Monday 28 June 2010

My World Tuesday - a dragonfly tail

MWT WhiteI have been fairly preoccupied with putting our house and cottage on the market in my world. It is not an easy task.
In the meantime, not to be dreary and morose, I have had a dilemma. In my world, which consists of many lawn ornaments, I have a dragonfly.

Said dragonfly, bought at one of the many Muskoka Outdoor Markets, is a bright spot on a dark tree. But, with our recent winds, the two trees have separated, and the tail of the dragonfly is wedged
between the tree trunks.

It is an interesting problem. One of many- as we say goodbye to the house.

I don't want to leave the dragonfly. We got it on sale as the vendor was about to close up shop and gave us a deal. It holds many memories of time spent in Muskoka, supporting our artisans.

 Much to do and much to take care of, the greatest of which is the grief that comes with letting a place go like this. The land and cottage has been in our family for nearly 50 years, as many in the area.

The house built in 1991, my parents retired happily here. Visiting from Toronto was a piece of cake. Visiting from Ottawa is more difficult. As a teacher it was easier with the summers off. But our kids are pretty busy.


The gardens bloom. The foxglove and iris are perfectly happy in the
summer weather.

I shall breathe in the fresh air, and I am grateful to have lived in this world for a time. Grateful for
having been a steward of the flowers, woods and wildlife.

We will look forward to when we won't be a Guest in the Big People's House, and have a near-by place where gamma and gampa can babysit.

17 comments:

Sylvia K said...

A beautiful post, Jenn. It is heartbreaking to have to leave such a well loved place. My thoughts are with you and your family and hope you get settled soon. I am sorry about the dragonfly and his tail! Hope you find some way to take him with you -- with or without a tail! Your photos do show your love of the place. Have a good week!

Sylvia

J Bar said...

Beautiful blooms.
Sydney - City and Suburbs

JOE TODD said...

Wow what a decision to move from Muskoka.Wish you the very best. I guess everything changes with time. I know it does in my world. My wife and I will be up at French River again this summer yet I wonder sometimes just how many more trips to Canada I will make.

Roberto Machado Alves said...

Great shots and beautiful flowers. Today, I've posted in my blog a picture of a flower too.

Have a nice day.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

On Jenn -- this is a hard time! When I was young I actually used to think that it would be great to be middle-aged and not have any more problems or decisions. Hahaha. Change happens.

But it will be great for you to be near those precious babies. I don't think we could do the traveling that we're doing now if we hadn't had our grandparenting time first.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Jenn: Best wishes with the house whichever way it goes. I love the dragonfly.

Luna Miranda said...

lovely flowers. it's indeed sad to leave something dear to you. wishing you and your family the best!

LadyFi said...

So sorry to hear you are moving from this lovely place. I'm sure you will enjoy your new place too once you get settled.

Lily Hydrangea said...

I can't imagine ever leaving the home I am living in now but I know for certain I will one day. It's bittersweet I guess.
The neat thing is you do love and appreciate your home & that is a good thing.

Gwendolyn L said...

I enjoyed reading your post. Wonderful pictures and great words - I can relate. Thanks for sharing.

Friko said...

A bitter-sweet post, as is surely your state of mind.
You are very courageous as well as generous and kind to be envisaging leaving your beautiful world.

Riet said...

What a beautiful post about your world. Thank you for sharing.

EG Wow said...

Wow! What a difficult decision it must have been to pack up and move on. I hope everything works out for the best. Do you have a place to move to yet? Or do you need to sell first? I hope you plan to continue blogging!

Jenn Jilks said...

Thank you, all for your sympathy. Difficult decision, but a good one. I am pregrieving it by blogging about it. I will keep on blogging, @EG, as I hope to find a new place with wildlife.
We are not sure what we can buy until we find out how much we will net from the sale. WIth 2 showings this week I am hopeful.

Bonus: I took a crowbar, stood up on the bench and separated the trees enough to slide the dragonfly tail out.

Ania said...

I love your header! It screams summer and promises lovely memories.

Jenn Jilks said...

Bless you Ania. I love the geese and the greenery.

Muskoka Stewardship said...

Hi Jenn,
I just came accross your blog- beautiful gardens! You and your other readers might be interested in the blog I write and the program I run at the Muskoka Heritage Foundation. It is all about being a steward of Muskoka's private lands.
www.muskokastewardship.blogspot.com
-Rebecca