A Family of hedgehogs

A family of hedgehogs 
Came to me today
Wrapped up in a pretty box
From very far away.

And when I opened up the box
They all looked up at me
"Won't you take us to be part
Of your family?"

"Oh yes I will!" I did reply
"But how did you all know?
That I love hedgies oh-so-much
They give my heart a glow!"

"Oh, that's because a friend of yours
Who knows you oh-so-fine
Sent us to you as a gift
In the summer time."

"She knew that you were just the one
To give us all a home
Where we could dig and play and work
With your garden gnome."

Thank you sweet Melissa dear
For your gift so fine
Like this hedgie family
You are in this heart of mine.

This family of hedgehogs
Really make me smile
And think of a friend so very dear
Across the many miles.


© written by Christine Summerfield/September 1, 2019
"

 Good Thymes
I have so many kinds of thyme in my garden green
Some you may have met before and some you've never seen!
And there's so many things to do with all the different thymes
Here's a few to share with you in story and in rhyme...

​
​French thyme and English thyme,
​I like to plant in pots.
They grow just by my kitchen door
I cook with them a lot.
And sometimes in my winter tea
I like a little zing
Lemon thyme and orange thyme
are the perfect thing!

​Elfin thyme and woolly thyme like to creep and crawl
In the cracks between the stones and along a wall.
It's fun to walk on woolly thyme
in my barren feet
A lawn of thyme is fun to grow
​It really can't be beat!

There are so many things to do with all the many thymes
Fun to use and fun to grow and even fun to rhyme.
But my favorite kind of thyme is one you cannot see
Time for tea and teddy bears, friends and family!

A Wall of Happy Houses

A wall of happy houses is just along the street
Full of every color for the birds who like to sing tweet tweet!
 
The colors make a rainbow of yellow, blue and green
Orange bright and violet and pinks of shiny sheen!
 
This neighborhood’s for winged ones, for finches red and blue
Who play and fly and sing all day: “Tra Lee, Tra Lah, Tra Loo!”
 
They never seem to argue or get into a fight
They’re much too busy singing and playing in the light!

​Return of the Spring Time Lace
 
Remember how I shared with you
In the cooler days of fall?
About the last of the summer lace
The garden’s delicate shawl?
 
And how I took my curtains down
So light and pale and sheer
And hung my heavy panels up
To warm my home so dear.
 
Well now it is the first of May
And I can hardly wait
To hang the lace back up again
With patterns so ornate.
 
Outside my garden comes alive
In the month of May
The Queen's wedding day has arrived
With a glorious display!
 
Of white and cream and ivory
And fragrance pure and sweet
Her garments they adorn her
From her head down to her feet.
 
First there is the Apple tree
A shimmery snowy crown
Her blossoms white they fill the sky
A canopy big and round.
 
​Another garment that she bears
Is a fragrant lacy gown
Spirea and the Lilacs
The talk of all the town!
 
And then her slippers white she wears
On carpet soft and sweet
Woodruff, and the candytuft
Adorn her gentle feet.
 
But her favorite one of all
Is when you look down low
For Lily of the Valleys white
Springtime’s magic snow!
 
As I behold the blossoms white
On this first of May
I too I want to celebrate
In my simple way.
 
I adorn my little house
With veils of white and cream
Tablecloths and curtains too
Awaiting summer’s dream.
 
The lace bestows a bit of ease
And lets the light shine through
It blows so gently in the breeze
Against the sky so blue.
 
I also clip some branches long
From my Hawthorn tree
And on my tablecloth they stand
With blossoms white and free.
 
It is said in tales of old
That Lady Guinevere
Married Arthur at this time
Her beloved King so dear.
 
So as you wed your gallant King
In my garden green
May you bless each living thing
And the spaces in between.
 
And rule o’er your kingdom fair
O maiden and her knight
With goodness, love and peacefulness
And flowers pure and white.

written by Christine Summerfield, May 1, 2018

 Last of the Summer Lace

Now that autumn time is here and days are growing cold
Colors in the garden change from green to red and gold
I take my lacy curtains down and put them all away
Until the spring when when sun grows strong in the month of May.
And now I hang my winter curtains, soft and woolly and warm
They keep my little house safe against the winter's storm.
But as I looked outside my window, midst the last of the garden green
Another kind of summer lace could easily be seen
Strings of flowers small and white reaching to the sun
Climbed along my wooden fence, how happily they did run!

I walked over to the sight and listened for a while
And then a message soft and sweet gave me a little smile...

"Oh yes, we are the special vine called the "Silver Lace"
We bring a little joy to you with simplicity and grace.
In summer, all the other flowers do put on a show
But we keep climbing quietly, we grow and grow and grow!
And then when autumn colors change and Michaelmas arrives
It finally is our turn to bloom, the Silver Lacy Vine
Although we look quite delicate with tiny flowers white
Our vine is strong and sturdy, we really are quite a sight!"

And then a summer memory came slowly drifting by
Of dreamy lacy curtains white, blowing with a gentle sigh
I said a 'thank you' to the vine for gifting me with grace
A simple white delicacy...., the last of the Summer Lace.

Mushroom Boy
I know a little mushroom boy whose cap is full of spots
He likes to sit under the plants inside when it is hot.
If you peek about inside your home and are so very still
You might just find him sitting there on your window sill
In the morning he will join you for a cup of tea
And sit there with a happy grin to keep you company.
But in the lazy afternoon he'll tug his spotty cap
over his eyes and snuggle up for an afternoon nap.
Be sure to look for him in your home and become his friend
For he will help you every day a helping hand he'll lend.
He has a special job you see, just like the garden gnome
To keep a watch an guard in all the rooms inside your home!