I posted some updates on my poetry on Wednesday. I’ve been busy writing some other poems for Summer Swaps, and anything else that inspires me. Beyond that, I’m halfway through writing my chapter for a textbook on teaching with awe. It’s due in August, so I need to be diligent on finishing.
Summer has finally arrived in the Northwoods, and my gardens are blooming. There are yellow and rush heliopsis, coneflowers, salvia, daylilies, and more around the house. Out front in my new native pollinator bed, the blue vervain and rattlesnake master plants are over seven feet tall. I am planning a YouTube video on how to plant a native pollinator garden. A community education presentation is needed before December to earn my certification as a Pollinator Steward. Although I’ve done many in person presentations, I’ve never done a virtual one, so it will be fun to try (after the book chapter is done).
Beyond all that, I’ve painted three times this week. I really like two of the three paintings. One was overworked, and that is posted in my article from Wednesday. I find the watercolors are forgiving for the most part and help me to relax.
My husband and I went to another art show last weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, and had a wonderful time. Art Fair on the Square is the show he will try to get into. It’s highly competitive and considered one of the best art shows in the country. But his segmented and turned wood bowls are exquisite, and I’m sure he’ll be given a chance to be in it at some point.
We really enjoyed being in our State’s capitol city too. It was a weekend of fun, great food, and art. It warmed my heart when he told several of the vendors that we have a family of artists (because it’s true)!
Lastly, I want to give a shout out to Moe Phillips, Jone Rush MacCulloch, and Rose Cappelli, all of whom I received summer swamps from – we have a very creative community in the Poetry Friday group. Each of their poems were personal and accompanied by fantastic art and/or creations to enclose their words. I think I’ll wait until the swaps are over to share more as I haven’t gotten permission from anyone to share yet.
I am reading two books, currently. One is the Illustrated Emily Dickinson Nature Sketchbook with illustrations by Tara Lilly.
There are poems from Dickinson with accompanying illustrations as well as blank pages to add your own thoughts or verse. I haven’t written in it yet.
But since Dickinson took a great deal of inspiration from nature, and so do I, I wrote a poem this week about a bird that crashed into our bank of picture windows that face the lake.
Stunned Sparrow
At half past four,
There was a smack
On the window was left a
White feathered plaque
I hurried outside
To see if you died
But there you stood
With your eyes open wide.
Stunned I suppose
From a bump on the head
When you recover
You’ll fly home to your bed.
© Carol Labuzzetta, 2025.
The other book I’m reading is a non-fiction book by Douglas Tallamy, The Nature of Oaks. It’s funny, informative, and I find his style of writing very close to mine. The title link will take you to Amazon. I do not have an affiliate link at this time, but I am thinking of it.
I hope you all are well and enjoying summer! If the world has got you down, take a walk in a park or forest near you. Soak in nature and soothe your soul!
Poetry Friday is hosted this week by BookSeedStudio’s Jan Godown Annino,
https://bookseedstudio.wordpress.com/2025/07/17/resilience/
Thanks for hosting, Jan!
The Apples in My Orchard 
I’ve been excited to see more and more people converting their water-guzzling front yards to pollinator gardens, or at least letting them grow wild and letting the dandelions run free! I remember relatives out in their yards with little shovels carefully digging up every last dandelion – what a terrible waste! The bees and the birds need us! If I didn’t live in an apartment with zero sunlight on my balcony I’d be growing some flowers, too.
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Oh, poor stunned sparrow! And thanks for the luscious pictures of your garden.
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Lots of goodness in this post, but I’m going to have to focus on the SEVEN FOOT TALL rattlesnake master!! Mine must not get enough sun at all. Hmm…they might need to be moved…
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You are one busy lady, Carol! I love your pollinator garden. I don’t have an intentional one, but many many flowers and plants around my property –so we see quite a few bees, hummingbirds, even bats. Alas, we too have too many bird-bumps on windows –though more often than not, I end up offering last rites to them! Enjoy the rest of your summer.
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Carol, thank you for your lovely photos. Your gardens are thriving so please post your video after you create it. I am interested in native plants. I am amazed at how some birds fly into windows. This happened to me years ago but I never found the bird. I am glad that your incident did not destroy the bird. Your poem makes for a sad story with a happy ending. PS: I started my PF blog with a quote you shared on another blog. Many thanks for always bringing the beauty of nature into your writing.
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Thank you Carol. I am sorry for the late response. I love my gardens. They bring me a lot of joy. I haven’t started the video yet, but will come mid-August. Currently, I’m learning about bumble bees and the native varieties that visit my gardens. I’ll have to go see what quote you used! That makes me feel good! Thanks, again!
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Hi creative Carol. Congrats on already being a Pollinator Steward, by the lovely look of your picturesque garden glimpses & report. Your entire garden post makes me relax, but also ask if you have read/heard of “BICYCLING WITH BUTTERFLIES” a n-f by Sara Dykman. I feel you will have an affinity with it. She visited school pollinator gardens & non-profit butterfly houses/spaces in Canada, the US & Mexico. We loved it it in my cancer care mindfulness zoom class & I’ve passed it along to a pollinator garden pal who passed it on… it’s addictive.
Glad for your book recommendations too. I love the great Southern Live Oak, which shades our No. Florida home.
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Thank you, Jan. I have not read that book. I’ll have to look for it. I would be interested to read what she says about school gardens. It was so much work, but definitely worth it and a joyful time in my life.
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I love all the garden pictures. You make the bees and butterflies very happy. I have milkweed and found a few tiny monarch caterpillars this weekend. I’ve brought them into a net to save them from the lizards. I hope the poor sparrow made it. We’ve had birds do that before. My mother in law who has a glassed in porch got my grandson to make paper birds for her to tape on the glass. It seems to be working. Happy gardening.
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This must be when you found your tiny caterpillars, Margaret. I’m so sorry for the late reply. Do you have a lot of lizards? The sparrow survived and flew off. He/she just looked dazed. Oh, paper birds – we did that when my boys were young. It does seem to work. I hope you are enjoying the start of retirement.
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Carol: Thanks for this update on your summer fun. I planted some seeds given by a friend, I think they are a variation of marigold, but 4ft tall and very easy to grow. All I did was thrown the seeds around. I now have a garden FULL of beautiful flowers, yellow and orange right next to my spider flowers which are pink and purplish. Both full of bees. So hooray for easy gardens. I’m very proud of your work for the pollinators. Many thanks!
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Karen, That sounds beautiful! I’m sure the bees and butterflies are loving it! Thank you for your kind words, too. I think saving our pollinators by providing habitat is a fun and easy thing to do.
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Carol: Thanks for this update on your summer fun. I planted some seeds given by a friend, I think they are a variation of marigold, but 4ft tall and very easy to grow. All I did was thrown the seeds around. I now have a garden FULL of beautiful flowers, yellow and orange right next to my spider flowers which are pink and purplish. Both full of bees. So hooray for easy gardens. I’m very proud of your work for the pollinators. Many thanks!
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