Floating Along

Another day of rain.
Six inches of the stuff, the ground is soaked.

It seems as though an entire Spring's rainfall has fell in one week.
Even Freddie the frog has taken to higher ground.

Cold, wet leaves
Floating on moss-colored water
And the croaking of frogs -
Cracked bell-notes in the twilight.
 

~ The Pond, Amy Lowell

 

Spring Forward

What a difference a day makes.

Yesterday the ground was blanketed in snow, today we are blessed with blue skies and sunshine.

The snow melted, and I was able to run a few much-needed errands.

Our little town was once again alive and bustling.

 

 

Tonight our annual clock fiddling takes place once again.
An hour forward to Daylight Savings Time, payback for that extra hour of sleep, we enjoyed so much back in November.
 

I'm feeling the urge to start digging in the soil, but I know that March can be a fickle month. One minute the sun warming your face, the next, the wind cutting you in two.
 I did however buy a pair of new porch cushions today, all flowery and pleasing to the eye, they remind me that Spring is not too far away. 

 

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Spring Rains

We've had rain every day for the past week.

Flowers love the rain, and unfortunately grass does too.

It's not a good idea to mow wet grass, so mowing in between showers has been challenging.

I've idled away in the potting shed, cool, rainy days remind me of England. *sigh* 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The difference a year has made, we now have grass growing around the limestone steps.
 

I've replaced the moss in the window-baskets, so far the little bird -bandit has not helped herself.

Oliver partaking in his morning yoga exercise..

Robin Redbreast

The Robins have returned.

Surely a sign of spring.

 

 

 

The fireside for the cricket,

The wheat-stack for the mouse,

When trembling night-winds whistle

And moan all round the house.

The frosty ways like iron,

The branches plumed with snow,-

Alas! in winter dead and dark,

Where can poor Robin go?

Robin, Robin Redbreast,

O Robin dear!

And a crumb of bread for Robin,

His little heart to cheer.

~William Allingham.

The Stuff Of Life

If you've spent any time at all outdoors this past week, it's hard not to notice the layer of sticky, yellow film covering everything in sight.
Pollen.........

It's the very essential of new life, a wonderful thing, unless of course you are an allergy sufferer.
Rains came Saturday, and washed a whole lot of it away, cleared the air, and yet you can still write your name on the car hoods.

The flowers and bees of course are loving it...

Rather a small trade-off for such beauty.

I hope your weekend was a sneeze-free one.

Woodland Carpet

"An altered look about the hills;

A Tyrian light the village fills;

A wider sunrise in the dawn;

A deeper twilight on the lawn;

A print of a vermilion foot;

A purple finger on the slope;

A flippant fly upon the pane;

A spider at his trade again;

An added strut in chanticleer;

A flower expected everywhere ..."

~ Emily Dickinson,

Springing To Life

With balmy temperatures in the mid seventies last week, the Bradford Pear trees are showing off their Spring blooms, in complete contrast against today's lingering grey skies.

Spring the Sweet Spring.

Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king,
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The palm and may make country houses gay,
Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day,
And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!
The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet,
Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit,
In every street these tunes our ears do greet:
Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to witta-woo!

~Thomas Nashe (1600)

A Spring Rain

The world is wet today

luxurious, damp, drenched

drops hug the leaves,

anoint the still budded lilac blossoms

before their blooming

rich purple and plum

made richer by their watery skin

New leaves under the weight

droplets heavy, hanging

bowing the white pine needles

undersides exposed to drink

drink in the morning

hushed in the rain

temperature near the dewpoint

sprouts of just planted flowers

eager from the parched soil

new puddles bloom too

on the ground, the driveway

collect and gather

without the smell of summer rain yet

tears splash and spread

silent shimmers, heralds, messengers

in the spring rain.

~A Spring Rain : Raymond J. Foss

Lovely Lavender

If I could choose but one plant in my garden it would be lavender.

One whiff of it's subtle fragrance, and I'm whisked back to my childhood and memories of my grandma's favorite Yardley's English Lavender toiletries.

Legend tells us that lavender was brought to England by the Romans. It was a highly valued plant due to it's healing, soothing and insect repelling properties.
Lavender oil was also used for massage.

The Lady of the Manor used lavender for culinary and medicinal purposes, and kept a still -room for preparation for use by family and staff.
Victorian ladies enjoyed lavender, turning their faces towards the sweet scent and inhaling it to calm their fluttering hearts.

A member of the mint family, and cousin to rosemary, lavender can be used like rosemary in many dishes.

The flowers, can be dried and tied in bunches, laying them in linen closets, or tucking them in dried flower arrangements and scattering sprigs wherever you choose.

A gentle shake or a fond pet of the plant releases the fragrance from early spring to frost.

" here's your sweet lavender
sixteen sprigs a penny
that you'll find my ladies
will smell as sweet as any "

~ The Lavender Seller's Cry, London, England 1900

Rebirth

"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt."
~ Margaret Atwood





Now every field is clothed with grass, and every tree with leaves; now the woods put forth their blossoms, and the year assumes its gay attire. ~Virgil

Tornado Weather

It's been a day filled with thunderstorms, winds, and tornadoes dancing all around.
The rain was needed, the other elements we can do without.
This is our first rain of the month, the sticky, yellow pollen now washed clean from everything it befelled.

The first of the trees were planted in the garden, the rest will have to wait their turn, until the storm clouds play themselves out.

I puddle up the neighborhood
I make the postman mad
I wake the worm and spank the frog
Sleeping on his lily pad
And when the tulips in their beds
Nod happily, it's true,
I shake the petals of their hands
And say, How do you dew?

A Sunday Repose

Walking around the garden today, it's almost impossible not to notice the difference in what just a couple of weeks make, in the prolific foliage growth.
Leaves and buds sprouting everywhere you turn.


We finally have a few live frogs living in the pond.

The grass has been mowed three times so far.

The garden gate is getting its annual covering of wild roses.

The First Sergeant spruced up an old garden bench with paint.

The Clematis is growing by leaps and bounds.

Hope you enjoyed a beautiful Spring day !

Tennessee In Bloom

Wandering Path

On top of the earth

where green touches the hills ~

in spring, in summer, with daffodils,

with dandelions scattered through untilled fields,

with waterfalls and ferny fronds

companioning winding creeks; and

grassy knolls surrounding sunlit ponds...

That is where my heart thrives ~

among dahlias, lilacs, and rosy thorns

scenting life with fragrant morns,

and gentle nights of rounded moons,

inhaling reminiscent blooms

of many lost, yet, joyful Junes...

Warming seasons created to

make lips smile, hearts leap,

feet dance to earthy song;

and earth's turning, ever-moving
old winter right along...

'Til spring emerges, and summer follows

into every nook, into every hollow,

with greening leaf and budding flower
bestowed by Mother Nature's power..

An overwhelming gift of rarest beauty,

a rejuvenation, a resurrection of life ~

when earth renews, when earth revives...

Yes, that is when my heart truly thrives.

~ Hazelmarie Elliott

Sweet Spring

That God once loved a garden we learn in Holy writ.

And seeing gardens in the Spring I well can credit it.

~Winifred Mary Letts

Early Spring

"Harshness vanished. A sudden softness

has replaced the meadows' wintry grey.

Little rivulets of water changed

their singing accents. Tendernesses,

hesitantly, reach toward the earth

from space, and country lanes are showing

these unexpected subtle risings

that find expression in the empty trees."

~ Rainer Marie Rilke, Early Spring