits for the cherry blossoms to bloom, by ana traina ~ 2012 ~

It’s almost cherryblossomtime. So, here’s a beautiful haiku that I was able to uncover and discover to prepare your soul to be moved...

Sleeping under the trees on Yoshino mountain
The spring breeze wearing Cherry blossom petals
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Saigyo

Last bit of Odd and End... Don't forget to check out, The Salty Cherry Blossoms also on Zingertales!

The Restorative Bath of Lady Mantle!

Lady's Mantle

Lady's Mantle has a very extensive history of use for healing an assortment of ailments: from wounds and bruises, to vomiting and other stomach problems, as well as many women's complaints.

One of the most curious and funny uses I found was from good old Culpeper who said, 'such women that have large breasts, causing them to grow less and hard, being both drank and outwordly applied'.

In the book Folk-Lore of Women by Thomas Firminger Thiselton-Dyer  (1906) it is said that Lady's Mantle 'was once in great repute with ladies; for, according to Hoffman, it had the power of restoring  beauty, however faded, to its early freshness'.  This last quote of course perked my interest and off I zoomed through the web... Here is a wonderful Eye Bath recipe that I was able to uncover and discover...

Lady's Mantle Eye Pads

To soothe and revitalize tired, inflamed, puffy or watery eyes. Put 1½ tablespoons each of ground dried lady's mantle and ground dried fennel in a bowl and pour in a generous ½ cup of boiling water. Leave to infuse for about 10 minutes. Strain and use while still warm: thoroughly soak 2 cotton pads, or 2 or 3pieces of lint layered together, in the infusion, and place them on the eyes for at least 10 minutes. Gently dab the eyes with cold water. Keep the mixture in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, but warm through before re-use.

Happy Ablution!