there is a freshness,
a newness,
a hint of full blooms to come
that creates
an atmosphere of hope and expectation.
Somehow you want to stand tall
walk tall,
think tall,
and act tall !
This may be why
when one walks taller
and brisker
and happier
They say there is a spring in his step !
(Mary Crowley)
Spring is bittersweet for me. I love seeing the new buds on the trees, hearing the birds singing, the daffodils blooming, and then I see IT as I take an early morning walk through the yard. I am still trying to finish up my winter projects before I fully inhale the freshness of this Spring season. I am not ready to get my shovel out and make a daily commitment to yard work, so as I enjoy my daily walks IT taunts me as I pass by and ignore IT for now. On my daily excurisions through the yard I will 'walk tall', I will 'walk brisker' and yes, I will walk with a 'Spring in my step' until the time comes to take IT on. I learned a valuable lesson many years ago from a wise neighbor; after preparing and planting my flower boxes one beautiful Spring day that the No Frost / No Snow Day for our area is April 15th. That year I replanted everything as we had a late Spring frost and an early Spring hail storm destroying everything. Starting over was quite expensive and time consuming so now I patiently wait for April 15th each year, giving me the time to finish my winter list and do my taxes. While I finish my projects, I will occasionally inhale the fresh smell of Spring air as it blows through my windows and winter vacates these musty rooms. I also eagerly anticipate the blessings we will see, as I spend a lot of time on my knees each Spring and in no other way do I feel closer to God than quietly woking in the garden.
I encourage you to take an early morning walk this Spring, inhale the freshness, hope for new beginnings, walk a little taller, kneel a little longer, and add a Spring in your step. Enjoy, Elaine
The following are some pictures of the First Signs Of Sping In My Yard, including a sneak peak of IT and the
priceless blessing that came from IT.
(All pictures in my blog and website are copyright protected under EKRAY Enterprises LLC.)
It's is so refreshing to see the newness of green plants poking up through the dead leftovers of last fall. I have some amazing beautiful Iris flowers that suprise me each spring. The Iris were from my husbands Uncle Ed's garden that he and his wife painstakenly cultivated and grew in love. For many years they showed and competed in in garden shows around the country. I am blessed to have inherited some of these beautiful flowers and each Spring they never fail to make me smile in memory of an era gone.
My fence row bed in my back yard waitnig for me to cut back plants, add new mulch and put out our birds favorite bird seed in the antique laddle fastened to the fence. On the other side of the fence is over 40 new rose bushes I planted last fall. I had a row of six foot tall Robinhood Rose bushes growing there for over 15 years and I reluctantly replaced them last year. With a shovel in hand we dug them out, well Keith might grimmace at the simplicity of that statement ! We started with a shovel, added an axe and then had to get out the garden tractor, after many hours of digging and grunting we realzed what an amazing root system the bushes had. I miss them because each spring they had thousands of buds on them that in their prime became beautiful roses for the whole neighborhood to enjoy, but as with many things age took it's toll and we had to replace them. Now I anxiously wait to see the new growth this season on my new plants.
Our first Kansas spring storm taken from my driveway, went to the north of us this time. We moved to 'the hill' 21 years ago and have had amazing views of many Kansas storms. Starting about 9 am one Spring morning, from our back deck we watched an amazing display of clouds boiling knowing it was to be a violent afternoon in eastern Kansas. After hours and hours of boiling, the storm unleashed its violence on Andover Kansas and left a destructive path in its trail. Thankfully this first Spring storm only gave those in its path a nice spring rain.
Enjoy the following pictures of the daffodils blooming.
These daffodils were a pleasant suprise in my flower bed this Spring as I don't recall ever seeing them before and I love the two tone color.
You have probably unraveled the mystery of IT, but I had to include a picture to verify IT. I am so glad I ignored IT as I took my early morning walks and left my shovel in the garden shed. Yesterday my three year old grandson was standing at the back door calling to 'drama' in excitement, and the look on his face as I stepped out on the back porch with him was priceless. Out from his little closed hands came a whole lot of love in the form of the tops of several 'IT' plants in bright yellow along with a precious kiss of innocence. I LOVE SPRING !