The Fairest Month

"Mine is the Month of Roses; yes, and mine
The Month of Marriages! All pleasant sights
And scents, the fragrance of the blossoming vine,
The foliage of the valleys and the heights.
Mine are the longest days, the loveliest nights;
The mower's scythe makes music to my ear;
I am the mother of all dear delights;
I am the fairest daughter of the year."

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

May Days

We have had more than our share of rain in this ' Fair Month of May '.

Fields stood ankle-deep in water, farmers delayed their planting.

Half-way through the month, we had a late frost, not the best conditions for tender young plants to make their appearance, but despite it all,  appear they did.

 

 

The days have warmed and watering cans are once again being lugged around the garden.

  

 

And as if by magic, Winter browns have turned into Summer rainbows.

The cycle continues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

" Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."

~Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Simple Pleasures

" The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation that you ever had."

May Blossoms

"It was the month of May, the month when the foliage of herbs and trees is most freshly green, when buds ripened and blossoms appear in their fragrance and loveliness.

And the month when lovers, subject to the same force which reawakens the plants, feel their hearts open again, recall past trysts and past vows, and moments of tenderness, and yearn for a renewal of the magical awareness which is love."

~ Sir Thomas Malory, La Morte d'Arthur 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

Cowboy Up

I am convinced that Oliver cat, in a previous life, was a Bronc rider.

 

 

 

 

Yee-ha ! 

Enjoying Nature's Beauty

I am one of the fortunate ones, who was lucky enough to spend  Mother's Day with my daughter and son-in-law.
Rambling around the farm, and enjoying all the beauty of their Tennessee home, what could be sweeter.
I hope your day was just as special !

Blackberry Winter

We've been having a cold spell the past several days.
Old-timers in the South know this as Blackberry Winter, or Dogwood Winter, which mainly describes a brief period of cold weather that coincides with the time the blackberries are in bloom, or the dogwoods are blooming, (typically in early to mid May).

The colder temperatures, and three days of non-stop rain, have sent the birds back to the coziness of their nests.

There's nary a bird in sight.
 

 

 

 

The First Sergeant managed to clean out the pond before the rains came. Sitting on the bottom was a large frog, I'm not sure if it was Igor our amorous calling frog from last year, time will tell....

 

 

 

And The Rains Came

The earth is soaked from two days of rainfall, and more predicted.

Not a good start for all those newly planted Spring-gardens.

The flowers on the other hand, seem very happy.

 

 

  

Late Bloomers

Our Irises have finally bloomed.

It seems as though they are always late bloomers, long after most others in the neighborhood have put on their Spring show, ours slowly awaken.

They are from antique Iris stock, handed down from family member, to family member, these particular flowers being over a half a century old.
Tended with love and shared amongst the generations, from great grandmother, to great granddaughter.

 

 

The Tennessee State Flower

May your blooms be floriferous and in good form,
Distinctive, with good substance, flare, and airborne,
With standards and falls that endure, never torn.
May you display many buds and blooms sublime,
In graceful proportion on strong stalks each day,
Gently floating above the fans and the fray.
May you too reach toward the moon and stars,
Bloom after bloom, many seasons in the sun,
Enjoying your life, health, and each loved one,
Until your 'living days are artfully done.

~ Georgia Gudykunst

"He Stopped Loving Her Today"

 

I have just spent the last two hours sitting in the dentist chair, with tears running down my face.

They have televisions in their dental rooms, and airing on all of the local stations, was the funeral service of one of the most revered country music singers, George Jones who passed away last Friday at the age of 81.

Live from the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville, close friends, and fellow country music performers, shared their admiration, love, and respect for their friend, who was lovingly nicknamed  "The Possum". 

Stories were told, songs were sung, performers wept.
 I wept.
Saying goodbye to a legend is never easy.