Good Wednesday Morning! Here we are almost to the middle of October already, and I haven't shared my favorite October calendar picture with you yet...from John Sloane's Country Seasons 2023 Calendar:
He entitled this picture "Almost Heaven"...I can understand that thought. The beauty of autumn in October in many parts of our country would make you feel like it is "almost heaven". Here in Florida it is not quite so beautiful as this, but we still are thankful for the transition from summer into fall and some lovely cooler mornings and days...it's been so chilly in the mornings lately that I resorted to building a little fire in the house to make things cozy and warm:
albeit, a "fake fire", but it helped create the atmosphere of warmth I was seeking.
October is also a good time for doing some porch sitting as well as spending some pleasant afternoons in the Secret Garden...(finally got the new sign put up that Benton and Rose gave me for my birthday!)
It seems as though the spider webs are more prolific in October as well...or at least we can see them better if we are watching!
A morning view of Still Waters Pond from the porch:
It appears I am not alone in my early morning pleasure!
This female Cardinal is enjoying the ripe holly berries!
And a quick drink from the bird bath...
Meanwhile this female Downy Woodpecker was pecking her way around this pine tree...
Isn't she sweet?
Original Post 4/3/2019:
I wonder how many of you are fans of Anne of Green Gables?
If you've known me for very long, you will know that I have a very special interest in Anne of Green Gables...and here are some links to previous posts that I have written about her:
The number one reason that I have such an interest in Anne is that not only am I a natural born "redhead" like Anne, but I am also actually named after her! Yes, my middle name is "Anne", spelled with an "e"! If you have read the book (or watched the movie) you will know that this was very important to Anne. Here is a quote of the conversation between Anne and Marilla, as they are just getting acquainted:
"But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an e."
"What difference does it make how it's spelled?" asked Marilla with another rusty smile as she picked up the teapot.
"Oh, it makes such a difference. It looks so much nicer. When you hear a name pronounced can't you always see it in you mind, just as if it was printed out? I can; and A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished. If you'll only call me Anne spelled with an e I shall try to reconcile myself to not being called Cordelia."
"Very well, then, Anne spelled with an e..."You see, when I was born, and the doctor announced that I was a "little redhead", my mother knew that she wanted to somehow name me after her favorite fictional heroine, Anne of Green Gables. And so my name became Pamela Anne, spelled with an "e".
Therefore today we welcome a very special guest to Pamela's Victorian Cottage, Anne of Green Gables. For today let us pretend that our little cottage is actually Green Gables, and these are some of Anne's thoughts as she comes to stay with us. Each of these wonderful quotes are from the book "Anne of Green Gables", written by L.M. Montgomery.
Now before this introduction took place above to Marilla, the soon to be reluctant adoptive mother to this orphan girl sent mistakenly to them from the asylum, (as they had certainly requested a boy, not a girl!), Marilla's old bachelor brother "Matthew Cuthbert and the sorrel mare jogged comfortably over the eight miles to Bright River" to the train station to meet the expected young orphan boy they had requested from the asylum to come to live with them. You can imagine his consternation when the only person there waiting to meet him was this "strange girl".
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| (The beautiful background paintings are taken from my old "Country Seasons" calendars, created by John Sloane, and adapted for my story today). |
"Oh, there are a lot more cherry-trees all in bloom! This island is the bloomiest place. I just love it already, and I'm so glad I'm going to live here. I've always heard that Prince Edward Island was the prettiest place in the world, and I used to imagine I was living here, but I never really expected I would. It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?"
"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination, then, would there?"
"Fancy! It's always been one of my dreams to live near a brook. I never expected I would, though. Dreams don't often come true, do they? Wouldn't it be nice if they did? But just now I feel pretty nearly perfectly happy..."
And imagine Anne's pure delight when she woke up the first morning in that lovely house, and looked out her window for the first time, and she just couldn't contain her joy:
"Oh, isn't it wonderful?" she said, waving her hand comprehensively at the good world outside."Marilla didn't know exactly what Anne was talking about, and thinking she was speaking about the tree outside her window, she responded:
"It's a big tree," said Marilla, "and it blooms great, but the fruit don't amount to much never...small and wormy."But Anne's spirit could not be crushed...
"Oh, I don't mean just the tree; of course it's lovely--yes, it's radiantly lovely--it blooms as if it meant it--but I meant everything, the garden and the orchard and the brook and the woods, the whole big dear world. Don't you feel as if you just loved the world on a morning like this? And I can hear the brook laughing all the way up here. Have you ever noticed what cheerful things brooks are? They're always laughing. Even in winter-time I've heard them under the ice. I'm so glad there's a brook near Green Gables..."
Upon discovering that Anne had not had any proper religious training and that she didn't even know how to pray, Marilla told Anne that to pray properly "You must kneel down." "Anne knelt at Marilla's knee and looked up gravely."
"Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep woods, and I'd look up into the sky--up--up--up--into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer."
I like Anne's thoughts about looking forward to things:
"Oh, Marilla, looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them, " explained Anne. "You mayn't get the things themselves; but nothing can prevent you from having the fun of looking forward to them. Mrs. Lynde said, 'Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed.' but I think it would be worse to expect nothing than to be disappointed."
Lest I get carried away and end up quoting the whole book for you, let me just close with this last little bit that helps me understand just why Anne and I are such "kindred spirits".
"October was a beautiful month at Green Gables, when the birches in the hollow turned as golden as sunshine and the maples behind the orchard were royal crimson and the wild cherry-trees along the lane put on the loveliest shades of dark red and bronzy green, while the fields sunned themselves in aftermaths.
Anne revelled in the world of colour about her. "Oh, Marilla," she exclaimed one Saturday morning, coming dancing in with her arms full of gorgeous boughs,
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? "
And with that I think I will close this little episode of Pamela's Victorian Cottage. I hope you enjoyed our little visit with Anne of Green Gables. You know, I never realized until re-reading these first few chapters again just how much I really am like Anne. Perhaps my mother somehow vicariously taught me a lot about her favorite fictional heroine in the way she taught me to view things in life. It's interesting that I don't ever remember my mother reading this story to me...she just kind of told me about it in little bits and pieces throughout the years, and it really wasn't until I was an adult that I actually literally read the book and understood just who this person was that I was named after...and now a lot of things make sense to me...
To all of the "kindred spirits" out there, I will leave you with this final quote from Anne for this visit:
"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."
Until we meet again, God bless you all!!
