per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperēpəˈtedik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
    "the peripatetic nature of military life"
    synonyms:nomadic, itinerant, traveling, wandering, roving, roaming, migrant,migratory, unsettled
    "I could never get used to her peripatetic lifestyle"
  2. 2.
    Aristotelian.
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who travels from place to place.
  2. 2.
    an Aristotelian philosopher.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

'Music of the Spheres': Blueberries and Other Things That Make Me Sing


We are enjoying almost the final harvest of this year's crop of blueberries, and the last ones to be ripe are the sweetest of all for some reason. This morning as I filled my container with these large blue spheres, a song that's been stuck in my head since yesterday evening kept me company in the blueberry patch.

Just before SAM and I headed for bed last night, we   were listening to the Spa channel on XM Radio, and lo and behold, this familiar song began to play. Secret Aging Man recognized it right away. "This is My Father's House," he said confidently. Are you sure? I asked. "It's an old Baptist hymn. I'm pretty sure." Wrong. Sorry, honey. I looked it up in an old hymnal we somehow ended up with from a church (not Baptist) that we attended in Kentucky. This is My Father's World. Not house. A building could never contain Him.

This is my Father's world
And to my listening ears
All nature sings,
And round me rings
The music of the spheres...


(Words by Maltbie D. Babcock, music by Franklin L. Sheppard, 1901)

Thanks to Stratoz, whose latest post about a saint got me thinking deep thoughts this morning.

14 comments:

  1. Our BB's won't be ready for quite a while yet. They are small, close to the ground, and hard on the back to pick. But worth every minute of pain and discomfort. Enjoy!

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  2. Ahh, blueberries! We never actually made it to picking them down in Fairhope, but one day when I was in the store, a pair of elderly ladies in funny hats told me I MUST go. Ahh, love that place. :o)

    Guess they'd heard the music of the spheres! <3

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  3. What lovely lyrics! Our blueberries haven't ripened yet but things are always slower in Maine.

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  4. This is My Father's WORLD...beautiful!!!

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  5. Karen, I just thought of a great project for you: a quilted (waterproof) kneeling pad for gardeners. Great for picking low-to-the-ground blueberries too!

    Leigh, they probably did. Oddly enough, I'm beginning to like funny hats. Must be something about this music.

    Sarah, they may be slower to ripen, but the flavor of those Maine berries is incomparable. Or so I've heard.

    Julie, I figured you'd probably heard that music before.

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  6. I remember your blueberry memory with your father, and it must've been with your Father as well.
    This is a new song for me but I like it.
    Thank you for a beautiful video.

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  7. Dear Walk2Write,

    It is good season, I guess..This is the harvesting time..Blueberries and other fruits ripe..Wish you more such tasty fruits around ur farmstead and more such nice nostalgic songs..And we can read about more of your nature related adventures.

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  8. Your blueberries look delicious! Fruits are something I haven't tried to grow, but I'd love to try raspberries and blueberries. Our soil isn't the best here for blueberries, though, so they do take some work.

    This was always one of my favorite hymns.

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  9. I hope you have faired the bad rains and weather from Debby! Love the little Peanut in your tree. What a fun video to amuse me today. I too have noticed more Mocking birds of late. One kept me entertained with his songs for at least 3 hours on Saturday. I was wondering when it would take a break to eat as the songs became a bit annoying when right over my head…

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  10. Blueberries are splendid spheres indeed. Thanks for the shout out. Very kind of you.

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  11. Cosmos, I guess blueberries and Fathers go together at this time of year. They always will for me anyway. I'm glad you liked the song and video. The singer is new to me and quite good I think.

    Tomz, I thought I would bring a little technology into the post with the XM radio, but I guess the Nature in me always sneaks out and takes over.

    Rose, we had to amend the soil here too and add pine straw and compost a couple of times a year to keep the blueberries happy. You would probably have to pick a spot in your garden and make it fruit friendly. I know you have some lovely soil up there in northern Illinois. The pH might need a little adjusting.

    Skeeter, we had just a tiny sprinkle of rain from Debby. The wind was wicked, though. It fanned a wildfire that came mighty close to our son's property. Once again, we're dry here. Any sign of the last good rain we had has already disappeared. I know what you mean about the mockingbirds. They're fun to listen to when they're not too close. Otherwise it gets annoying in a hurry.

    Stratoz, you're quite welcome.

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  12. I have satellite radio, too. I really enjoy it. It's been a while since I've listened to that channel. Thanks for the reminder.

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  13. Dear Walk2write,
    sorry to be able only now to comment - husband is getting slowly but steadily better - and in Hildesheim, where I spend most days in hospital, I have no Internet.
    Blueberry - time: so sad that I miss it now! (Even as a child I was a very good blueberry-picker - in the woods - as with mushrooms, and berries). When everything is alright again here there will come another season to get them :-)

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  14. Blessed are those that still listen to the radio.

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