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Enter Midnight at the Grove ... if you dare!

February - Old Man Winter Pays a Second Visit

2/26/2018

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We sure have had a few days of heavy snow in Meadow Sweet Grove - and just when we thought Spring was on her way!  Old Man Winter certainly deserves some respect - in just one night he can burden us with lots of snow, ice and cold winds.  Thank goodness for his playful counterpart, Jack Frost, who is usually nearby to save the day and remind us that beauty and fun is also part of winter! 

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Trees in the Grove
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... and at night.
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........... Snowflakes Keep Fallin' On My Head!! ........... (Gaz, one of the crazy cats in the Grove)
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From "Jack Frost", A ComiColour Cartoon by Ub Iwerks (1934)


I don't have to worry, I don't have to care,
My coat is very furry, I'm a grizzly, grizzly bear!
                                                  Grizzly Bear Cub's Refrain

If you meet Old Man Winter,
You'll sing a different tune,
It's time that you were safe in bed,
For he will be here soon.
                     
                     Mama Grizzly Bear's Retort

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Old Man Winter imprisons Grizzly Cub
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Jack Frost to the rescue!


Excerpts & Photos from Jack Frost, ComiColor Cartoon by Ub Iwerks (1934)
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2018 / edited 2019 & 2021
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Pecks and Bushels of Apples

9/30/2017

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Apple tree
This week we took a break from restoring our vintage dollie because the apples were in desperate need of rescuing.  It's been a hard year for our apple trees.  Too much heat and too many bugs!  Many of the apples fell off during the summer, others were cored through by bugs, and still others rotted right on the branches!  But, all said and done, we were amazed to get quite a few pecks of perfect "eaters", at least a bushel full of "bakers", a number left behind on the tree for hopeful ripening and still many more left over for cider!  Ah, the cider....

Apple ciderOlde Man Buchanan Grumpy Apple Cider
Rainbow Dash is one gal who truly loves her cider.  To the uninitiated, Rainbow Dash is one of the My Little Ponies who lives in Ponyville.  (And just between you, me and the Grand Piano, I think it's a bit of an obsession with her) .  Her friend Apple Jack runs the local apple orchard and the whole "Apple Family", from Apple Jack to Big Mac to Granny Smith and even little Apple Bloom, are responsible for providing the town with its yearly supply of apple cider.  I'm glad she can't see the state of our apple trees this year ... but hopefully, we'll be able to "squeeze" out a small supply!  The brew last year (featured above) was truly magical!


Okay, she REALLY likes cider!
There's going to be cider??             Well, our trees kinda look like this so ....    No, don't cry!  We'll try!

Meadow Sweet Groves claims no rights or ownership to the above YouTube videos.
                                                                                                                                                              
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 ​
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For the Spring is Flying and the Month is May

5/8/2017

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Picture of bleeding heart
​For the spring is flying and the month is May. 
 Mary N. Prescott

​That's the last line penned in a poem by Mary N. Prescott (reproduced below) from "Rhymes from Mother Goose";  an absolutely enchanting children's book printed in 1903 by the W.B. Conkey Company, with the promise: "arranged to please the boys and girls" and "with pictures that will amuse the children".
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Antique child's book, "Rhymes from Mother Goose", 1903, Meadow Sweet Grove Collection
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Sweet fragrant apple blossoms

​April showers did indeed bring May flowers to the Grove.  Not quite as stunning as last year's spring but as promised by Margaret Elizabeth Sangster, "Never yet was a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom."
​
Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 
2017 / edited 2021
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February - 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock - Time for Tea #aliceinwonderland #teatime #fairy #madhatter #marchhare

2/23/2017

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PictureA fairy tea break

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​The English fairies in Meadow Sweet Grove carry the tradition of taking their tea at 4 o'clock every day.  
It provides a nice break in their busy days and a chance to catch up with their fellow fairies.  It's a very social time and the fairies take turns sipping tea with the other fairies and woodland creatures who live in the Grove.  Some take their whole evening meal at this time, some just have a tea or coffee, and still others like to have a small sweet with their tea.

PictureVintage Kaiser Plate Romantica - Made in West Germany

​A plate with a pretty, funky or unusual pattern is always fun to set out with some cookies, small pastries, chockies or savouries for guests.  Whether you prefer a matching dinnerware set or a simple set with no pattern at all - tea time provides an opportunity to showcase a character plate.  It doesn't have to match anything else because it is set out on its own as a single serving dish with goodies whilst sharing a cup of tea or coffee with a friend.

PictureA Mad Tea-Party, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - illustration by Sir John Tenniel
I always remember coming home for tea after school.  My Dad would stop work to take a tea break around 4 o'clock - and then continue work for a couple hours before dinner.  It wasn't until some years later that I realized that not everyone followed this tradition.  But I suppose since my Great-Grandfather was British, it was just too entrenched in my family's routine (and too yummy!) not to continue.  Good things tend to last.  Just be wary of how long you spend at tea time.  Remember the Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse?  Forever stuck at tea time ... maybe some things are best in small doses!

Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017
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October - A Time for Ghosts

10/25/2016

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Halloween Postcard Witch CatThe big white cat
​Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan, 2016 / edited 2019
This is a poem I wrote as an assignment for a writing class I took a few years back.  It uses a lot of rhyming and is meant to be in "Shel Silverstein" style.  I hope you like it.

​
The Right Stuff

The big white cat looked
Up from the fence,
At the old oak tree
Leaving leaves less dense.

The white cat said, to the Oak King,
"Halloween's here, hear me sing.
I can hiss and spit,
And flash my eyes,
Arch my back against a full moon sky.
I be as scary as a black cat be,
Now what do you think,
You old oak tree?"

Halloween Postcard Black CatA cat of coal
Not a sound rolled around
From that ancient soul,
But between its leaves,
Stretched a cat of coal.

His eyes they glowed

Like yellow flames and
He bared sharp teeth,
With an aim to maim.

"Best leave to me,"
He said with a boast,
"And wait this out
Behind that post.​
The children are coming up the path

And I've got the stuff to make them dash.
If they see you, "puss, puss" they'll say
And laugh and carry on their way.

Halloween Postcards Trick or TreatersThe trick or treaters
Shamed, the white cat,
Slunk and hid
Behind the post
As he was bid.

But when those posers came quite near,
He thought around the post he'd peer,
Just to see the garb that night,
Of witches, skeletons and the like.

But those kids they screamed!
And fled in fright.

Trick or treat bags
Thrown left and right.

For rounding 'round that post they'd seen
A BIG WHITE GHOST !!
(or so it seemed.)

Halloween Postcard Black Cat
The taunting black cat,
Added a caterwaul,
Laughed to the white cat,
"You're the scariest of us all !!"

So that's the story of the two old cats 
Who learned that night (and it's a fact)
That there's more than one way to skin a cat!

                  (if you'll pardon the expression)

© Vicki Buchanan, 2014, 2016, 2019

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Disclaimer: Many of the items sold are vintage or pre-loved. Quality of vintage items vary with the manufacturing methods available at the time of production. They are not made to current standards of manufacturing ... and in my opinion, that is usually a good thing! They tend to be higher quality, last longer and include more attention to detail than today's products. However, safety standards do change over time, items do deteriorate with age, and it is up to the customer to decide how they will use each product.
All rights reserved. No part of this website, including but not limited to written articles, photographs, graphics, videos or animations, may be reproduced, in any form, written or digital, without the express and prior written permission of the author: V. Buchanan of Meadow Sweet Grove. Requests for said permission may be directed to: meadowsweetgrove@hotmail.com. (GIFs graciously provided by: animatedimages.org & R. Buchanan)
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