Crown of Thorns at the Conservatory

Krohn Conservatory March 2018

Crown of Thorns

Euphorbia milii f. lutea

Madagascar

"This schrub was brought to the Middle East for cultivation over 2000 years ago. Legend associates it with the crown of thorns referenced in the Bible worn by Christ. This is also the oldest known plant specimen in Krohn. We can trace it to a cutting provided by a donor's plant originally collected in 1895!"--description on plaque at Krohn Conservatory, Cincinnati

We visited Cincinnati's Krohn Conservatory the other day, hubby and I along with two grandkids, for the conservatory's annual Butterfly Show. This time butterflies from Madagascar were featured. Built in 1933, the conservatory was first known as the Eden Park Greenhouse but was renamed in 1937 for Irwin M. Krohn, Commissioner for the Board of Parks. In the years since, the conservatory has become known for its great variety of rainforest, desert, and exotic plants--over 35,000 plant species from around the world. For sure, one little walkthrough does not do this place justice, with all the species to see and learn about.

It was however the above plant, Crown of Thorns, that caught my attention most, particularly since this week marks the many observances being held though out the Christian world leading up to Easter celebrations this Sunday. Coming upon this plant in this season created a personal bit of space in which to pause, ponder, reflect...

However, the main draw for most people that day was being in the showroom where thousands of butterflies are free to flit, fly, and even land on you if you are so lucky for the experience!

A few captured snaps:

 

Although rainy outside that day, inside was a delight!

Ever the writer (and/or editor), though, my eye caught a misspelling in the description of the Crown of Thorns. The sign itself may be too small to read in the photo, but my copy above is taken directly from the original. Did you catch the error? I wonder how many people viewing the plant in person have noticed the mistake?

And speaking of writing, April is National Poetry Month. Any plans to celebrate? Some resources:

30 Days, 30 Poems Challenge by tweetspeakpoetry

30 ways to celebrate national poetry month at poets.org

As for me, I'm in at the Local Gems Press Annual Poetry Chapbook Contest, again 30 poems in 30 days, theme-inspired. My chosen format will be...tada...haiku! Wish me luck!

What challenges are you up for in the upcoming month of April? Have you caught any obvious typos or grammar errors somewhere in public lately?

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And You Call This Spring?

on the last Saturday in March 2018

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep darlings, till the summer comes again.'"--Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

It was almost like Alice's adventures around here over the weekend, a glorious gift wrapped up in wonder and glee. All that snow at the end of March, coming down in such huge flakes and with unbelievable packing ability...who would have guessed it?  And so the adventure unfolded--filled with sledrides, snowballs, snowmen, three children, their daddy, and a grandpa. The only thing missing was Carroll's March Hare but the fact that the fun all happened in the month of March, when it's supposed to be spring, makes up for the hare's absence.

Classic quote of the day, this from five-year old Ceci: "Building a snow man is hard work. But I'd rather build a snowman than wash the dishes."

A winter wonderland in spring, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, a child's sense of wonder: can we capture some of that wonder in our writing?

It sure beats washing dishes :-)

Any adventures in your life recently? How do you maintain a sense of adventure in your writing? When was the last time you read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

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On Return of Books Lent to Friends and Other Special Books

inscription in a favored book on the bookshelf

"On the Return of a Book Lent to A Friend"

I GIVE humble and hearty thanks for the safe return of this book which having endured the perils of my friend's bookcase, and the bookcases of my friend's friends, now returns to me in reasonably good condition.

I GIVE humble and hearty thanks that my friend did not see fit to give this book to his infant as a plaything, nor use it as an ash-tray for his burning cigar, not as a teething-ring for his mastiff.

WHEN I lent this book I deemed it as lost: I was resigned to the bitterness of the long parting: I never thought to look upon its pages again.

BUT NOW that my book is come back to me, I rejoice and am exceeding glad! Bring hither the fatted morocco and let us rebind the volume and set it on the shelf of honour: for this my book was lent, and is returned again.

PRESENTLY, therefore, I may return some of the books that I myself have borrowed." --Christopher Morely, The Haunted Bookshelf

Adah at 16 (1919)

When I came across this Christopher Morley quote, I immediately thought of a book I have on my shelf: The Greatest Story Ever Told, by Fulton Oursler (Doubleday and Co. 1950). This is a cherished book to me not only because of the story it tells but of personal family history related to its specific volume. For, in 1951, my grandmother, Adah Johnson, wrote these words in the flyleaf: "This book is mine. I will gladly loan it to anyone who would like to read it. But please return it. It tells the story of the New Testament so simply and yet so beautifully I wish everybody would read it." --A.E.J.  Truly the book was special to Adah, and one that she would have wanted returned to her if she loaned it out. Having been passed down to me, it holds a special spot on my bookshelf as well. 

And Christopher Morley (American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet,1890-1957), what more might he have had to say said about books? I was not familiar with Christopher Morley's works before, and I've never read his book, The Haunted Bookshop (written in 1919). One reviewer described the book as "primarily a novel of suspense, though throughout it Morley proclaims the value of books." Knowing all this now, maybe I should find myself a copy and check it out.

Want more on Morley's thoughts about books? Goodreads includes additional quotes from The Haunted Bookshop, including:

"That's why I call this place the Haunted Bookshop. Haunted by the ghosts of the books I haven't read. Poor uneasy spirits, they walk and walk around me. There's only one way to lay the ghost of a book, and that is to read it."

"Living in a bookshop is like living in a warehouse of explosives. Those shelves are ranked with the most furious combustibles in the world--the brains of men."

"I wish there could be an international peace conference of booksellers, for (you will smile at this) my own conviction is that the future happiness of the world depends in no small measure on them and on the librarians."

"There is no one so grateful as the man to whom you have given just the book his soul needed and he never knew it."

I don't know if my grandmother ever read any of Christopher Morley's works, but I think she would agree with his ideas, especially that of this last quote. What if we did have a cherished book that we would want returned upon loaning it out but, with its loss, held out the hope that it was just what that person's soul needed? Wouldn't it be worth it?

What book/books are on your shelf that you would hate to part with? Do you have any books passed down to you from previous generations that you treasure? Do you have any books you need to return to someone else? (Ha!)

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