Nature Resurrecting

Something wonderful is afoot this year.

I am seeing a Resurrection Garden.

Bitten and left for dead by a late freeze,

Nature again proves it's resilience.

This wisteria~~top decimated from cold~~

Bravely pops out leaves and a fragrant flower bunch

low on the vine as the top

begins it's transformation as well.

Blackberry blossoms and bees.

Bees which had swarmed my Weeping Cherry,

only to vanish in the cold.

They have returned in abundance and

dance merrily on the warm breezes.

Fragile creatures as they are,

May Apples lean toward the sun

in the cool and lush shadows

of small wooded areas.

Air redolent with the rich smell

of earth and wood humus.

No perfume can match.

Multiflora rose hedge, considered by many

noxious, a haven for birds,

scents the air with it's plethora of blossoms.

Like being wrapped in a

massive corsage.

Goats beard (another so-called weed)

has braved the cold and offered up

a globe of seeds.

Gaze and see the future...finer than

crystal.

My *railroad rose*~~named for where I dug it~~

which has not bloomed for years.

A blossom of perfection, 

a petticoat of buds.

Amazing.

And my peach/pink iris.

Long gone from the flowerbed.

Happily nodding to me,

urging me out with camera,

smiling as I focus.

I think God's Garden is one of many Miracles.

He knows no weeds or preferential

plants....

just the beauty that sustains.

Returning, from the harshest conditions.

Bringing 

Faith, 

Hope,

unconditional Joy.

Savoring each moment.

Reminding myself of the blessing 

of

EVERY DAY.

Pax....  

Light And Shadow

I've been shooting photos as I've had the chance and lately there has been a lot of contrast in them. Light and shadow; color and neutral. I began thinking how this is sort of like life, and people, in general......
As above with the violet leaves, some people are able to glow deeply through any adversity. They seek that bright spot of light and grow. They are troopers. Their zest for life is infectious. 

Some are protected quite well but can only produce a single bloom. When the petals fall, they stand surrounded by what will envelope them and seldom seem to notice.
Rather than blossoming abundantly they limit themselves to one shot, and occasionally not even that. Their buds are nipped from a stray frost, they are swallowed from bound roots of their own making. The leaves close; the fruit withers.

Some are like the photo above, which for the most part describes my friends~~full, exuberant, putting joy into the world and just exploding with the delight of life. A group that, brought together, make a fragrant and exceptional addition to the path we all walk. (I would hope these for anyone!)
The brave, busting out even in the cold, they live their life in a state of grace. Their happiness is contagious. 

Those who seem to flourish the most beautifully may live in rocky soil, and never complain. They are so deeply grounded that all one sees is the delight of the blossom. Quiet and true, they don't intentionally draw undue attention nor intrude.
They just love.
Always.
Deeply.

And then there is me.....the stem that bends with the wind. Accepting the change and still standing, even as parts of the *old me* are gently being peeled away, flying off, not to be seen again.
But the root here is so deep~~blooms will come again.
Through sun and rain, hot and cold.
Waiting patiently with my face to the sky.
Happy in simplicity.
Wrapped in the tall grass.
Warmed by the sun.


Pax....

Chance Meetings....

Good Morning friend of mine...

Too long since we have danced among

the light and shadow.

Long fingers reaching to embrace me.

You coax the little leaves

from their winter home.

They nestle in last year,

and your attentive warmth.

All await your return~~

many ready to burst in fragrant

passion with your 

warm embrace.

The mantle of twigs and mulch,

slowly withdrawn.

Skeletal leaf shawls 

slowly laid aside.

You bring beauty to even the

simplest of things~~

Last year's remnants

glow like diamonds

but are simply

glass....

The silken Cherry 

blushes in your morning kisses.

Dramatic.

Without shame

but glorious with shadow.

 

And from the depths,

overnight,

the most passionate of tiny faces

emerges, turns,

and smiles back at you with 

glee.

Welcome Sol!

(tomorrow? shall we

meet again?

same place.

with passion.)

Pax....

 

Remnants Of The Week......

The week has flown here, and I feel I have only captured tidbits through my camera lens, to save and savor later.

Sharing a few.....it was a week of beauty.

All exquisite proof of why I need to get out of the studio more often and enjoy some of the lushness of the garden before it fades.
My habit of evening photo shooting has returned; this morning I shared coffee with the cool breezes and birds visiting the yard. Robins, brown thrashers, a red-winged blackbird, sparrows of many variations.
Life pushes forward......I think perhaps our ultimate purpose is not to miss it.
Here's to all there is to see~~and hoping you make time to see it!





Pax....

Something Pretty.....

.....while I get the photos finished up for the stamped paper tutorial.

Sorry folks, it's been an allergy-mess here after a local yokel set a fence row on fire and it's not burning; it's smoldering. And yes, the Blog Mistress is deathly allergic to smoke. (I'm living in *Deliverance*...I tell ya....)

So here is something lovely to occupy your eyes! :-)

The lush yellow of first buds....

Age and youth mingle....

The simple made sublime with sunlight....

Through veils of flowers, I see these skies....

I will hold you close to my heart forever and ever....

Spring has popped up overnight......enjoy.....


Pax....

Small Pleasures

The sum of my Spring blossoms, brought in to be saved from rain and wind.

Yesterday had me working harder than I have in a long time; moving dirt, shoveling, etc. My power line was buried, the lot is large, and there was an amazing amount of soil that needed flattening, distributing and otherwise getting from point *A* to point *B*.
Thankfully I had not taken the snowblade off the John Deere before I put it away last. I'm sure in a previous life I was  skilled in the large earth moving equipment!  ;-)  Truly, it worked better than I could have hoped, and of course, this all had to be done in a race with rain that had been predicted all day. I had time~~we didn't get any weather until late in the evening, when I was comatose in the chair.
I have a body extremely unhappy with me this morning and I know (yes, KNOW) this is a no-studio-on-the-couch day.
This all got me thinking, as I so often do when I'm out on the tractor, that I love the small pleasures of life. I may not be enjoying the tractor work, but the mind wanders and has a marvelous time! The little things that make life so rich:

-That first cup of coffee in the morning.
-Seeing the sun rise.
-A leisurely welcome to the day.
-Quiet time with nature.
-The first Spring flowers.
-Talking with my birds.
-Sitting snug in the comfort of my studio.
-Knowing enough is indeed *ENOUGH*~~as in, not feeling want.
-Savoring small quiet moments where DH and I may not speak, but all is said.
-A bubble bath.
-Soft slippers and a cozy chair.
-The smell of a freshly starched pillowcase and the comfort of fluffy covers in bed.


And somehow this brought me to thinking about how the current world is so bent on doing huge things---from weddings to vacations to ridiculous homes, and everyone wonders why they are unhappy.
Because their life is ruled by the constant one-upmanship of someone else. And the only person who loses in that is the one trying to outdo everyone else.
No joy in daily activities, no pleasure in quiet conversations, missing everything that is around us that makes life good. It is the constant and gnawing NEED for something MORE. And that MORE cannot be bought; it is filling the SOUL.
My something more is here; in my blog, in my life, in the quiet and soft light of morning, in meditations for friends, in the little moments.
Here's to small pleasures. May you see yours. May you know you have many. May you be thankful every day.




Pax....

Limited Palette

I am a fickle mistress;

In other days, your colors would not call.

Sweet whites so different from the Winter's snow,

All close, embraced within each others arms.

The grays and greens of faerie drapings,

Awaiting small magic hands to cut and sew.

My prejudice is lifted as now, the lowly weed~~

A joy to see, decked out in crystal beaded finery.

 

And sturdy regimental soldiers,

Push forth from under skeletal leaves.....

A delicate and frilly denizen sparkles,

Amongst the remnants of the Fall.

Soft, now, and melting earthward.

And one lone bud,

Quite brazen, waiting,

For the sun of Spring.

Thus life returns in moments

Hidden and unwitnessed.

But proudly shines

In garden hidden~~

Almost.

Tis magic,

Not the soil I know. 

Floral Wanderings

What bouquet is lovelier than thee?

You grow amongst each other,

a compliment of colors,

a fragrance of the heavens.

Bright and sturdy,

standing after storm

of rain and wind.

Still, you catch my eye;

your color that of ruby lips

Caught between

kiss and sigh.

And tall above the rest,

the sentinels.

Tigers, tho nary a stripe

to find,

but spots instead.

A den of orange

run wild.

Brazen, brash, and full of mirth.

And sweet, the simple phlox;

no bashful color here.

You call to me

on humid air.

Your perfume wafts

across the evening

breezes....ah!

Lush and so familiar.

Shyly in the depth of green,

a soft and gentle blossom grows.

Does not compete, this lovely stem;

it's elegance and eloquence

is quiet.

And you! Unbashful relative!

A can-can swirl of ruddied warmth!

No sun too bright for you;

no passive glance my friend.

You are the diva.

Yes, we know!

And thus my walk complete,

I hold within my heart

each petal.

The magic of the Greater Gardener;

the beauty of His generosity.

I have not made this plot.

I hold no claim to plant nor soil.

This joy, this abundance,

this overflowing ground

indeed,

is His.

I am the servant and

the steward.

Pax.....

Is it Monday again???? (A.K.A. Monday-MishMash)

Lovely as those clouds are, they are of course clouds that produce---you guessed it---more storms. I am storm weary and yesterday the heat and humidity was to the point I was flat out all day with a migraine. I had managed to make it to church and home before things got active in the hydrological way.......

....they do look soooo pretty. And they have made everything soooo green! There is no keeping up with lawn nor flowers nor weeds. This is a year that I admit defeat and the season is theirs, at least until the humidity drops. Even in the early morning and late evening, it is too stagnant to be outside working.

Of course, the flowers are loving it. The second round of dames rocket in the foreground, one of my very pretty day lilies in the background. The whole clump needs digging and resetting but not this year. I think I would prefer to breathe, thank-you-very-much.

We are having the heat of August combined with the storms and humidity of early May----it is an unsettling combination.

Even in the house, with the A/C blasting, I am pretty useless.

Saturday it occurred to me that I had a reception to attend, and one where I needed to go clean and coiffed, and NOT have my nails looking like *artists nail*.......y'all know what that one is. Those lovely multi-colored things that scrape paint and everything else. Well, I grabbed my manicure set and my French Manicure Polish and was going to town, only to discover the white polish had turned to molasses in January. Oh crud! What do I do???

Next best thing? (even better actually.....)

Golden white fluid acrylic to the rescue!

And I can promise, you will never see these hands looking this good again.......
Actually, I will never bore you with a photo of my fingers again unless I do something stupid and have the hand in a cast! LOL!!!!
I will be back to moderating comments due to the pervy-creeps in cyberland that have nothing better to do with their time than come to my blog. Tried it without it for a few days, but here they are again. I hope the dithering dolts know they are turned in each time.....I can give them that much attention. Why Blogger flat out does not disable any linked text in a comment is beyond me; it would make it easier for us bloggers.....but.....I don't run it and heaven knows they have made enough changes you have to squirm your way around now.
Okay, those are my official brain dribblings for the day; I have a load of work on my plate due to a lost weekend, so will visit and chat when I can
Have a great one everybody!!!

Pax...