"To the tune of Sing A Song of Sixpence"

Sing A Song of Compost

Sing a song of compost by the apple tree
Learn about the secrets there for you and me.
Make your own compost and spread it on the land
It's fun to make and fun to do, so come and take my hand!

First you put some branches at the bottom of the bin
This will make a base for all that will go in.
Then you build the layers, one by one
Making compost in the yard can be so much fun!

Alternate the layers of brown and of green
Sprinkle bits of water all in between.
As the pile gets higher, turn it once for air
Then you let it sit and cook for months without a care.

The compost pile will cook and you know it will get hot!
Red wriggler worms they like it quite a lot!
They eat all the food scraps and make the black gold
Miraculous and magical, a wonder to behold.

When you finally open up the compost bin
Put your hand inside and look right in
No more leaves or clippings or old banana peels
Only dirt so rich and black, how soft it really feels!

Then you take the compost and spread it on the ground
Underneath the roses or in a little mound
Plant your beans and pumpkins or any other seed
Vitamins for vegetables, the soil it really feeds!

If you're feeling fancy, make a kind of tea
Not the kind for cookies, for grandma and me
Compost in a bucket filled with water fine
Gives an extra feeding for tomatoes on the vine!

Now you've made some compost, I hope you've had some fun
Finding all the magic underneath the sun.
Keep a compost cooking by the apple tree
​Tell your friends about it all and share the recipe!

© written by Christine Summerfield/March 31, 2019

Umbrella in the Sun
​
​As I was walking down the street one sultry summer day
My umbrella shaded me from the sunny rays.
I held it straight above my head, a shadow it did make
But then I stopped and looked awhile, and said "for heaven's sake!"

And when I took a closer look 
I saw more and more
Teeny tiny umbellets
​blooming by the score!

I gazed at this pretty plant
So delicate and white
And then I heard a little voice
​So sweet and so polite...

   "My family of lady bugs we land here every day
To take a rest and sit awhile after morning play.
You hold your umbrella down
​          to shade you from the sun
But this umbrella opens wide,
             there's room for everyone!
For butterflies and honeybees
and praying mantis too
For ladybugs and dragonflies
with their wings of blue!
                                                                                    

"Other plants have umbels too, like celery and dill
Coriander, parsley green, give us quite a thrill!
​And then there is the fennel plant
that tastes like licorice sweet
Yarrow flowers, elder too are quite the summer treat!
We love the umbel family, the flowers and the weeds
For resting and for feeding on the teeny tiny seeds!" 

I thought about the carrot wild
​      and the seeds they made
And how umbrellas can be used
    for rain or sun or shade!

Thank you dearest lady bug,
   you tiny lady bird
For teaching me about the plant,
      and the "umbel" word!

written by Christine Summerfield © July 19, 2018