Sunday, August 2

Seeking the Gold.

When I was younger, I loved silver, & seemed to prefer it over gold, for jewelry.
As I aged, it seemed I 'grew into' gold. I decided I did like it, & chose a wide, plain, gold band for a wedding ring. Wide was not fashionable when I got married, narrow had become the fashion, but I stuck to my choice. I had always loved my Grandmother's wedding ring, which was wide & plain.

As I have matured I have discovered there is much gold in the world to be discovered & the best gold of all, is not a cold metal.

When I was a teenager, I had an Autograph Book. It had Black Watch Tartan silk on the the cover, & had been my mother's when she was young. She had not collected any autographs, so she told me I could have the book. One of my first autographs I got was from a dearly loved Uncle.

He wrote, "All that Glisters is not Gold. Sometimes it is the buttons on my tunic." He had been a soldier, who spent most of his time in World War 2 in a Prison Camp. He returned a very ill man, who probably would have died had he not been released, and returned to New Zealand in the nick of time.

I collected a lot of interesting autographs in that book, & sadly, when I went nursing some one took it & never returned it to me. It seemed odd, because the autographs were so personal, I always wondered what a stranger would find as a reason to keep the book.

These days I find Rich Gold lies where ever I look.
Gold more precious than the cold metal variety. Gold of such warmth, your heart is almost burnt from the contact, ~ certainly warmed to a degree no metal could impart.

There is the rich gold of friendship, that stands the test of time, & endures through ups, downs, good fortune, and bad.

The gold of young love, pure, innocent, given & recieved so trustingly. Even the trust can be golden.

The gold discovered with the joy of marriage. The gold of children, whose lives bring a special magic, golden glow. The absolute Gold of Grandchildren.

Leaving all those aside, because of course, not everyone marries, nor has children, there are many other sources of gold to be had, with no mere monetry value to be gained, or lost.

Look at these gorgeous golden funghi. I have no idea if they are mushroom or toadstool, poisonous or benign, but I fell in love with them, growing so bravely up through the leaf mulch under the Gum trees. Little Golden Miracles.


I also love spring flowers, love bulbs with their special magic of perfume, & beauty. Gold to me. Gold I managed to rescue from Gom's 'Garden Vandal' fork!
Look at the rich gold in the heart of the blooms.
There is gold in the gorgeous lemons on our tree. Their fruit is so sweet I can drink it pure. I know the leaves look a sickly yellow- gold!- but the fruit has been great this year, & it has more young fruit, plus more beautiful delicate blossoms, so it can't be too sick? I hope not. The idea of a male, preferably, a beer drinker, peeing under the tree has been suggested, but I can not find any one to oblige! The tree is situated on a somewhat raised bank, & I am sure should anyone 'go' out there, they might be spotted, & then who knows what would ensue. Accusations of 'flashing' from the neighbours, spring to mind! We have great neighbours, & would never wish to offend anyone! Perhaps when the Maple regains its lovely screening leaves??

There is gold in the warm sun, which has been pouring into our back yard. I spend time reading, with the warmth pouring onto me, as I lie on the sun lounger. Goms sits dreaming or reading on his swing seat, waiting until I come indoors, so he can lie on the lounger. We have 2 other loungers, but he has packed them up, & does not care to use them.
There are my golden sunsets I love, though we have not had any spectacular displays lately. No clouds & the fine clear skies blush very softly at sunset.
I have noted these past few days, there has been a beautiful, mysterious, perfume in the air, but I cannot locate the source. Some tree or plants in the neighbourhood must be blooming, & the soft scent is so soothing on the light breeze. Golden to my senses.



Ben Harper, Gold to Me.

15 comments:

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

I've enjoyed your journey through all things gold. I am sorry you lost that autograph book. I am fortunate to still have mine and I value those notes written by friends now long lost.

Warty Mammal said...

I did a search on "citrus trees yellowing" but alas, turned up nothing about rogue males peeing on trees.

Lovely post, Meggie.

ancient one said...

I have a wide gold wedding band... and thought I was the only person alive still wearing one...LOL

You are so right about the Golden Grandchildren... so dear to my heart!!!!

I just love your posts!!

quiltmom anna said...

HI Meggie,
I love your golden posts- One of my favorite albums when I was a teenager was "Harvest " by Neil Young( a fabulous Canadian folk artist) He has a great song called Heart of Gold.
I do wear a gold wedding ring- in fact I wear 3 rings that work together( two gold bands with an engagement ring) Almost all my other jewellry is silver.

Thanks for sharing the boiled omelet recipe- have you tried it- I am told it works pretty well especially for a crowd of people.

May you long continue to enjoy the daily golden moments- Life can be rich with them.

Regards,
Anna

Kitty said...

You are such a lovely, wise woman Meggie. I enjoy your writing enormously, even when I don't comment ;-) xx

Unknown said...

Hi Meggie, I visited your blog from a shout our from Angie at http://yanchepangie.blogspot.com/ and I'm drawn to follow you :) I've just finished my first quilt, and am learning slowly, and look forward to reading more of your blog. Oh did you see Ben Harper is supporting Pearl Jam on their aussie / nz tour later in the year...? I love him, voice like gold! I've also tried to get my boys to pee on our citrus trees, no luck yet there either...laughs! Cheers, Kyles

Granny J said...

Then there are the golden composits of late summer/autumn -- sunflowers and their smaller cousins that turn the treeless low hills golden.

Marja said...

Oh thanks for all these golden moments. We made friends on a holiday years ago and the woman used to say all the time Oh that is gold When she saw a nice view or something We kept that saying and use it from time to time

Selina Kingston said...

I tell you what is pure gold Meggie, and that is the way you write. You never fail to make think after I have read one of your posts - I always look forward to them x

Dawn in NL said...

I have enjoyed your recent philosophical posts.

Regarding your lemon tree, you could get your beer drinker to pee in a bucket which can be applied to said tree in a discreet manner, without risk of arrest for indecency.

All the best,
Dawn

Mary said...

That was beautiful Meggie..

and could it be daphne ? It is in bloom in my garden and the scent is delicious..

Pauline said...

it's the small things, isn't it? they're like little gold nuggets, moments to cherish.

Anonymous said...

Golden thoughts beautifully expressed. But, I don't think I'll pee under a tree for you, if that's OK.

lovelyprism said...

Wow, that was just lovely.

I've heard that bit about peeing on the lemon trees. I don't like the idea of it though lol, I could never eat the lemons after knowing about it.

philly5113 said...

This is cleaver. The thoughts, the pics, such a story. Love the big toe shots. The orange tree, I wonder if the pee thing in the comments is real?! Very well done. I always get a kick out of your posts even if I dont comment often.