Friday 21 January 2011

January Fireworks








'V' For Victory
Bold Snowdrops Rising
Innocence Reborn



Haiku My Heart
recuerda mi corazon




Who says that January has to be 
dreary and dull.

If you are lucky and catch the moment of glory
you can end up with pure gold.

Bowles' Golden Grass


The frosted Leaves of a Heuchera


A  Golden Fountain of Deschampsia


To add to the cheerful message of this post, here is some excellent advice to shun winter melancholy at this dark season:-

He that is become mad with sadness and heaviness, to him ought fair to be spoken and made merry; many things should be promised him, and some given. If it is a man, let him be refreshed with women, for the same avoideth anger; but if it be a woman, let her be refreshed with men; the same bringeth them soon to their senses.


John Hollybush in  The Homish Apothecary 1561

48 comments:

  1. To be refreshed by men? Well, I declare Friko, that is a fresh idea… I love your frosted leaves. For some reason they made me hungry – I’d like to eat them. So, I am going down to the kitchen to make breakfast….

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  2. Gorgeous winter color, Friko. And that quote is something else. Many things promised, some given. Ha. The rest may be a bit optimistic, I think. :)

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  3. You have found glorious color in your January ! I wrote about a very similar thing this week too. Color is there for us to find it - we just have to do the looking !
    Happy Friday !

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  4. Beautiful works! As we slip further into the deep freeze of january it's important to look foreward to the renewal that is spring - and rediscover the natural pattern and colour of winter. It's all part of nature and life. ATB!

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  5. I love the first two photos, Friko. A wonderful reminder that winter is only one of the four seasons and will eventually be replaced by spring.
    -- K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  6. Great photos Friko - the colours in the Heuchera are glorious!

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  7. You have found exquisite colors - I will come back to visit them frequently until my own world covered in white has disappeared...

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  8. Came back to say the top photo is spectacular, and I don't know how I missed seeing it the first time through!

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  9. Yes, there is much beauty to be found in winter.

    New template? looks good.

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  10. I can always find beauty in a frost kissed earth...

    beautiful
    thank you

    x..x

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  11. Oh Friko, I love the Heuchera. If only mine looked half so good. The cold doesn't get them here it is the heat in summer. My snowdrops are blooming too, and when I saw yours, I had to get up, walk away from the computer, go outside and look at them. I discovered in the process that two of the Hellebore transplanted last fall have thrown up new growth. When number three does in spring I will really celebrate. Thank you for the uplifting post. You do my heart so much good. Dianne

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  12. Wonderful photos--lovely to see the snowdrops appear.

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  13. nice. you found some true january beauty...those frosted leaves are amazing...

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  14. I think I might just rely on your beautiful photographs to raise any lowering of my spirits . The 1561 cure sounds a little drastic and not totally certain to succeed .

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  15. thanks for the colour and life and happy goodfeeling gentleness of a garden!! steven

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  16. I'm all for refreshment. At any season! And refreshment is wonderfully epicene.

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  17. Beautiful photos, Friko. There is wonder to be found everywhere. I especially love the last two images.

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  18. Friko your January pictures are gorgeous. the morning hoar frosts of the last couple of days have made everything look amazing. And then in the evening - the beautiful, pinky gold sunsets.

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  19. Love the new look, and three cheers for John Hollybush!

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  20. I like your look. So refreshing and bold. You had changed the name of your blog previously, didn't you;? Your neck of the woods is a lot warmer than Montana. Couldn't find anything growing here. You found beauty in January.
    Peace and love. xo xo xo

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  21. oh, Du hast ein neues "theme" installiert! Sehr übersichtlich und schön, dass man Deine Bilder jetzt so gross und deutlich sehen kann. Sie sind wirklich sehr schön, besonders das erste, das ganz aussergewöhnlich und herrlich ist.
    Ich wünsche Dir eine gute Nacht, liebe Friko!
    Bis bald!
    Renée

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  22. The frost-tipped leaves! A photograph to die for. I also liked the idea of being refreshed by a man. I think I'll go and tell him I need that.
    Your new look is extraordinary - bold and bright. It'll take some getting used to, but it shows off your photos well.
    Did you have trouble with Blogger accepting your header photo too??

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  23. Lovely photos. Slightly disoriented by the new design. Everything I was expecting on the left was on the right.

    I hope this is not Friko's New Politics.

    Since you asked, new post at DuchessOmnium.com

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  24. Oh how lovely all the pictures are. The first is exquisite!!!! And the one with the frosted leaves reminds me of sugar coated treats...Wow!! Have a grand weekend! Cathy

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  25. Dear Friko: Definitely a pick-me-up these fresh pics! I feel like I have just been "refreshed by men" which is a good feeling. Thank-you! ps Do I get to pick them too like the frozen and fresh plants?How cold is it there? Looks like the plants are only partially frozen. Here we have -20 degree C not counting the wind chill. I think I will sit under a lamp today, I feel "cabin fevered". Lovely pictures and Haiku too! Hope you get the winter rainbow (I saw one last month!) and "end up with pure gold.":)

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  26. You show the gold indeed, Friko!


    Good prescription there, thanks.

    Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral

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  27. I just love the frosty leaves. All the photos are wonderful, but that on was talking to me.

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  28. Your photographs are wonderful and the advice is timely.

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  29. electric beauty!
    stunning images....and with your words, oh the golden awakening of it all.

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  30. Love those sugar plum leaves! As for being refreshed by men!!! It would depend greatly on which man....

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  31. Lovely haiku Friko and the frosted plants are simply gorgeous. The quote is good advice for anyone. It is a beautiful winter post.
    Noelle

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  32. "but if it be a woman, let her be refreshed with men" - I'll drink to that.
    I find January to be warm and sunny and full of good things, although this year temperatures have been dropping to a chilly 20 Celsius.

    Have a great weekend, Boonie

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  33. What a surprise to see your page look so different. Beautiful photos, Friko. As for you, John Hollybush - what on earth are you talking about? The only way a man has made me come to my senses it when I decided to kick him out.

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  34. Dear Friko,
    I love your beautiful pictures, and yes: January is a wonderful month as well as the others! To be refreshed by men is a valuable advice for all year long!

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  35. Thank you Friko, I am going to go out with new eyes.

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  36. Stunning photos. I am especially taken by the frosted leaves. They are so perfect that they almost look artificial. Isn't mother nature wonderful?

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  37. I wish I could take photos like that. Mind you, it would help a lot if I owned a camera.

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  38. Alas, the only colors in Minnesota at the moment are blinding white and brilliant blue.

    And of course our red noses. :-)

    I loved the saying at the end.

    Pearl

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  39. Love the frosted heuchera leaves!

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  40. Are those your pictures, and are they current. Whatever the case, they're very good. I love them all, but I'm especially captivated by the first.

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  41. I was so taken aback the first time here I didn't end up commenting.

    This was just all so glorious. Truly.

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  42. Not sure how I missed this post with the stunning photos. Uplifting and congrats on your POTW!

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  43. victory for sure!

    just stunning :)

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  44. I love it! You have shown us all that just because it is wintery and dreary outside, we can find brilliant color any where! LOVE that!

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  45. These photos - that first one in particular - are stunning!

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  46. The frosted leaves are most beautiful. Guess I'll go wander the yard and see what's beautiful in mine this January. Enjoyed the post.

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  47. Hello again, dear Friko. I continue to make my way through your January posts.

    The frosty photos look wonderful from the overheated warmth of my apartment.

    The 1561 words have amused me. Old is new, new is old. We humans, male and female, continue to make our way though days and nights, year after year.

    xo

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Comments are good, I like to know what you think of my posts. I know you'll keep it civil.