Isn't spring wonderful?

Yeah, I know....

the pollen makes us miserable...

the storms are unpredictable....

but 

the 

flowers

are 

so....

worth it!

smiles....

SPRING FEVER!

Spring Break.....

Flowers....

Beach Trips!

Visits to 

professionally manicured gardens....

and

SUNSHINE!

Yep!

me too.....

yearning for some sand in my shoes....

smiles!

Five years ago...

friends of mine were married....

a lovely wedding 

in a garden,

with friends,

family,

and 

children.

It was wonderful,

and 

I in no way 

was responsible for the photos 

on this day.

Another "shooter" was 

in charge of the 

documentation...

so,

whatever I walked away 

with 

was mine.

I love this photo.

It exemplifies

them...

private,

intelligent,

sweet,

and 

so in love...

They have a beautiful child now.

She is more beautiful than

any other little girl

(my opinion, of course)

and 

I am so proud of the 

path that they both take...

it entails,

honesty,

integrity,

hard work,

spiritual growth,

and

love....

smiles.

Did I mention....

that I am

 oh so

 ready for spring?

That I am completely 

tired of snow...

and 

that it is supposed to 

snow here in the next few days?

I want daffodils,

and tulips,

and crocus,

and 

red-bud trees,

and azaleas,

and 

well...

warm weather.

I want to 

sit on the beach with 

sand in my shoes...

I am a 

Carolina Girl at heart...

and 

when March comes around...

my thoughts stray

to the 

Carolina shore.

Some twenty years ago,

I was in a wedding,

as a bridesmaid,

on an island just south of Charleston, SC

the first weekend in March.

The weather was unseasonably warm,

in the 80's....

and we watched porpoises

just off the shore...

It was a magical weekend.

Live Oaks and Spanish Moss...

I am so ready for spring...

smiles

Ahhhhhhh!.....the joy of breathing.

Yes, the spring cold has left me......

Only a few small sniffles linger to remind me how fortunate I am..

Joy!

While I convalesced.....

I was taken care of with attention to every detail.

My sweet ba-boo is te very best.

Life is good,

and I have a new appreciation for my two sets of stairs.

I am actually able to scale them both, without stopping to catch my breath.

Today is a good day!

Smiles!

Nature or Nurture......

What can I say?

I am nuts about azaleas....

There are dozens around my home.

I am so fortunate that the previous owners loved them too.

This one is huge,

it is about 4 foot tall, and 6-8 feet across...

it must absolutely love where it is planted too,

shaded for most of the day,

protected from the noon day sun....

Hot summer sun only hits it for a couple of hours a day.

Right now, it is in full bloom,

and has 2 different blossoms.......

Cool, huh?

Yep, both of these blossoms are from the same plant,

I think it has something to do with Hybridizing....

Maybe....

While sitting on the back deck....

I noticed Bumble Bees....

Many.

Dozens, even....

hovering like intoxicated aliens...

clinging to each other in a drunken jitterbug...

Guess this is spring....

Pollen covers almost every surface....

chainsaws are carving out the dead wood in the distance.

Dogs moan and howl each time a firetruck passes

with sirens squealing...

Mockingbirds mimicking car alarms....

children giggle and race each other home from the bus stop...

cherry blossoms dance across the parking lot...

Silently, high above a red tailed hawk ride the air currents,

perhaps to pluck off the pesky squirrels that steal from my bird feeder.

more dogs...

leaf blowers....

children...

It's almost dinner time.

Rebirth......

Well, I guess it is a phenomenon that you really can't explain...

Rebirth...

A new attitude....

New outlook...

New direction...

New potential....

Maybe simply a change in course.

The old seems distant and outmoded....

wrinkled, broken, unusable.

The "new" is fresh and glossy.

It wears new shoes,

fresh makeup,

pressed and cleaned clothing,

it looks up.....

The new can be exciting and scary at the same time.

We can be attracted to it as the proverbial "moth to a flame",

and we can be repelled by it's shine......

Spring is like that in many ways.

But mostly, and especially for gardeners....

it is an opportunity to be reborn....

to set right the mistakes of last year, last season.....

I love spring.

I love the idea of a "do-over".....

Spring on Cape Cod....

Summers, when I was much younger, we would visit my grandparents on Cape Cod. An exciting airplane ride, or a very long car drive, either way it was like a different world. Horseshoe crabs, their egg sacks, rocky shores, shingled houses, lush green grass lawns, asparagus plants in granddad's garden, badminton, a much slower, calmer way of life compared to the experiences I had at the Carolina shores.....

Last week, I drove up with my mother to see her sister in Falmouth. It is a very long drive, but we were on a mission. My grandmother died last fall, and we were retrieving some furniture from her house.

It was nice to see my aunt, an uncle and a cousin and his family, all within a short drive of each other. The weather was beautiful. We visited a library that displayed a quilt that my aunt helped make. We examined the garden that my uncle was breaking ground on to prepare for planting, we watched with interest, as my aunt described the "renovation" of the house she owns next door that she and her son were doing together.

We talked, and talked and talked and talked.....

My head was swimming with all the talk.

We came home in one long day.....

I am enjoying the birds singing, the fountain trickling, the dogs barking, and the laundry, thump, thump thumping around in the dryer.....

Tis Friday.....

I am lovin' the Friday mood in my neighborhood.
It seems that with Spring Break for the kids, all of the adults have caught the fever. Everyone seems to have taken the day off, and are out in their yards. Kids are running' around acting crazy and free...
This is what spring is all about, FUN.
The driveways are coated with a fine dusting of yellow pollen. You can wash your car, if you like, but it will do no good, until we have experienced at least one torrential down=pour. (I tried yesterday, and by the time the droplets had dried on my sporty little Fit, evidence of pollen pollution had appeared). Hostas are poking their little snouts our of the soil, the pansies are dying back, cherry trees are launching little bouquets into the air, and birds are dilirious with song.
Nature awakening.
Spectacular!

Spring has truly sprung.
It is 65 degrees, and rising. The bird are heavily intoxicated with pollen, and singing their hearts out. (lookin' for love in all the wild places)
The photo is of a abalone shell that belonged to my grandmother, Bess. She brought it home from a summer trip, as a girl. I remember it sitting on her mantle when I would visit her in my youth. Whenever I catch it out of the corner of my eye, sitting so sweetly on my mantle, I think of her. She was gone by the time I turned 19. She had a inner strength that I hope I have inherited. I am pretty sure I have....
Life is such a surprise.
One lesson after another.
Each opening up new insight to the next.
We never really know...
not without retrospect.
I am so very fortunate.