...

 These are some of the baskets 
I have created....

These two baskets are created by a Gullah artist in South Carolina, and the book I refer to in the blog.

May was a busy month...a good month but there were numerous things on our calendar.  Spring came...and went...and came again.  It seems some of the blooming trees loved that kind of weather.  The lilacs provided perfume for the whole neighborhood!
May was a month when the cover came off our grandson's sandbox and he excitedly watched as 'Pappy' added fresh new sand.  May reminded us that it was time to tend to the spring jobs in our yard...always a lot of work.  May was my husband's birthday...a new decade gives one significant reason to celebrate and recognize the blessings of life!

So...I believe we are well on our way into the season of sunshine.  I probably have mentioned it before, but it is amazing that each morning the sun reappears...even if, to us, it might sometimes be covered with clouds.  We enjoyed an early vacation to an interesting place...Kiawah Island, just off the coast of South Carolina.  There were several days when the sun was hidden because of clouds but we enjoyed it just the same.  The island is so flat - perfect for bike riding, both on the paths and on the 'road-hard' beach.  As we rode past one small pond in a neighborhood, an alligator 'smiled' at us and wished us as good a day as he was having...Yes, a real alligator! Such interesting creatures in our world!!

I also became aware of a culture that is thriving in that area.  On an earlier trip to South Carolina I had visited with a Gullah artist who was creating sweet grass baskets .  After sharing ideas, we traded baskets - one of mine for one of her's.  A real treasure for me!  When we visited this time, I learned so much more about the history of those beautiful baskets.

And I quote from the book I purchased Gullah Culture in America by Wilbur Cross:
"Since long  before America's independence, the nation has had hidden pockets of a bygone African culture, rich in native history, with a language of its own, and long endowed with beguiling talents in its traditions, language, design, medicine, agriculture, fishing, hunting, weaving, and the arts.  Although thousands of articles and hundreds of books have been written on discoveries of Native American cultures and Indian lore, the Gullah/GeeChee culture has been almost totally overlooked.  It is known only to a handful of North Americans, mainly professional historians whose findings have been published in specialized journals and scholarly books." 

I treasure hand-made creations whatever the skill involved.  Just think of the beautiful quilts created out of necessity when our ancestors were cutting up clothing no longer able to be worn...sewing them into quilts we now value as 'works of art' but then were made just to keep them warm.
I visited with a lady this past week who had just purchased a large, apparently very old, spinning wheel.  Being a bit envious of her purchase, I asked if she spun or was a weaver.  "No," she said. "This spinning wheel just looked interesting."  Don't you wonder what stories it could tell!

And not only art treasures...but think of the tradition of gardening and preserving foods.  It has become so popular once again but when I was growing up it was the only way to have garden vegetables in the winter.  My mother had a garden that would inspire anyone today.  Our basement canning shelves were filled to the brim with jars and jars and jars of anything and everything that grew in her garden. I didn't know people could buy those things in a grocery store!  Fresh fruits would be at the small grocery in our town later in the fall and then my mother would can dozens of quarts of peaches, pears, cherries, apricots...you name it!  And today...well, I go to the grocery and fill my shopping cart with 'cans' of those same things...hoping for some fresh food in the produce aisle.  

The author of the book about the Guollah people has an interesting section about medicine...much of it home remedies.  I remember being slathered with Vick's at the slightest sign of a cold.  I remember my mother cutting a square of cotton, pouring about a cup of salt in the center and then tying it securely.  She put this little pouch into the frying pan and heated it.  It was then placed on my ear when I had an earache.  Another interesting Gullah remedy was the use of spider webs to help heal an  open wound.

I am reading the book War and Peace.   I don't know why I felt as though I should take on such a task but I did and have now almost completed it.  I would highly recommend it to everyone who enjoys reading.  Near the end the author becomes very philosophical, talking about 'history' and how each piece of what has happened over time and continues to happen is so totally connected to whatever proceeded it.  Think back to your own family history.  Why did your family early on settle where they did and why do you live where you live?  Why do you eat the things you eat or keep the traditions you celebrate?  Interesting.  I would think we could continue looking back, researching and remembering, and finding connections that would bring us all together. 

And if that is the case...why do we seem to focus on things that separate us.  At a retreat recently, a speaker made a reference to the naturalist John Muir.  Muir was talking about our basic connections to all of nature and how all things rely on each other.  Maybe that is something we need to think about.  Maybe it would be wise to focus on our similarities rather than our differences.  Maybe we need to share our skills and wisdom rather than exploit/criticize other cultures/traditions.  Don't you wonder what this world might be like if we truly understood our connections to /with each other.

Well, it looks like rain today.  Good for my flower garden.  Good for the farmers in our area who have just planted their corn.  Good for the cattle who depend on the luscious grass.  Good for kids splashing in the puddles.  So much of what happens each and every day is good for so many of us, in so many different ways but somehow connecting us to all that Creation has provided.

I hope Spring...maybe even summer...has arrived where you live.  Find some time to do something special, even if it is right in your own back yard.  We have friends coming to visit later this week and we are taking the kids to a farm with some very interesting and unique animals and then to the area Children's Garden, a beautiful and special place that shares nature for all ages. it's a good time of the year to share time with each other and nature.  Hope your garden grows abundantly and that your flowers bloom beautifully.  Have good days and I look forward to visiting later in the summer.  Blessings to you!