Monday 10 October 2011

A Thanksgiving Celebration in the Garden of Friendship

Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving, everyone! Today when we celebrate the bounty of the earth, we should also remember to celebrate the many blessings of friendship.

I hope you'll enjoy this seasonal poem written many years ago by a Unitarian Universalist minister named Rev. Max Coots. This version is slightly revised and condensed.


Let us give thanks for a bounty of friends:

For generous friends with hearts and smiles as bright as their blossoms;

For feisty friends as tart as apples;

For continuous friends who, like scallions and cucumbers, keep reminding us that we've had them;

For crotchety friends as sour as rhubarb and as indestructible;

For good-looking friends who are as gorgeous as eggplants and elegant as a row of corn, and for other friends who are as plain as potatoes and as good for you;

For funny friends who are as silly as Brussels sprouts and as amusing as Jerusalem artichokes, and for serious friends who are as complex as cauliflowers and as intricate as onions;

For friends who are as unpretentious as cabbages, as subtle as summer squash, as persistent as parsley, as delightful as dill, as endless as zucchini and who, like parsnips, can be counted on to see us through the winter;

For old friends, nodding like sunflowers in the evening time, and for young friends, coming on as fast as radishes;

For loving friends who wind around us like tendrils and hold us, despite our blights, wilts and witherings;

And finally, for those friends now gone, like gardens past that have been harvested, and who fed us in their times that we might have life today;

For all these friends, and for those friends of whom we have yet to partake, we give thanks.

22 comments:

CorvusCorax12 said...

am i a cabbage ?
hmmmm??
Have a wonderful Holiday ♥

Willym said...

Many thanks I hope you don't mind if I share this.

Happiest of Thanksgiving to you and yours Cara.

DEZMOND said...

happy Canadian thanksgiving, Debra!
Being a vegetarian that pic certainly looks inviting to me :)

Suzie said...

Hmmm, never thought of myself as a veggie before, but I consider it a compliment! Luscious photos really make you realize just how lucky we are to have all of these gems available to us!

And gems of friendships as well! Thanks for sharing, and the reminder!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

Happy Thanksgiving!
What a wonderful poem....I tell you, it is such an apt description of people, I found myself chuckling at a few that must be in my *produce basket* quite often!
Hope you have a delightful day~~

XXOO~~
Anne

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

Beautiful poem! Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canuck. Enjoy the day with your loved ones.

Magaly Guerrero said...

Happy Thanksgiving, luv! Now I'll run to the store to get some veggies. Your pics reminded me I must go grocery shopping!

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Happy Thanksgiving. This is a wonderful poem...although most of my friends are of the nut varieties....uh including you. Have a great one. Oma Linda

Jane said...

Hmmm, definitely food for thought. This one is a keeper :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Snap said...

Happy Thanksgiving and love the poem!

Robin Larkspur said...

Happy blessings for Thanksgiving to you and yours!! Perfect poem, wonderful photos!

Jeanne said...

A Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! :0)
A wonderful poem that truly expresses the bounty of friendship! ♥

JeannetteLS said...

Oh, dear. I"m a brussel sprout, I just know it. An excellent poem for yanks to read as we amble toward our own Thanksgiving, too. May yours hold every single vegetable in the basket. Enjoy this day. Thank you for this post!

Pheonix_Dawn said...

What a beautiful lil poem with soo much meaning Wishing u a wonderful Canadian Thanksgiving and Many Blessings

Anonymous said...

this is is great! Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Southpaw said...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mistress Maddie said...

Well, I give you thanks for your wonderful and intresting blog tootes! I had no idea it was your Thanksgiving this time of year. Please enjoy this time!!!!!

Elena said...

Ooooh Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for people like you of course!

Andrew said...

Happy crazy Canadian Thanksgiving to you!
Love the poem.

By the way, what traditions do you fine folks in the north follow for Thanksgiving? Just curious.

yellowdoggranny said...

my friends are all like skunk eggs..hot and crispy.

Jaliya said...

Debra, this is fabulous! I just passed the day with my 'bestie' -- my best friend :-) who is an avid gardener -- I'm going to share this with her :-)

I'm a day late with Canuck Thanksgiving wishes ... but the gratitude goes on all year!

It was weird yesterday, seeing people out in tank tops and shorts -- One meteorologist quipped last week: "It's going to be a perfect holiday weekend ... for Canada Day!"

Much love to you, funny lady :-)

P.S. word verification = 'scalaxy' --> a galaxy of scallions??

Rue said...

Haha - Awesome! I can totally relate to a full bushel of veggie-friends!

Hope you and your Rare One (and HRH) had a wonderful Thanksgiving!