What Word Lies in A Bloom?


My garden is beginning to bloom again

With sprouts of celery green bursting forth

Upward through the ground

Of rock and clay in covered red.

Shades of weathered brown were all around,

Chocolate and cocoa colors

Muffin tops of snow cakes swallowed yesterday.

Showers fell from sky of royal blue above

Weeping and seeping

Opening a seasoned curtain of spring splendor.

Forces of nature pushed them from far below

“Up, up, up, it’s time for you to go…”

Soon blossoms of buttercup yellow

Will open mouths to say, “Hello.”

No Vacancy!


Only a couple of weeks ago, there were abandoned homes in my neighborhood. Small, empty shells of former families. Mothers and fathers and babies too, who lived there until nature ran its course.

I’m happy to say this has changed. Spring seems to be the reason. It’s the season. Signs of activity are everywhere. Sticks for rehabbing lay near a bungalow of blue. A few onlookers too. Suddenly there aren’t enough homes to go around.

Yesterday, two women were arguing over a wooden house freshly painted in green. It was a sight I wouldn’t have believed, yet there they were, only a few feet away from me. One seemed to be the bully. She was bigger than the other, and it was obvious the house did not fit her needs. She barely could get through the front door! With head and body poked all the way inside, her tail feathers swished on the outside. Back and forth in colors of royal blue, black and white. They seemed to be ruffled and shook like a fan from side to side. She squeezed with all her might. “I think I can…I think I can.”

I watched as the smaller gal put up a fight. It was, after all, her right! She was pretty and plump. Beautiful too, in shades of sky blue with a bright red breast. The house seemed to be a perfect fit for her. She moved in with ease, staking a claim on what was to be her own. Within seconds, the bully gave up, flying off to find another house before all of the local real estate was swallowed up.

Last night I woke to a sound of banging against the tree outside my bedroom window. The new neighbor was busy building her nest, making sure all would be right for the eggs she would soon lay during the day or night.

I smiled a sleepy smile to think of the wonders of nature. New couples have moved into abandoned homes throughout my neighborhood. Hints of spring are everywhere. Before long, babies will be born.

No, I don’t believe there is a vacancy anywhere!

*pictures of birds courtesy of Google Chrome

Spring is Near!


Snow is melting around my home. Grasses, drab in textures and colors of variegated straw have sprouted in fresh cool green. Soft beneath bare feet while tickling beneath ten toes. Gazing at pavers of my red brick patio, clear water trickles ever so slowly toward smooth and speckled pebbles of several dormant fountains. Before long, century old rocks, nubby and gnarled will splish-splash, reaching toward the heavens of a bright blue sky. Together, they will roar fresh melodies, those of a new season for all to hear.

Spring is near!

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New Beginnings


Ahhh…new beginnings.  Soaking them in like a sponge in the sea.  While laying on my patio with sleepy eyes facing up my imagination sees the brightest blue ocean waving, “Good Morning.”   Yes, a teensy sail of white passing by.  There it goes….floating…..floating.

In real life, a turquoise watering can is filled to the brim.  Held in the right of my hand so heavy and full it nearly overflows.  Sprinkling ever so slowing…Yes, falling from tiny holes pierced through a round spout of white.  Cold, fresh and clear sustaining life to colors of new beginnings.

My annual painted pots, freshly planted last weekend sip straw rivers under the warmth of the sun.  I tend to them like newborn infants, gifts from God invisibly growing older each day.

To the side of a brown pot, a bright yellow petunia seems a bit taller today.  Nearby, greenery planted in an old bird-bath appears fuller and brighter in a way.  And, on my stoop of brick pavers, assorted flowers pushed to the depths of sooty earth sprout to shout words of inspiration to anyone who gives them a second glance…a smile…a chance.

A slight breeze of cool air whispers through trees of my little forest land.   There, new leaves of waxy green hang from limbs, sturdy and strong.  Hidden within, nests of new snug between two after a long season of winter.  Six different songs are heard from feathered friends while a woodpecker whittles away.

What is that I hear?  Look again to the sky.  There, a bright red cardinal flying by!

Ahhh…new beginnings!

 

 

Our Lady Spring


Lovely lines in this delightful spring poem by Cynthia Reyes, making us all wish for spring ‘soon to be!’

Cynthia Reyes

My Lady Spring, I must confess

Your absence causes great distress

Why does it take so long for thee

To come back here and stay with me?

Mallard on Wing Mallard on Wing

The sun shines brightly on the land

But winter makes its own last stand

At least I thought it was the last

Till winter whispered “not so fast!”

Blog Photo -  Blooming rhubarb

The tips of future tulip flowers

Came out expecting springtime showers

Then came a blast of wicked cold

And tulip shrank back in its fold.

Blog Photo - Alium Bloom

Our Lady Spring, we need you so

Oh Lady Spring, where did you go?

Come back, relieve our suffering

And I will make this offering

Spring Garden - Pink Bleeding Heart

No more complaints of rain and fog

No more complaints that we can’t jog

We’ll gladly tolerate the bugs

We’ll stand outside and give them hugs

Spring Garden - Hyacinths

Oh gosh, I just read what I wrote

I take it back, that buggy quote

I…

View original post 112 more words

Concessions


Stepping onto the patio this morning reminded me of movie scene.  The genre with intriguing posters, enough to draw me in.  The sky was eerily colorless, with mist and fog surrounding everything my eyes could see.  When taking a breath of air, my lungs felt heavy and full.  Puddles remained on patterned bricks, while new bird feeders were tossed to the ground.  The evening before, it had rained the whole night through.  Deep thunder shook my home with walls rumbling from outside to in.

My son warned me about this week on Sunday.  He expected to work a lot of overtime at the Weather Service.  “How many days,” I remember asking him?  “Most of the week,” he answered, without missing a beat.  “Beginning on Tuesday.”

Within minutes the ceiling of the endless sky opened wide, showering the green grass while bending new flowers in half.  Raindrops fell hard and fast, turning to hail the size of marbles.  Regretfully, patio bricks were pummeled, chipping red pavers here and there. Nearly everywhere.

Suddenly a screeching sound was heard, startling Doodle dog and even myself.  There on my phone, an automatic alert.  Checking the text it read,  “Warning, Flash Floods Within Your Area.  Not Safe for Driving.”

With the coming of spring, I must accept the weather that accompanies it which often includes running to the basement without electricity.  Provisions are stashed in case of an emergency.  Flashlights, water, food and medication together with blankets and even a change of clothes.  Hopefully, they will never be needed.

Here in the mid-west we are all in for several new months of thunderstorms and lightening.  Hail, high winds, and even tornadoes are here or may be coming our way.  We accept many concessions with God’s gifts of the season.  Still, to feel warm sunshine falling on the naked of my face while passing the beauty of flowering trees during a walk with my dog.  That, together with watching the blooming of my mother’s yellow roses all seem like a very small price to pay.  At least on this day.

Concessions…..

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Riverwalk


The whole of the day was spectacular.  Sun sparkled high in the blue of everywhere while a warm breeze lofted through the air, even blowing through my hair.  A splendid sort of day, one where convertibles peeked out of garages for the very first time.  And yet, only a few short moons before a picture postcard of another sort grabbed me by the hand, luring me out to play.

I remember fingers of ten pushing down keys, naturally lifting them up while I sat behind a keyboard of basic black.  Earlier, I woke with a horrible migraine headache, my own Chronic Condition.  I visit a neurologist regularly, keep a ‘headache diary’ and know that prescription medication must be swallowed at the earliest onset in order to keep the pain at bay.  Hoping it will go away.

Hours before, rain had drizzled from the sky of night, dazzling the pavers of our driveway.  Glancing out long narrow windows of the turret in my office library, they glistened and looked brand new.  Mist hovered in the air surrounding them like tiny beads of steam bubbling on a glass door of clear during a hot shower.

As the morning went on, I continued to work while glaring at my computer screen.  Simple sounds of soft keys clicking up and down began to SCREAM at me.  Temples on each side of my head pulsated in unison.  What to do?  My headache was going to be endured regardless.  Literally, I threw caution to the wind.  Tossing on a raincoat, I drove to the nearest walking park near a lovely winding river.  I wanted to take deep breaths, to breathe cool damp air deep into my lungs, hoping my head would not be worse for wear.

The cool squishy ground together with puddles here and there were a gift to me.  The park was mine alone.  It was hushed quiet except for birds hiding in overgrown woods surrounding the grounds.  Grasses were golden damp while trunks of trees were painted green with stripes of lime colored moss.  Venturing toward the nearby river, toes of boots nudged piles of musty leaves, soaked from the rain while squirrels played tag a few steps away.

Around the bend I discovered a dead-end.  Erosion from the river had eaten a two lane road totally away together with most of the trail, making it unsafe for any passers-by. There was nothing to do but turn around.

Upon reaching my car, I shook my head in disbelief.  No more headache.  I  thanked God for this relief from pain.  Taking in one last look around the park, I noticed a Robin strutting close by.  Bright red in breast, he tossed a pink worm.  Up…up…up into the air, fresh from a cocoa colored puddle that lay atop the grass of golden brown.

Never thankful for a migraine headache, everything truly happens for a reason.  Sometimes hidden until later, waiting for the curtain to be parted or a season of newness to begin.

Yes, always a Lesson for me.

The Perfect Day


Dare my mind believe spring has sprung?   Truly, just begun?

The clocks were set back prior to sleep last Saturday night while I hoped seven hours of slumber would magically feel like eight upon my wake.  When lids lifted ‘later’ than usual Sunday morn, it was easy to pretend.  Opening blinds of white to see a sun of yellow, it shined so bright…high in the sky.  I had to bend my neck to the right while peeking through slats to see it there.

Grabbing a robe, Doodle dog followed every single step, meandering through rooms and spaces small until we were out the double doors atop the patio.  Bricks of red felt unusually warm below bare feet and paws.  Snow was gone.  Could it be so?   Birds were chirping, flying feathers near.  I glanced above to see never-ending blue without a cloud in sight.  A perfect morning with a blanket big covering the ground below.

After weeks and months of cold, could it be true?  Oh, to count my blessings.  I would not argue with such wonder.  Never, oh no!

I spent much of the day walking….w.a.l.k.i.n.g.  It seemed like miles at times.  No boots or gloves or a single scarf of stripes around my neck.  No wooly hat upon my head.  Bare hands held a wide string of dog at my side in the warmth of 66 degrees.  I spoke to neighbors and little ones in the streets.  Smiles of teeth and jokes to tickle my inner belly.  Silly fun!  Shook hands and met new neighbors never seen before.  Played in poofs of dust from colored chalk drawn on driveways.   Shared time with family and marveled at the antics of an innocent child with curls who lived in a place called Wonderland while basking in the glory of golden rays upon my face from God above.

Yes, it was the perfect day……

 

Morning Tree


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Early shadows dancing on buff colored siding,

God’s gift of nature balances on branches….hiding.

A chirp, a tweet, a song to sing,

Do not stop or feathered wings will soar into skies of azure.

Look closely now to see a tiny rooftop home swing from side to side

On a flowered arm, tempting me…..

Suddenly all is clear, I can’t resist

Hopping up to peek inside the ‘O.’

Ahhh…..baited breath beholds

A tiny toasted nest in a bosom of infinite blackness.

Speckled sparrow eggs…1-2-3-4,

Warming in my Morning Tree.

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