Social Media Break

I did it.  Today, I've decided to take a Social Media break for the rest of August.  I got a Blackberry through work and turned into a person I never thought I would - one who had their nose forever looking down at their phone.

With all this Toronto Mayoral election nonsense, I'd become addicted to Twitter.  My Twitter feed was keeping me updated and engaged on my way to & from work. I have learned more about municipal politics than I ever cared to. Let us just say I am not a Rob Ford supporter, not now, not ever.  To get away from it for the remainder of the month will be a very nice break. No Facebook and no Twitter.

I will of course, continue to watch the news and read newspapers, the way we did in the "olden days".  There is too much going on in the world to be ignorant.

I did get a new release from the library that I'd placed on hold, The Book of Life - Deborah Harkness.  It is the last book in the All Souls Trilogy.  I only have it for 2 weeks so I'll have to get on it.

It'll also be nice to get back focused on taking pictures and giving my blog life. I won't be taking any time off work so I'll need to make the most of the remaining summer weekends.

Poor sweet Crockett has pretty much completely lost his vision.  He doesn't enjoy walking on the sidewalk but is okay once we get into the park.  I can't drop the leash and let him wander as he could hurt himself, or he will just stand there looking around for me when I'm right next to him.  His hearing seems to be not as good either.  He's our sweet old boy who is enjoying cuddles more now than ever.  I think he likes knowing we're close.

Adam and I have felt a lot better lately than either of us have in a while. We're on a "clean house" kick.  I've still got a cupboard to go through and get rid of anything I haven't worn in 12 months. I don't have tons of clothes or shoes, I'm sensible that way. There are a few items that I've been holding onto that I'm going to part with, the "I'll fit into them again someday" items. Of course there are a few classics and favorites I'll never part with. My goal is simplicity. I hate clutter, it shuts me down.

Lastly, I've been eating less and less meat which is good. By the time winter rolls around, I want to have mastered a few meatless recipes because as much as I enjoy a good juicy hamburger now and again, I just don't want to eat meat.

I have to find some good vegetarian recipe sites.  I know why I don't want to eat meat and I don't want sites that continually talk about factory farming or the slaughter of animals. I'll have to become familiar with the cook book section at the library.

More Reading

I finished the Crazy Town The Rob Ford Story by Robin Doolittle.  The more I read, the more I found myself getting angry and irritated.  There was nothing in it about his antics that I didn't already know, but I was shocked to learn of some of the Ipsos Reid Poll results after some of his behaviors and exploits were exposed.  Crazy Town really is the perfect title.

Sadly, there's a group of Rob Ford supporters that will support him no matter what.  These people listen to talk radio, which is more host opinion than fact, and who will likely not read Robin Doolittle's book or watch election debates. It's frustrating.

From Adam's office today, I heard him exclaim, "Holy Christ."  When I asked him what he'd read, he showed me this from the Toronto Star:

"Mayor Rob Ford cleared customs Saturday, apparently
the first step in attending Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony.

According to Ford's Twitter Account, he was in Chicago’s
O’Hare International Airport Saturday afternoon. Ford told
the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington that he’s attending the
Academy Awards on Sunday night, and then appearing on
Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday."

Enough about our Asshat Mayor. Back to what this post is about - what I'm reading.

I did return 2 books to the library without reading them. Annabel by Kathleen Winter and The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  I just couldn't get into a rhythm with Annabel.  For me it's the kind of read that would be best when I'm on vacation, sitting on a comfy chair on a dock by the water, under the sun.

Returning those 2 books, I picked up 2 others that came in that I'd requested:

Stiff. The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach

Spook. Science Tackles the Afterlife - Mary Roach.

What I've Read and What I'm Reading

When I recall memories from childhood, there are quite a few that are book related.  I loved both the school and our local community library. Taking a book into a nook or a small place was one of my favorite things to do.

My favorites?  Peter Pan, Curious George, Pipi Longstocking, Andy Pandy, The Wizard of Oz, Dr. Seuss, Big Golden Books, and countless Fairy Tale compilations.  Every Christmas, my Mother would check out from the Library for me  Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry.  As a special gift, she gave me a copy for Christmas about 15 years ago and I treasure it. Add Archie Comics, Owl and Highlights magazines and my childhood was complete.

During High School and College, I did not read for leisure.  I read the books that teachers told me to.  Among them, Animal Farm, 1984, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, Othello, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and Lord of the Flies. Young Adult Literature wasn’t big in the 80′s like it is now.

In my early 20′s I went through the mandatory Danielle Steele phase that thankfully ceased after 5 books.  How can she keep writing the same story over and over?  My late 20′s I got into reading the books of films that I’d seen.

I’ve cried many a time while reading but the only book  I felt actual fear turning the pages was Thomas Harris’  Hannibal.  I read this after seeing the film The Silence of the Lambs, but before the film of Hannibal was made.

I don’t have a favorite genre or author and  I admit that I have selected books based on the cover art.

As far as series go:

Lord of the Rings – J. R. R. Tolkien.  I tried (pre-Peter Jackson films) and just couldn’t get into it.  The characters’ multiple names killed me.

Harry Potter – J. K. Rowling.  Love this series. If I had kids, I’d read it to them. I would like to reread the series.

Twilight – Stephanie Meyers.  Yes, I read all four books.  Liked it for what it was. Hindsight, ugh!

Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins. Love this series. Have read each book twice. Also I have really enjoyed the films.

All Souls Trilogy – Deborah Harkness.  The third book has just been completed and is scheduled for release July 15, 2014. I preferred the first book to the second. I am hoping the final book satisfies.

I have enjoyed reading more the past 2 years or so than I have my entire adult life.   I am not a book snob.  I don’t limit myself to reading adult literature or classics.  Young adult literature in enjoyable and just the thing to read during my 3 hour daily commute.  Not too heavy, not too serious.

I live a 5 minute walk away from the Library. I pass it almost daily and for 5 years never thought twice about it.  As much as I love to buy new books I decided that a: I can no longer afford the luxury.  b: I am trying to simplify life and decrease the volume of possessions. c: Libraries are awesome.

These are the books I’ve read since December 2013:

Bossy Pants - Tina Fey

The Tapping Solution – Nick Ortner

The Ocean At The End of The Lane – Neil Gaiman

The Alchemist – Paul Coelho

Stardust – Neil Gaiman

The Fault In Our Stars – John Green I finished this book on Thursday. I am sad it ended. This was a wonderful, emotional read. It touched my heart. It has been made into a film with a release date in June.  I will see it.

The books I currently have out from the library:

Crazy Town The Rob Ford Story – Robin Doolittle.  I am starting this book today. I must note that I DO NOT support Rob Ford, I did not vote for him, nor will I vote for him in Oct 2014.

Annabel – Kathleen Winter.  I selected this book from the CBC Canada Reads 2014 contenders.  Although the official selection will only be made March 3-6’14, it is the only contender that I have interest in reading.

The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein.  I am still not sure if I will read this book.  This is a book that a colleague is reading and it sounded interesting. It’ll all depend on how I get through Annabel.

What Is This New Devilry?

I saw a girl reading this on the bus.  All I saw was the title, nothing else.  I thought it was a way of coping with stress through tap dancing.

Being interested in ways of coping with and dealing with stress, I googled it when I got home.  Disappointed that it did not refer to tap dancing, I was however, still intrigued.  There were more than a few videos on YouTube and I read a few articles.  I decided, why not!

I am open minded and willing to look into anything that could naturally help me cope with stress and reduce my headaches.

This is taken from the front inside jacket;

"Tapping, also known as EFT, is a powerful tool for improving your life on multiple levels: mental, emotional, and physical."

"Based on the principles of both ancient acupressure and modern psychology, tapping concentrates on specific meridian end points, while focusing on negative emotions or physical sensations. Combined with spoken word, tapping  helps calm the nervous system to restore the balance of energy in the body and rewire the brain to respond in healthy ways."

I've tried meditation but, can't get the quiet needed, both environmentally and internally, so, tapping is getting a try.

That Was Funny! POST EDIT

I just finished reading Tina Fey's Bossypants.  I laughed out loud a few times and had to go share snippets with Adam. It was funny!  Smart funny.

My next book? The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman.

I will admit, I have high expectations.

POST EDIT:
I almost gave up reading The Ocean At The End Of The Lane a few times, but I kept with it.  In the end, I'm glad I did.  I love Neil Gaiman's "worlds".  This is not my favorite of his, but again, glad I finished it.  The last few pages made it worthwhile.

Finally!

It seemed to take me forever this year to adjust to the time change.  This week is the first since we turned the clocks back that I haven't felt like going to bed at 8:00pm.

I don't know why, but it takes a bit longer to get home. The buses and the subways have more people on them.  I suppose we all have our after work pre-holiday chores to get out of the way.

I stopped at the library on the way home. I got Tina Fey's Bossypants and for Adam the new memoir from Robert Evans. It'll be a nice quiet reading weekend.  I did put a hold on the Helen Fielding's new Bridget Jones book Mad About the Boy, but after I read about the demise of a critical character, I cancelled my hold and am still awfully disappointed. I refuse to read it.

Tonight I feel like sitting in our front room, cozy in the corner, with Stardust on DVD in the background, and doing some writing.  The only negative is that my chair is just not as comfortable as I need it to be. Maybe it's due to my bad posture.  Sit up straight!

This morning I thought I'd hit my snooze button but had in fact, turned my alarm off.  I left the house 1 hour later than usual and got a lovely picture of the new moon in the morning sky.

This is where I am & where I'll be for the next little while. Lovely.

What I'm Reading

I bought this book a few years back and for whatever reason didn't read it.  I need to learn how to relax and turn my mind off, find a quiet place, and relax.

I started to read it today on the bus on my way home from work and fell asleep!  That is a problem with me lately; if I sit and zone out, I fall asleep.

I'm just searching for a little peace.

Hodge Podge

Today has been a lazy day.  I had some work I wanted to do to avoid stress on Monday, so I made myself comfortable behind my desk, Lord Of The Rings in the DVD player and went to it.

I started at around 2pm and it's now just past 7pm.  I have just flipped over to side 2 of the Extended DVD of The Two Towers. I did what I needed to do & answered a few other e-mails. All is good.

Adam just brought me dinner so I am sitting here happy as a clam.


This is what I am now reading.  It is an easy read. I started on Wednesday & I'm already more than halfway finished.  It's interesting, funny, and well written. There's more football in it than I care about. I don't get the whole Football fanatic/tailgate thing. I wanted to see the film in the theater but now I can wait until it's released on DVD.

 
This is also a photo of a tree I took while waiting for the bus Thursday morning at 6am.  The snow was falling. It was pure white and made the tree sparkle like Edward Cullen.

I'm going to meet Mom for lunch tomorrow so I hope it doesn't snow too much tonight. I love how it looks, it's just difficult to be a pedestrian climbing over wet salty slush to get off the sidewalk & cross the street.

I love it, I Love It, I LOVE IT!!

I started reading this book last week:

I LOVE IT!  I'm not even 100 pages in yet.

We don't have HBO so I've not seen any episodes on TV.  I did not know anything about it or the author.  I haven't watched more than a few clips on YouTube. It is a genre I enjoy so I went to Indigo to pick it up to see what all the fuss is about. The fuss, in my opinion, is warranted!  Wow, I am a nerd.


I am off work from Dec 22'12 returning to work Jan 2'12.   Apart from my traditional Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter marathons, we are going to get Game of Thrones on DVD.

SO EXCITED! 

What I'm Reading

Last month, I started reading A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.  I am on page 462 of 579 and I love this book.

I took a 2 week break from it to read another book I received as a gift called Journey of Souls by Michael Newton, PH.D. That is a post for another day. I will write about it, but it's still clanging about in my head.

Back to A Discovery of Witches. It involves history, libraries, secrets, vampires, witches, daemons, magic, alchemy, family, suspense and love.  I have enjoyed it so much that to keep myself from reading it all in one sitting, I've limited myself to only reading one chapter at a time to drag it out.

It is the first book of a trilogy and today on my way home from work, I went to Indigo and purchased the second book that came out July 2012 called Shadow of Night. I haven't even read the book jacket or inside flaps because I don't want there to be any chance of ruining the end of book one!

I haven't had to write a book report since High School and I don't regularly read book reviews so I fear I can't summarize it in a way that would do it justice.  I am going to start regularly posting about the books I'm reading so hopefully, in time, I'll learn how to write a half decent book review.

Until then, I'll just say that this book has been an enjoyable escape.  A story I look forward to immersing myself in. I care about the characters and I'm being transported to England, France and upstate New York.

What I'm Reading

Back to work today and back to spending way too much time commuting on public transit. One of the few advantages is that I have time to do my crossword on the way to work & read a book on my way home.

This is my current read.  I'm only on page 33 and I'm really liking it.  It was a book that caught my eye on a display as I was leaving Indigo. I read the back cover and went right back to the cashier and bought it.

For info on the Author go to:  www.deborahharkness.com

What I'm Reading

After reading The Hunger Games trilogy I was trying to find another book to read. I scored this weekend when I went downstairs to do laundry as someone had put a box of books in the laundry room.

I grabbed a few that looked interesting and popped one in my purse Monday morning without knowing anything really about it or the author. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the author was the person who wrote Stardust. I love that story and the film.  I discussed it previously on my blog here.

The author is Neil Gaiman and the book is Neverwhere.  Looking it up, the BBC created a mini series and it sounds fascinating. I'll have to watch it after I finish the book.

From the back cover:

"Excellent... [Gaiman creates] an alternate city 

beneath London that is engaging, detailed, and fun to explore."

 - Washington Post Book World

From the front cover:

"Delightful...Inventively horrific...[It] draws equally from

George Lucas, Monty Python, Doctor Who and John Milton...

The chimerical stuff of nightmare and daydream"

- USA Today

I am really looking forward to it.  This was Gaiman's first novel. Falling through the cracks of London to a world you didn't know existed. I love stories like this!

The Hunger Games - Catching Fire - Mockingjay

I have finished reading all 3 books by Suzanne Collins in her Hunger Games Trilogy. I have not read 3 books in such succession so quickly before.  What I wish I'd been able to do was lock myself away in a cozy nook for a week and just read all three together beginning to end.

Yes, it is Young Adult literature, I get that.  When I shared with a friend how much I was enjoying the story I got, " Aren't those books for teenagers?" Harry Potter certainly wasn't written with me in mind either but I love those stories. Even The Hobbit was originally written by Tolkien as a children's story.  The way I look at it is, if it is well written, if I enjoy it, if it is a story that makes me want to turn each page and, if I can imagine in my mind he world the author has created, who cares who the target audience is.

I remember a composition I wrote when I was in grade 3. I wish I still had it. I'm quite sure it was a complete rip off of a mixture of Simon in the Land of the Chalk Drawings and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  It had to do with going over the hedge in our backyard that resulted in entering a secret land.  I love these types of stories. I always have.

When I read The Philosophers Stone, the moment Hagrid took Harry through the back door of The Leaky Cauldron and tapped his umbrella/wand on the bricks to open the way to Diagon Alley, I was 10 years old again. When I saw the movie, I cried at that scene.  It was so perfect. So well done. Exactly as I saw it in my head as I was reading the book.  I think about some of my favorite books, TV shows and films childhood through adulthood:  The Secret Garden, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Narnia, Mary Poppins, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Stardust, even The Land of the Lost.  The Hunger Games reminded me of these stories a little with Katniss and Gale going under the fence into the woods. Leaving the every day world  to go on an adventure.

Another thing I really like about the character of Katniss Everdeen was her sense of self and her strength.  If I had a young daughter I would be happy if she wanted to be like Katniss.  I even made Adam laugh when I mentioned that if he & I were to go to Comic-Con I would want to cosplay her.

I will admit right here and now, I read The Twilight series.  I enjoyed them for what they were.  What I enjoyed about them was it brought back the feeling of that first love we've all experienced.  When you're a teenage girl and everything revolves around the boy. I had my own Edward when I was a teenager.  He didn't sparkle or watch me sleep at night, but he did have blond hair and was pale ;) He was my everything.  What Stephanie Meyer did unfortunately was create a character who didn't evolve.  The casting of Kristen Stewart didn't help matters as that girl has two facial expressions;
1. Blank stare.
2. Blank stare while biting lip.


This photo and this quote from Stephen King really do say it best:

Source

"Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend." — Stephen King

I was sad to read the last page of Mockingjay. Luckily I do have the film The Hunger Games to look forward to opening next week.  So far the reviews are positive.  I'm looking forward to seeing The Capitol, Peeta's camouflage in the arena, and The Hob.

What I have to decide now is what to read next.

Book Three

I stopped at Indigo last night

on my way home & picked up

Book III of The Hunger Games Trilogy

"Mockingjay"

I'm on Chapter 5 and I'm going to

go to bed right now & keep reading.

The goal is to have it finished by Sunday evening.

I do have quite a few chores to do this weekend.

Good motivation to getting them done tomorrow as early as

possible so I'll have to do nothing but read.

Potpourri and a Tooting Pug

Not the smelly home decor fragrance delivery product, but

in reference to the category on Jeopardy.

Like hodgepodge.

That has been my mind as of late.

Full of this and that and this again and a little bit of that

sprinkled with some

wha?

huh?

hmpf.

 

Not really able to focus or concentrate on anything

unless it's a book to bury my nose in.

I wonder if this is what people on Meth feel like?

My mind is going so fast that it feels like everything 

else is in   s l o w  m o t i o n.

It is a peculiar feeling I must say.

I actually think it's because I'm busy.

Busy at work and at home.

It's a nice change but I feel like my

body is telling me to sleep for 24 hours solid.

I have many many tasks to do that I'm worrying about finishing.

I think the only way I'll get anything done

over the next few weeks is to make a To Do List with timelines.

I think I need to make a Honey Do List for Adam as well.

 

I do think it's time to start another book.

I need a good reason for some body at rest time.

I finished Book II of The Hunger Games Trilogy

Catching Fire and it's time to start Book III.

 

Lastly this evening, our poor Crockett has been

sneezing and tooting at the same time.

Poor little monkey is getting so spooked by it, he jumps

up and doesn't know what to do.

Note to self: Rice + Chicken = Pug toot fuel.

 

Book Two

I received a lovely gift from my Beloved,

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

It is Book 2 of a trilogy.

I really enjoyed The Hunger Games and

I'm looking forward to seeing the movie

next month.

I wasn't planning on buying the 2nd book just yet, so

it was a very nice and thoughtful gift.

I've been giving my daily crosswords a break

lately as I'm really enjoying reading.

I'm lucky to have read a few books that have started well

and really held my attention.

I started Catching Fire today on my way 

home from work and I'm going to tuck in early 

& read some more before bed.

This is the same photo today as

Project 365 - A Daily Photo.

It's a hardcover book so I've taken

the jacket off.

Putting it in & out of my bag so much

damages the jacket.

Go figure.

Pug Hill

With the stress I was feeling last week, I

escaped reality as much as possible in the book,

Pug Hill by Alison Pace.

My Mom got it for us for Christmas just

because it is about Pugs.

It is an easy read and feels almost like

I'm reading a letter from a girlfriend.

I also love there is a Pug named Kermit in the book.

Great name for a Pug.

I'm generally a slow reader.

I find if I read too fast I get through a few pages

and then realize I have no idea what I just read, 

so I take my time and relax.

I hope to be finished the book by mid-week

and I really hope my stress level this week is

nothing like last week.

I'm trying to decide my next read.

Little Women or Wuthering Heights

A Really Good Read

I am reading the book The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins.

Source

I am really enjoying it.

It has made my commute home almost enjoyable.

One thing I don't have at home is a good reading chair.

The Starbucks down the street have this really comfortable

leather chair that is perfect.

Knees bend at 90 degrees, feet touch the floor,

good back support.

I could read in that chair all day.

I also like sitting on the floor in a corner or nook

to read the way I did in the library when I was a kid.

I'll put this kick ass chair reading from

Restoration Hardware on my wish list.

They even have faux fur bean bag chairs!

On a separate note, it was absolutely perfect

outside when I got home so I took Crockett for a walk.

He hasn't been too good the last few days.

The Pug reverse sneeze thing creeps me out

and causes me great anxiety.

Today, he seemed happy and eager to go outside

so I let him lead the way.

The snow in the park was perfect.

Heavy, perfect snowball snow, great to walk on.

I took a few photos but only 2 turned out

half decent and not completely blurry. (Effing camera!)

I put one on my 365 Photo and here is the other one.

There was a snow angel and I was hoping Crockett would

walk into the frame.

When he did I was so happy only, as the flash went

off, I noticed he had a turtle head poking out!!!

Rather than trash the photo, I've

covered it with a heart! 

A Lovely Day With My Mom

I had a lovely day today with my Mom.

We met for lunch at our usual place & sat in our usual seat.

We shared a Canadian Breakfast then

Mom had a Butter Tart & I had a mouthwatering piece

of Strawberry Shortcake

It was so delicious I didn't even think to take a photo of it,

I just devoured it.

We also shared a small bowl of fresh fruit;

pineapple, blueberries, cantaloupe, strawberries, and honeydew melon.



I had heard about the Word On The Street Festival.

I thought it was on the front lawn at Queens Park, so we took the subway up.

It was a perfect day. There was a slight breeze and enough shady spots

to not get too warm.

The front lawn was empty but there were alot of people in the area so we walked around back.

There were sooooo many people and so many book tents.

Where we started was in the children's area.

Mom, also being a Nana could have spent forever there.

Books to me, were the best gifts when I was a kid.

The tents and stages spanned a large area from the backyard of Queen's Park

all the way north up to Bloor Street.

I will say, my feet were sore and we only went up one side.

Plus, we'd bought a few hardcover books and they were getting a bit heavy.

 

It is a great festival and I will for sure go again next year.

The only change I'd make is to get an earlier start.

We arrived at around 3:00pm.

I have never read Little Women.

The man at the tent said it was one of his favorite books, then went on

to say that it wasn't probably the manliest thing to say that he loved the book.

I'm looking forward to it.

I've been wanting to read the Percy Jackson Series.

They had book one so I picked it up.

These Donna Hay Cookbooks below were $1 each.

How could I pass that up?

I must try this fruit recipe:

 

As Fall Approaches

I love that September has arrived.

I love that Fall is just around the corner - Sept 23rd to be exact.

We've had a return of muggy weather today.

The weekend forecast is hot and muggy with rain.

I am looking forward to lovely fall days with turning leaves.

Orange is a color I really find soothing.

The right tone of orange of course.

I've taken next week off work.

I need a break.

I need to turn my brain and my alarm clock off.

I've added a few days to the long weekend.

We are going to spend time going for walks, lazing in bed talking,

reading, having breakfast together.

I'll start some knitting and try drawing some more.

I'm thinking of trying watercolor painting, we'll see.

I'm looking forward to not taking the bus or subway.

I know I'll wake up at the same time as I do everyday but it feels

so much better when you don't have to do anything.

I bought a new "vacation" book today.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

I have high hopes for it.

Another thing I'm kind of feeling the urge to do is

rearrange the furniture.

Adam hates that.

He likes things where they are.

I'll have to wake up extra early & do it while he sleeps ;)

To honor Autumn, here is some Keats (1795-1821):

                                 TO AUTUMN.

                                            1.

    SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
            To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
    With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
        And still more, later flowers for the bees,
        Until they think warm days will never cease,
            For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.

                                            2.

    Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?
        Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find
    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,
        Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;
    Or on a half-reap’d furrow sound asleep,
        Drows’d with the fume of poppies, while thy hook
            Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:
    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep
        Steady thy laden head across a brook;
        Or by a cyder-press, with patient look,
            Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

                                            3.

    Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?
        Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,—
    While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,
        And touch the stubble plains with rosy hue;
    Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn
        Among the river sallows, borne aloft
            Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;
    And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
        Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
        The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
           And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.