FLORENCE BLUME THE GHOST , BAT AND MAGGIE, OSGOODE AND PUDDING

"I look around me, and, lo! On every visage, a black veil! Pleasant is a rainy winter's day, within doors! The best study for such a day, or the best amusement,---call it which you will,--- is a book... "

TWICE TOLD TALES

FLORENCE BLUME THE GHOST

A night enjoying Perry Mason and studying my painting

The pitter-pattering of the rain on the window pane had made Florence fall asleep. It only had been a minute, although it felt like hours to Florence.
Waking in a clouded daze, he found all four cats still in the Spirit room. Osgoode was climbing up his lap while Pudding snuggled under his chin. They had come for a sleepover with Bat and Maggie. Florence had promised them some spooky stories before bedtime. Unfortunately, the little kittens had given Florence such a workout he fell asleep during Perry Mason in The Case of The Wary Wildcatter" and missed the ending. Now Florence was awake, he couldn't wait to read them the stories. Bedtime would follow and Florence could catch the ending he missed.

CLOUDY DAZE 2023

DO NOT STAND BY MY GRAVE , AND WEEP

Florence Blume - A Ghost Story {Merrickville} Annabelle&M © 2023

Do not stand

By my grave, and weep.

I am not there,

I do not sleep—

I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glints in snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle, autumn rain.

As you awake with morning’s hush,

I am the swift, up-flinging rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight,

I am the day transcending night.

Do not stand

By my grave, and cry—

I am not there,

I did not die.

-Clare Harner 1934 

When words and music touch my soul...listen

Mariage d'amour - Paul de Senneville

@batandmaggie @hauntedwalk @rideau_walkingtours @painteral613 @writerswarmth 

#painting #blackandwhite #catart #spooky #halloween #storypainting #bookstagram #instagood #beauty#beautiful#merrickville #haunted #afterlife #supernatural #cemetery #graveyard #Annabelle&m #love #moon#moonlight#florenceblume #trees #ghostadventures #spookyseason #blackcat #picoftheday #instadaily #art #poem#donotstandatmygraveandweep 

BAT TUB

Bat, bathing in the moonlight, at midnight, in the dark, in the woods, alone. 

My daughter hijacked my painting; no stars, no flowers, no more cats, and no ghosts. Maybe, Halloween? She named it Bat Tub.




“The moon can never breathe, but it can take our breath away with the beauty of its cold, arid orb.” 

― Munia Khan




"Believe nothing you hear and half of what you see."

MY HOUSE, I SAY...COTTAGE BY THE SEA ~ FORGET-ME-NOT COTTAGE ( WIP/2 )

Yes, this could be my house and mine, said my husband when he looked at my painting this morning. It's still a WIP. I need to finish painting the grass along the path, maybe a couple of doves on the roof and a cat, just like Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about in the poem "My House, I Say."

The Forget- Me- Nots and Tansy are flowers we collected on our trip down east. THE INN AT WHALE COVE COTTAGES, GRAND MANAN ISLAND, NEW BRUNSWICK is a place that will always be dear to me and M. We had such a great time there and, Laura, the Inn Keeper at Whale Cove Cottages, made it extra special for us. This painting, inspired by that special place we stayed at one cold October month in 2017. One day, we shall go back!

MY HOUSE, I SAY 
~ ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON 1850-1894


"My house, I say. But hark to the sunny doves  

That make my roof the arena of their loves,  

That gyre about the gable all day long  

And fill the chimneys with their murmurous song:  

Our house, they say; and mine, the cat declares  

And spreads his golden fleece upon the chairs;  

And mine the dog, and rises stiff with wrath  

If any alien foot profane the path.  

So, too, the buck that trimmed my terraces,  

Our whilom gardener, called the garden his;

Who now, deposed, surveys my plain abode  

And his late kingdom, only from the road."

HAPPY EASTER🐇🐣 A GREAT DAY FOR PAINTING A COTTAGE BY THE SEA 🌊🏡

HAPPY EASTER🐇🐣

A great day for painting a Cottage By The Sea 🌊🏡

COTTAGE BY THE SEA WIP -"I CANNOT COME BECAUSE THAT IS MY HOUR TO BE ALONE."

"But if one says: I cannot come because that is my hour to be alone, one is considered rude, egotistical, or strange. What a commentary on our civilization when being alone is considered suspect; when one has to apologize for it, make excuses, hide the fact that one practices it - like a secret vice!"

It seems to be more than an hour of alone time for me these days, always painting, and thankfully my dear husband doesn't mind and is kind enough to do the family's cooking. Thanks, Stan!!!♥️
Hopefully, the landscape I traveled to once upon a time and visited in my dreams comes to fruition. So far, I like what I see. I know I paint weirdly, although it works for me.

I seem to be quite captivated by this fellow ~ The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow

- Walter de la Mare

No filter, just my phone, the garden, the scarecrow and, the sunflowers in the snow.

All winter through I bow my head 

beneath the driving rain;
the North Wind powders me with snow
and blows me black again;
at midnight 'neath a maze of stars
I flame with glittering rime,
and stand above the stubble, stiff
as mail at morning-prime.
But when that child called Spring, and all
his host of children come,
scattering their buds and dew upon
these acres of my home,
some rapture in my rags awakes;
I lift void eyes and scan
the sky for crows, those ravening foes,
of my strange master, Man.
I watch him striding lank behind
his clashing team, and know
soon will the wheat swish body high
where once lay a sterile snow;
soon I shall gaze across a sea
of sun-begotten grain,
which my unflinching watch hath sealed
for harvest once again.

ONLY THE LONELY 🌱

'Only the Lonely' Nicotiana Sylvestris, White Shooting Stars or Woodland Tobacco.

It was the only Nicotiana Slyvestris plant to grow in the compost garden, and I left it alone to grow next to the Pumpkin Patch.
Now that the Pumpkin Patch is gone, Only the Lonely is truly alone. 

It's beautiful, candelabra-like clusters of tubular luminous white blossoms still intoxicate the evening autumn air with a rich Jasmine-like perfume.
In the past, when the white shooting stars of the Nicotiana Sylvestris bloomed in our summer garden at the front of the house where we could see and smell its beautiful scent, we would see hummingbird moths come around twilight to sip from the tiny trumpets. But this year, the trees have taken over the sun-loving garden, and only now are the self-sown seeds from the nicotiana of last summer starting to grow, a little too late, I'm afraid. So, come early spring next year, I must remember not to forget 'Only the Lonely' and plant some of its seeds indoors. This way, I will find it a better place to grow and watch its miniature chandeliers light up under the moonlight, maybe even catch a glimpse of a little fairy in the secret garden flitting here and there in the flowers of the 'Woodland Tobacco.'

'Where at dusk the dumb white nicotine awakes and utters her fragrance in a garden sleeping.' ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

When Sweet Autumn Comes ⋆

Earthly stars climb above and beneath the fading flowery garden of summer, their heavenly perfume trailing on the cool evening breeze.

Autumn has arrived, and the sweet autumn clematis I planted in early spring has now come into full bloom: its vine, covered in delicate starry white flowers whimsically entwined into a heart, I suppose it must love where it lives.

SIXTY SECONDS TO WHAT? POOF, OUT LIKE A LIGHT! 💤 HAPPY CATURDAY! THE FELINE ART OF ZEN 🐱🐾🐾🐾

September 19th theme ~ The Feline art of Zen

SIXTY SECONDS TO WHAT? POOF, OUT LIKE A LIGHT! 💤

A hypnotic melody, say like, The El Indio Theme with music box included, sleep comes in seconds. At least it did for Bat.

Cats love art, cats love music, and cats love to sleep.
They sure know how to seize the moment. 

"Every second is of infinite value."
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

For A Few Dollars More Soundtrack ~ El Indio Theme ( expanded)

HEART AND SOUL ♥️

                              Heart & Soul ♥️

HEART AND SOUL ♥️

The treasures that I keep, a Peltoceras, and a deep, dark, red heart; behind their secret walls enclosed series of chambers are hidden but necessitous to their existence. Perhaps, you might say, they had, at one time, a heart and a soul.

Heart and Soul ♥️

Heart and soul, I fell in love with you
Heart and soul, the way a fool would do, madly
Because you held me tight
And stole a kiss in the night
Heart and soul, I begged to be adored
Lost control, and tumbled overboard, gladly
That magic night we kissed
There in the moon mist
Oh! but your lips were thrilling, much too thrilling
Never before were mine so strangely willing
But now I see, what one embrace can do
Look at me, it's got me loving you madly
That little kiss you stole
Held all my heart and soul

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Heart And Soul - Hoagy Carmichael - 'Big' Theme Tune

THE QUIET GARDEN ~ OIL PAINTING ON WOOD PLANK WIP 🖼

Abandoned and forgotten, this painting I started in April may yet see life.
I almost burned it on a few bonfire nights but, it somehow escaped.
And then, looking at the rough sketches of the painting, I took another look at the wood plank and was intrigued by the light and shading of the colors breaking through the Cyprus trees. I think it might be worth my time to finish what I started.

The Quiet Garden ~ Oil on wood plank WIP 🖼

Where did I get the inspiration for this painting? 

The Quiet Garden at The Saint John the Baptist Anglican Church in Richmond, Ontario. 

In times past, when my daughter was in school, Grace, our golden and I would go to Richmond, take a long walk in the park by the river until M finished her class.
Then, one day, Grace and I came across The Quiet Garden next to a beautiful cemetery behind the Anglican church.
The garden became our special place to retreat to after a long walk, Grace and I taking a little rest before picking up M.
These days, I don't go there often, but when I do, I see the golden girl sitting next to me by the garden bench. 😢🦮


"Today" ~ Mary Oliver


Today I’m flying low and I’m
not saying a word
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.

The Little Prince 💜

Our little garden pet, Prince💜


“Always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Plant lavender for good luck. And fall in love whenever you can. 

Happiness is not about getting what we want.

It’s about appreciating what we have.”
Meet our little garden pet, Prince💜
Photo by@murtagh13@ghostales1957