Widow's Endorphins: That Time of Winter

Widow's Endorphins: That Time of Winter:   It's that time of Winter, when windows are flung open for hours at a time, and fresh air fills every room.  It's that ti...

That Time of Winter

 

It's that time of Winter, when windows are flung open for hours at a time, and fresh air fills every room.  It's that time of Winter, when daylight lasts just a little bit longer, and the sun sets just a little bit later.  It's that time of Winter, when Spring flowers burst from florist tubs on city sidewalks.  It's that time of Winter, when droplets of thawing icicles sparkle in the sunlight.

It's that time of Winter, when the morning sun disappears behind a grey curtain, and only reappears for a final bow at the end of the day.  It's that time of Winter, when the iphone weather app shows two sun icons in a week of clouds and snowflakes - and everyone rejoices in anticipation of those two days of sunshine! 

  

It's that time of Winter, when Spring is so near, yet so far.  It's that time of Winter, when we can almost reach out and touch the new season...almost!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: Peonies for Puppies

Widow's Endorphins: Peonies for Puppies: Happy Chinese New Year!  These peonies - a favourite Chinese New Year flower - remind me of Flynn, the white powder puff Bichon Frise ...

Peonies for Puppies

Happy Chinese New Year!  These peonies - a favourite Chinese New Year flower - remind me of Flynn, the white powder puff Bichon Frise who won the Westminster Kennel Club's Best In Show award earlier this week.  It's that little dog's year...actually, it's a dog year for everyone on the planet.

On the Chinese astrological calendar, this year is a Male Earth Dog year, said to be good for real estate, agriculture, the environment, and establishing territory.  It's a good year for building on a solid foundation, because the earth element is grounded and stable.

Chinese astrologers say it will be a high energy year for those seeking their fortunes, so "go fetch"!  Just remember to curl up for a refreshing nap.  The Year of the Dog is a time to pay attention to your health...check for a warm nose.  Astrologers say that this year, more than others it is important to eat healthy foods, exercise, and change habits (you can teach an old dog new tricks).  

When we think of dogs, we think of unconditional love and loyalty.  These are the same traits of those born in dog years, and of the year itself.   People born under the dog sign also value loyalty in others.  Even the most loyal dog will bite when it is attacked, so be especially kind to one another.

Dogs are protective of those they love, and have a strong sense of danger.  At worst, astrologers say that dog signs are considered over protective, and paranoid.  In business, they can sense when a deal is going bad.  They'll bark to warn others.  They're also honest and frank.

Confucius himself was born in the Year of the Dog.  So were Socrates, Winston Churchill, and Donald Trump.  Prince, and Prince William were both born in a dog year.  David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Mariah Carey and Elvis are all hound dogs!

By the way, it is the year 4715 on the Chinese calendar.  How much is that in dog years?

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

    

Widow's Endorphins: Hyacinths

Widow's Endorphins: Hyacinths: The sweet perfume of hyacinths is once again wafting through Toronto markets.  We have a 16th Century German doctor, whose name ...

Hyacinths

The sweet perfume of hyacinths is once again wafting through Toronto markets.  We have a 16th Century German doctor, whose name sounds like lion heart raw wolf, to thank for these beautiful and intoxicatingly fragrant flowers.

Leonart Rauwolf (which means rough wolf) was a physician, botantist, and published travel writer whose claim to fame was a three year journey from Germany to Iraq, via the Mediterranean.  In 1573, he left his Augsburg, home in Germany's Bavaria region, and travelled to Marseilles, in the South of France.  From there, he travelled to Tripoli, Lebanon, and then on to Allepo, Syria, where he stayed until the following year, when he journeyed to what was then Mesopotamia.  Today, we would say Baghdad and Mosul, Iraq.  He followed much the same route back home, with a side trip to Jerusalem.  

   

Dr. Rauwolf returned to Germany with more than six hundred plants!  That's a lot of luggage on a trip!  Hyacinth plants were among his collection.  The plant was not unknown, it is found in ancient Greek myth, however, it had disappeared, and the botanist reintroduced it to Europe.

The plants with waxy, curled, bell-shaped flowers didn't look the way they do today.  Hyacinths of old had only a few flowers on a stem.  Commercial growers in the Netherlands and the UK have produced compact, multiple florets on hyacinths.  Hyacinth is available in deep pink, baby pink, yellow, cream, and white.  The most popular are the light blue, lavender, and deep purple varieties.

The unforgettable fragrance of hyacinth is indescribable.  It is a sweet, floral scent with the light freshness of a Spring rain...yet, it is powerful enough to fill every room in a house with fragrance.  As the days pass, the fragrance becomes slightly bitter, and it's time for a fresh bouquet!  Hyacinth combines well with tulips and pussywillows, which are unscented.   

Hyacinth is from the Greek Hyakinthos, a young man the gods Apollo and Zephyrus were training in manhood.  In this Greek tragedy, Zephyrus, the god of the West Wind becomes jealous watching the sun god, Apollo teaching Hyakinthos how to throw a discus.  He blows the discus off course, and it strikes Hyakinthos in the head, killing him.  Blood flows, and out of the blood, a hyacinth flower grows.  Who says Greek tragedies aren't pretty? 

In researching Dr. Rauwolf's travels, I came upon a wonderful description he wrote of something which was new to him: coffee drinking!  "A very good drink they call Chaube that is almost black as ink and very good in illness especially of the stomach.  This they drink in the morning early in the open places before everybody, without any fear or regard, out of china cups, as hot as they can, sipping it a little at a time". 

Wake up and smell the coffee...and the hyacinths!

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.

Widow's Endorphins: I'm Not Afraid of My Shadow!

Widow's Endorphins: I'm Not Afraid of My Shadow!: Furry little rodents have seen their shadow, and I'm told I now have to wait six more weeks 'til Spring.  In Pennsylvania, int...

I'm Not Afraid of My Shadow!

Furry little rodents have seen their shadow, and I'm told I now have to wait six more weeks 'til Spring.  In Pennsylvania, internationally famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, drew back in horror at the sight of his looming shadow, as did Ontario's own albino groundhog, Wiarton Willie.  They could have toughed it out!  

The truth is, I too, am afraid of my own shadow.  Metaphorically.  The larger than life person that I know is in me, scares me.  It takes all I have to put myself out there in the business world.  I know that I am not alone.  Success scares a lot of people.     

Psychologists who work with men and women suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), say the physiological reaction to the excitement of growing success, is the same as the reaction to stress.  Each time I click "publish" on my blog, or, "send" a post on a new clothing design, I feel that double edged excitement.  The moment when I say all in the same breath, "look what I did!", and "what have I done?!"

For some, there's the fear of being unmasked as an imposter, who's been faking it all along.  I photograph flowers.  How can I take credit for their great beauty?  Mother Nature, and my Canon Rebel do all the work!  Yet, when I study the body of my work, I clearly see that I capture the soul of each flower.

Performers - musicians, actors, public speakers - know this next insidious fear:  being successful means being in the spotlight, and being in the spotlight makes you a target for rotten tomatoes!  That's a very real unrealistic fear!  Most of my career was spent in broadcasting, as a News Editor and Announcer, yet, public speaking terrifies me. 

 

Being on-line means strangers critique my work.  Having a successful blog, and on-line shops, means even more strangers critique my work.  Chefs and actors may dread bad reviews - they dread empty seats even more.  Criticism is rough, being ignored is worse.   

Then there's the fear of turning bad.  If you have success confused with being an obnoxious, greedy jerk, then you may not want to be successful.  If you think the only route to success is by being cutthroat with the competition, again, you may not want to be successful.

It's enough to make a little groundhog stay in its burrow, and never come out!  My burrow has been a safe place for me, and now I need to get out into the great big world.  At the start of the new year, I finally, timidly created a profile on LinkedIn.  

I'm not afraid of my shadow, I repeat to myself.  I'm not afraid of my shadow!  I'm declaring it Spring, the season of rebirth, rejuvenation, and new beginnings!

Cherry Blossom bodycon dress and draped kimono:

http://bit.do/AOWbodycon
http://bit.do/drapedkimono

LinkedIn profile:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-adams-806804157/

Photographs copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.