For Everything there is a Season

For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven...
Ecclesiastes 3:1


The sun is shining on another beautiful Spring morning, the birds are chirping so cheerfully in affirmation of this glorious day, and green shoots are popping up out of the ground in the gardens.
It truly is exciting to welcome this next season of renewal and rejuvenation as new life stirs beneath the earth, eager to emerge.
It was with this enthusiasm and exuberance, that I began my blog, Seasonal Hearth, last Spring to marvel in, then document my observations and activities, giving glory to God for the beauty in each new season.
Today is indeed a beautiful Spring day as I end on a jubilant note, eagerly welcoming this lovely season. Even the long range forecast is rejoicing with us.
As my dear friend shared with me this week:
"My spirit of expectancy is on hyper alert" Don't you just love that? She is so gifted with words and has expressed so articulately the anticipation that we all have been feeling.
This journey has made me keenly aware of the changing of the seasons and the beauty in nature all around me. Through the lens of my camera and in my spirit,
I have become much more observant of the seemingly insignificant details of life, thus celebrating the 'sacredness of the ordinary'.
Although I will miss blogging about it and will possibly be observing everything around me in blog post format, I know that this is also the right time to conclude my blogging experience to focus on the next exciting season in my life. If I have inspired or encouraged you in some small way, then my blogging journey has truly been rewarded.
It has been wonderful to travel the world over through blogging, from the comfort of my home; an extension of armchair travel. It has been my joy and privilege to 'meet' many of you through your comments here. Thank you for your kindness and for sharing your beautiful blogs of inspiration with others!
This next season of my life will continue with work at the library which I am so thankful for as my job has been such a gift. I love assisting the patrons, and getting excited with them in their discovery of a good novel or new author. The library truly is a pleasant atmosphere to work in. I am also continuing to take the courses which have kept me very preoccupied.
This will be a milestone year for many reasons including a *sweet sixteen* birthday celebration for my youngest daughter, the big 5-0 (yours truly), college graduation for middle daughter, moving our university son to his new place of residence in the city, preparing for an eager reunion with our oldest daughter as she returns from India followed by an upcoming wedding celebration to plan for...so thankful for my family.
There will also be the gardening and home maintenance projects we have planned.
Once again, I have thoroughly enjoyed documenting scenes around me including the Mennonite flavour of this area, the beauty of the rural landscape/countryside, sharing my love of photography, art, poetry, music, quotes, books and movies, along with the resources of libraries, arm chair travel, my love for all things domestic including decorating, thrifty vintage goodies, new found love of knitting, recipes, tea parties, my simple joys, my faith, family and friends, of laughter and love.
It is my prayer that you may all take the time to see the little things in life, the seemingly insignificant, that bring pleasure and beauty to our days and know that they are gracious gifts of grace from our heavenly Father.
My prayer for each of you can be found here

Abundant peace to all of you,
along with Spring Cheer...
♥ Joanne

"Don't let yourself get so busy that you miss those
little but important extras in life - the beauty of a
day...the smile of a friend...the serenity of a quiet
moment alone. For it is often life's smallest
pleasures and gentlest joys that make the
biggest and most lasting difference."

(images found online)

In the Bleak Midwinter

Star of Wonder by Trisha Romance

Inspiration while I write my Christmas Cards:

"In the Bleak Midwinter"
written by Christina Rossetti
mid-19th Century
sung since 1906 - The English Hymnal.

In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago.

Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But his mother only,
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him —
Give my heart.

Another beautiful rendition by Loreena McKennitt:

Amid the Falling Snow

The first fine wet snow began yesterday morning,
as we were travelling to church...

By afternoon it was coming down in large flakes,
landing softly on the trees as it began to accumulate...

...on the ground, making our afternoon a winter wonderland

So pretty on the berries of the Mountain Ash...

and on this pretty bush...

Perfect for a walk
and making a snowman with my daughter J...

After spending the afternoon outside enjoying fresh air and the beauty of the falling snow, we went inside for hot chocolate enjoyed along with some classic Christmas movies, including
A Charlie Brown Christmas
(it brought back memories of when my children were young and had all the lines memorized)
For recent scenes of snow around the world, check out this site.
And closer by, in Lucan Ontario, just north of London and 1 1/2 hours west of us, where they received record snowfall of 177cm in 102 hours. Now that is a real snow dump. You can read about it here and here and view some amazing photos here.

It really is a Winter Wonderland.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This was the scene early this morning...

...on another snow covered day

He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes.
~Psalm 147:16

The door to the hen house...

The hens are keeping warm inside...

"Baby, it's cold outside..."

...but it's warm and cosy inside as I prepare for my 'event' which I will share about later.

December: Season of Hope and Peace

But in this season it is well to reassert
that the hope of mankind rest in faith.
As man thinketh, so he is.
Nothing much happens unless you believe in it,
And believing there is hope for the world
Is a way to move toward it.
~ Gladys Taber

Now may God, the source of hope,
fill you with all joy and peace as you believe,
so that you may overflow with hope...
~Romans 15:13

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful....

I left the house early this morning to pick my daughter up from a sleep-over at a friend's house. I noticed the sky as I was stepping into the car and just had to grab my camera to capture the snow clouds that were forming...
As we travelled home again, the weather gradually progressed to become blustery with poor visibility.


We were grateful to see this beacon of light encouraging us that we were getting closer to home...
The first thing my daughter did when she got home was to put on her boots, grab her snowboard and take for the hill to spend the rest of the morning practicing her jumps.
Her enthusiasm for snowboarding matches her love of snow.

The wreaths I put out earlier this week looked so pretty with the first snowfall...

And it was a great day for me to stay indoors to get some domestic duties accomplished.
The beds got stripped and washed, the duvet aired, the house dusted and vacuumed, the bathrooms cleaned...
...and the baking done in preparation for an afternoon tea I am hosting tomorrow...
Although it looks so pretty from my window, I am happy to be indoors with the music playing and the house looking festive and cosy....

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the fire is so delightful,
And since we've no place to go,
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Oh, just to let you know, I have been listening to the Winter/Christmas playlist that I created and added to this blog.
If you do not like the music, you can turn your speakers off or click pause on the playlist at the bottom of this blog.
I promise I won't be offended:)

Season of Light

"The Danish word Hygge (hu-gah) is a feeling or mood that comes from taking genuine pleasure in making ordinary everyday things simply extraordinary...Words like cosiness, security, familiarity, comfort, reassurance, fellowship, simpleness and living well..."
The Dutch would use the word gezellig, and in our home we create this ambiance with the lighting of candles in the evenings, along with small lamps.
With the gray skies of November and December, the shorter days and darker evenings, it is so comforting to sit in our cosy living room with the candles glowing, a pot of tea, and some good reading or visiting.





When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

In November

"In November, the earth is growing quiet.
It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets....
In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones, Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still... ...
In November, at winter's gate, the stars are brittle. The sun is sometimes a friend. And the world has tucked her children in, with a kiss on their heads, till spring..."
~Cynthia Rylant

"How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow."
- Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

(all photos taken last week on a hike at Conestoga Lake)

"So dull and dark are the November days.
The lazy mist high up the evening curled,
And now the morn quite hides in smoke and haze;
The place we occupy seems all the world."
- John Clare, November

When the Frost is on the Punkin

We awoke to a crisp cool morning with evidence of our first morning frost. As I was walking with my colleague into the library for a meeting, I was reminded of the following poem that was a favourite of my children's when we were studying poetry. Enjoy!

James Whitcomb Riley, America's Children's Poet,

and the poet of the Hoosier people

wherever they may be around the world.

"Riley is, you see, the "Hoosier Poet."

'Hoosier' is not just a name for Indiana folk.

No, it is the name for people who are humble before God and hardworking despite suffering all that life throws at them. They are sympathetic with the plight of others and tolerant beyond measure of race, creed, gender, orientation or social status. Each Hoosier keeps an eye out for trouble but hopes and prays that none hits him or her. The themes of the poetry of the "Hoosier Poet" reflect this kenotic outlook."

WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN
by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)
WHEN the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin' of the guineys, and the cluckin' of the hens,
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here--
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees,
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock--
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries--kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below--the clover over-head!--
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps;
And your cider-makin' 's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too! ...
I don't know how to tell it--but ef sich a thing could be
As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me--
I'd want to 'commodate 'em--all the whole-indurin' flock--
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

"When the Frost is on the Punkin"

is reprinted from Complete Works.

James Whitcomb Riley. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1916.

Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
The Pumpkin Patch
Watercolor on paper
1878

Autumn Splendour

Autumn
(Tania Kanae)

I would have to say that
It's my favorite time of year.
The days becoming cooler now,
Fall is finally here.

The leaves are gently falling
And turning awesome shades.
Look around and see the beauty,
That God alone has made.

If you take the time to listen,
You'll hear their laughter ring.
The kid's are rolling in the leaves.
What a happy sound it brings.

This time of year brings thoughtfulness,
On which we can reflect
And time to spend with those we love.
A time to reconnect.

Hold your family close to you,
Autumn's finally here.
So much to be thankful for.
It's my favorite time of year.

It was another glorious day today with blue skies and brilliant Fall colours. My oldest daughter had an afternoon shift, so we took advantage of the morning to take a wonderful hike on a bike/walking trail not far from our home. There was truly an array of Fall colours and each poem I have included shares my sentiments and describes the day to perfection. Enjoy! (click on photos to enlarge for better viewing)

An Autumn Day
(Carmen Lagos Signes)

Pumpkins in the cornfields,
Gold among the brown,
Leaves of rust and scarlet
Trembling slowly down;
Birds that travel southward,
Lovely time to play;
Nothing is as pleasant
As an autumn day!

The Milkweed
(Cecil Cavendish)
The milkweed pods are breaking,
And the bits of silken down
Float off upon the autumn breeze
Across the meadows brown.

Glorious Riot of Colours in the Fall Displays:

Fabulous Fall Display close to my home:

And the inspiration She gave me for my own display:

Autumn is the Time
Vibrant colors,
rustling winds,
amber leaves swept
down from trees,
Long brisk walks,
fireside talk...
Autumn is
a time for these.

Poems found at this great Autumn page.

For more Autumn inspiration, check out The Inspired Room where Melissa is featuring 31 Days of Autumn Bliss. You'll be sure to get loads of great decorating ideas!