Today's poem by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

I found this article here, and all the words in my post come from there. I've known the poem a long time, and I love it. 

Song for a Fifth Child was only one part of the life journey of Ruth Hulburt Hamilton.

Ruth was the mother of four children aged 11,9,7 and 5 when her fifth child, Jane, was born. “The children were all older when Jane was born and they would rush home to see her and hold her. Since there were five years between my next youngest and Jane, I had a bit more quiet time with her.” Ruth recalls.

Ruth’s daughter, Jeremy, remembers well how her mother rocked her and sang with them as children. Some of their favorite songs were “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” and “Dark Brown is the River.”

Ruth was born in Kirksville, Missouri in 1921 and she lived most of her life in Oak Park, Illinois. She married when she was 23 and became a mother for the first time at 25. Her poem, Song for a Fifth Child, was published in Ladies Home Journal in 1958 and has found a treasured place in the hearts of mothers for generations.

It honors the everyday efforts of motherhood. It honors the sacred in the mundane and the tensions that pull at us all as mothers. Bills, errands and housework will always be there and yet we must rock while we can.

Ruth’s poem has often been misquoted. It is published here in its entirety with permission from the author. Enjoy.

Song for a Fifth Child by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton (1921- )

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby, loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo.)

Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

But children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby. Babies don't keep.

Thank you Ruth Hulburt Hamilton for affirming our priorities as mothers and reminding all of us to put our babies first and let the rest go.

Black Locust Trees

A short time ago, the black locusts were in such contrast to all around them. The grass was so green, The maples were in bright green leaf. The lilacs were blossoming. And there stood the locusts - bare, stark, autumn-like in the heart of spring. It occurs to me that this is on purpose. They let everything else get all the 'wows' of springtime, when every single day brings something new and remarkable. Then, when the daffodils are gone by, and the lilac blossoms are no more, those creamy white flowers appear which to my mind offer the sweetest smell imaginable.

When I have mentioned locust flowers in my letters, some people have commented that they are like the fragrance of wisteria, the plant oft mentioned in literature. Do locusts get mentioned in fiction? Not in any book I've ever read. And in nonfiction, mostly they are written of as weed trees, springing up everywhere. This is so hard for me to understand. They are beautiful trees in leaf, in flower, and even when they are bare. I grew up with them in my yard, and when Tom and I moved out here, I had to plant black locusts, the greatest gift of my June days.

A Year of Afternoon Gardens - June

Green!! We've finished the work on the patio gardens, at least for this year. We'll see how the plants all look when summer comes. As I mentioned in the May post, we removed a few day lilies from the left day lily garden, and you can see that there are still plenty left to fill out the space. I never make note of the colors so it is an annual surprise when they blossom. The garden by the wall now has chives, aquilegia, baptisia australis, orange day lilies, other day lilies, violets, mallow, catnip, bearded iris, and a little lilac bush.

We moved the phlox from one side of the fence to the other, where the day lilies used to be, to give it more room.

and planted a forsythia where the phlox were. I've never grown one before but this one is supposed to be very hardy for my zone, so I'm hoping. Those yellow flowers are just so cheerful in the spring. I'm thinking of planting some crocus beside it in the fall.

The day lily garden near the forsythia, is a new one we put in last September. We planted Hush Little Baby, in honor of the grandchildren who weren't even born when we planted them. My friend Judi gave me some orange day lilies that aren't the common ones, but a kind of frilled edge variety. I posted a picture of them seven years ago and you may see it here, the fourth photo down. And there are couple others that came free with the Hush Little Baby plants called Fulton's Ford, a 'peachy yellow' variety. I also planted another orange one called Primal Scream. So this should be a beautiful little area of color. I do so love day lilies.

The garden on the other side of the patio, the terrace garden is doing great. We thinned out the day lilies there, as well. Just now, the bleeding heart, lily-of-the-valley, violets, and lilacs are in bloom.

Meanwhile, in the flower garden formerly known as vegetable, there are now day lilies, Siberian iris, the six peony plants we put in a couple years ago, and the new Walker's Low catmint. This week we'll plant yellow beans along the bean pole, and we've decided that is the only vegetable we'll have in that garden. We had thought we'd do lettuce, but local lettuce is already in the store, and it just seems silly to bother.

Out back, the lupines and Siberian iris are growing like crazy. Both have spread over the years, and will be a beautiful display before long.

New plants with family name

Today we planted Walker's Low catmint in honor of our new grandson, Campbell Walker. I had looked around for something with his name, and this sounded perfect. It's hardy enough for our zone 3 garden, and it will appeal to our kitties! I bought it from Bluestone Perennials, and they suggested planting Happy Returns daylily with it, so I did. The Walker's Low name comes from an English garden which of course makes it even more appealing to me. I have two hazelnut trees coming in the fall in honor of Hazel Nina! Such fun.

Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise Brown

It doesn't get much better in the world of books for babies than Little Fur Family. The soft cover is so appealing for children to touch as someone they love reads the words to them. The story is the age-old tale of a child's day.

The father leaves for work

and the mother gets the little one ready for the day

He visits his grandfather, he makes friends with fellow creatures in the wood, and at the end of his day of adventures

The opportunity for the reader to sing is a particularly nice touch.

I read this to Hazel Nina this morning (in my pajamas) and you can see that she thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a wonderful book for young children, and for those lucky enough to read to them.

Today's poem by Claude McKay

Spring in New Hampshire        

                        

Too green the springing April grass,

Too blue the silver-speckled sky,

For me to linger here, alas,

While happy winds go laughing by,

Wasting the golden hours indoors,

Washing windows and scrubbing floors. 

Too wonderful the April night,

Too faintly sweet the first May flowers,

The stars too gloriously bright,

For me to spend the evening hours,

When fields are fresh and streams are leaping,

Wearied, exhausted, dully sleeping. 

Claude McKay (1889-1948)

Mother's Day

This is what I wrote on my Facebook page today:

I remember an old Mister Rogers show when he looked right at the screen and said to all the children watching that they are the reason their parents are parents. I wouldn't be a mother without my most beloved children, Margaret and Michael. I am thankful for you every minute of my life.

Campbell Walker, our new grandson!

Campbell Walker was born this morning, May 6! The little lad weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces. The new family is doing fine!

For newer readers, I should let you know that Michael is our son, and Estée is his fiancée.

Today's pictures - Hazel Nina at 5 months old!

Today's picture/Easter in May

In my book report on Miracles on Maple Hill, I mentioned that I learned something new about the bloodroot plant. The name of the plant in bud is "Easter candles."

All over the ground around her were great green leaves, each with a cleft in the side. Up through each cleft came a long thin stem, and on top of each stem stood a pointed bud exactly like a candle flame

When I went out today, I was thrilled to see I hadn't missed them. 

A Year of Afternoon Gardens - May

First month without snow!! We dug out most of the orange day lilies from the front garden to make room for a wider variety of plants. Perhaps not surprisingly, we didn't start any seeds under lights as we planned. Our hearts and heads are too full of Hazel Nina, and the soon-to-arrive Campbell Walker! So, we'll buy plants and place them in the garden to bring more color to that spot. You may see some holes in the left garden. Yesterday we dug up a few day lilies and put some in the old vegetable garden beds, and brought some down to Margaret, adding to a bunch we gave her a few years ago. We'll fill in the holes, cover with cocoa shell mulch, and let the flowers have some breathing space. This is a bed filled with many different colored day lilies that bloom over the summer.

We have also made a decision about the vegetable garden. We are turning it into a flower garden except for garlic, lettuce, and yellow beans. Everything else we can buy at weekly farmers' markets, or at our local co-op store, or at farm stands. When we first moved up here 41 years ago, there was no source of organic food anywhere. There were a few farm stands, but no farmers' markets. And now, we can buy anything we want - both local and organic - so that we really do not need to keep up a vegetable garden. We've already turned two of the boxes into peony beds, and will fill the others as the spring goes on. I'm really quite excited about this. We've spent a lot of years working a vegetable garden, and I look forward to simply enjoying the flowers, and getting all our food without having to do any work. It comes at a good time in our lives when we are older, and want to spend more time with the grandchildren.

Just around the corner from the patio,

We dug out all the day lilies because they were shaded too much by the maple tree. They had been in there since Tom put in the patio, just a few months before I began writing the blog.

They grew and were beautiful but all the flowers tilted their faces toward the fence, as you see in this picture from August 2006. Again, some went to Margaret, and others are in the former vegetable garden. We're thinking we might move the prolific phlox which are on the other side of the fence into that spot.

And speaking of the fence, the sweet little picket fence has been up since 1999, and it looks its age. Instead of another picket, Tom has a scheme for a fence similar to this picture I found on Pinterest.

It will be cheaper to buy and easier to build. The plan is to do one section at a time. We'll put some chicken wire along the bottom to keep Sadie and any future Windy Poplars puppies from getting out. The thought is to have it go all the way out to the wood pile and then connect with the electric pasture fence. Tom is so happy to have retirement time to do all these things.

Nest by Jorey Hurley

Nest

by Jorey Hurley

children's book 2014

finished 4/21/14

Oh, this is wonderful. It is the perfect book for very young children. 

The first page

The robins have such love in their eyes for one another as they begin their life together. 

And on the next two pages, the daddy robin looks out for any danger, while his mate sits on the nest, looking perfectly contented.

and soon

The book goes on in this way with one word, and a picture that spills over both pages. Life continues for the little family through the summer and autumn and winter. It is not without danger, in the forms of a cat and an owl, but with those vigilant parents watching over their baby, the reader knows no harm will be done. There is no better message for a young toddler than to know he or she is completely loved and utterly safe. 

When spring comes again it is the end of the book, and a new beginning for the young robin, and so the circle of life goes on.

Nest is a little masterpiece for the very young. I've given Hazel Nina a copy, and have one for Campbell Walker when he comes into the world. 

Hazel Nina's First Easter

Margaret and Matthew gave us a wonderful present in honor of Hazel Nina's first Easter.

with her footprint on the other side

Here's the little lass in her Easter dress - front

and back

March Reading

March was a very different reading month from January and February. I started and quit several books. I ended up reading two books, one of which I really loved.

15. Cold in the Earth - book 1 in the DI Marjory Fleming series

by Aline Templeton

mystery 2005

Kindle

finished 3/11/14

I decided to give Cold in the Earth a try after reading about it here. It had the oddest plot I’ve ever read in a mystery. I don’t want to say what it was because it would give too much away, but it featured a very weird psychological disorder.  The book is set during the hoof and mouth disease days of 2001. We had planned to go to England that summer, but decided against it because we had farm animals, and also because we got our milk from a local farm, and just didn’t want to take any chances. The book shows the devastation to animals and to people. So very sad. I tried the second in the series, but found I wasn’t interested enough in the characters to continue on. I can see how the series would be very appealing to many readers - I’m thinking particularly of those who like the Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. Neither one is for me, though they are both very good. Just not my taste.

16. Deeds Not Words

by Katharine D'Souza

fiction 2013

Kindle

finished 3/27/14

The second book by Katharine D’Souza was as wonderful as her first, Park Life which I wrote about last month. It is again set in Birmingham, England but is a very different story. This time we meet Caroline, a young woman who has come home to Birmingham from London after her marriage broke up. She works as a museum curator at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

From the outside this seems like a pretty sweet job, but Caroline is understandably not feeling so good about herself after the divorce, and the move back to her childhood city. She wonders if she has always taken the easy path, and hasn't pushed herself enough. Coming home brings her back into the day-to-day life of her family.

The quality of the museum and the familiar, vibrant city had tempted her back to Birmingham, and she'd ignored the inner voice mumbling that it wasn't really a challenge, hardly even a change. Less enticing was that the move brought her back to the same city as her family. They weren't dreadful, just demanding. 

Then her grandmother Beth has a fall and ends up in the hospital. She had been 'trying to get a box from the top of her wardrobe and fell from the stool.' This event becomes the catalyst for the whole story. Caroline stumbles upon a family mystery when she picks up the box. A man from Caroline's past comes back into her life. She meets a relative she didn't know existed. All these things combine to bring her into a new future. 

The Suffragette movement in Birmingham becomes the focus of Caroline's study as she tries to sort out her family history. While Caroline gets strength and resolve from the suffragists struggles, I was pleased to see that Beth's quieter life which centered around her home and family was also meaningful to the young woman. It is rare in modern life, and literature, that women at home get such appreciation.

There are some really beautiful descriptions of her grandmother's house which fans of Rosamunde Pilcher will love.

She thought again of Beth's home and how items to occupy her hands or mind were placed by each chair: a bag spilling knitting needles and bright skeins of wool by the armchair in the living room, a newspaper folded open to the crossword on the dining table, books on the coffee table or bedside cabinet.  

It featured dark wood panelling, beautiful floral patterned tiles, alluring inglenook fireplaces and many rooms with dual aspects through leaded windows containing stained glass insets. 

As she flicked through the floral wallpaper-covered exercise book Beth used to copy down favourite recipes Caroline's eyes filled with tears. With the tip of her index finger she traced the familiar handwriting on each page, almost hearing Beth's own voice speak each word. The grease-spotted paper was evidence of how well used the book had been and each page sparked memories of meals in that kitchen throughout her life.

I feel so very fortunate to have discovered Katharine D'Souza from heavenali's blog. Please do read her excellent, detailed review of Deeds Not Words here.

The author has put together a great Pinterest page with postcards depicting scenes from the book.