Reflecting on Spring Days...

There haven't been many spring days and yet my head is simply full of spring things to write about. I put pictures of the farm, flowers and animals on facebook and that's all well and good. But there isn't really time to reflect on the things I see, smell, hear and touch. For those things, I resort to the blog so here goes!

First let me say that you may have read about all these things in an older post but as this spring finds me at home full time, I find it bears repeating. Certainly I'll try not to ramble but if you read my posts already, you should be fully aware of what you're in for... hahaha

Today is April 13th, tomorrow my son (my youngest) will be 16. Amazing how time flies and amazing what we miss while it does so. It seems life goes so quickly and there are so many things to see, say and do that there's simply no way to get it all in. I decided to stop trying. Indeed, focusing on the things that make me happy has opened up many hours of gazing, contemplation and physical activity that I never knew existed. I hope my children will take note now that they are both old enough to understand what I'm saying. I hope all of you will do the same.

Part of it lies in what spring time has taught me this year. It's beautiful to be sure. The grass is getting green, the trees are blooming, flowers are everywhere and the animals are all acting lively again. Truly a sight for my eyes to behold. Truly a sight whether I'm looking or not and that's part of the beauty of it. I've learned it will come regardless of me. Just like Christmas came regardless of how hard the Grinch tried to stop it.

The Dogwood tree is a petite one. It's buds stand up and open into the most delicate, little white flower...everything green on this tree turns white with blooms!

The Red bud tree is tall and lanky and when it seems it has succumbed to winter's harshness, suddenly, it finds deep within what it takes and throws off hundreds of magenta colored flowers that bloom to beat the band!

The Tulip Poplar doesn't have any flowers on it yet but man is it ever green!! In my yard, looking out my kitchen window, other than the cedar that stays green all year, this Tulip Poplar is the brightest green in the yard. Remember the crayon called "green-yellow?" That's the color of this tree's leaves! Go get your kids' crayon boxes (or your own if you're like me) and you'll know exactly what I mean.

Yes, I love my tulips and my daffodils and the pansies that just won't give up. What's not to love? The iris's and day lilies and allium yet to come keep me anxious. The packet after packet of seeds I've planted are doing their thing in the ground. When I'm planting, I'm in another world altogether.

I've taken to naming some of my plants after people I know. Don't get excited if your name hasn't been assigned yet. The plant has to tell me what it wants to be called just like Aunt Karen's cats. In one flower bed, I have Sweet William and in another is Jack. The Lemon (not a tree) seeds are still in their packet but they'll be planted tomorrow. The iris's in the big flower bed are Claudia's and the hydrangeas are Carol's Cuties. I have Ernie's Wanderer in my kitchen window :)

The vegetable garden is challenging me this year because, of course, I want some of everything. While that's not humanly possible, nor is it practical, it's still in my head for whatever reason. I can only do so much and this I've come to realize in a short amount of time. I think it took one day.

Corn is on the list with carrots, beets, radishes, celery and strawberries. There are Brussels sprouts, broccoli, peas, bush beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, cabbage, squash, sweet peppers and hot peppers and okra to be sure. Rosemary, thyme, oregano and dill... cilantro (though why I don't know - I'm famous only for killing rather than growing this herb) and lettuce. This is probably way more than I can handle but only time will tell. For the most part, once in the ground, they take care of themselves.

Sure I'll have to help the peas find their way to the poles and the peppers won't be allowed to hang in the same garden as the rest. The tomatoes will require daily staking and the cabbage will have to be inspected for worms but this to me is food for the soul as well as food I will be eating once it begins to produce.

Funny, I never thought of myself as a farmer. I suppose if this season is successful, perhaps I should begin to consider that title. I've only ever thought of myself as someone who loves to grow things, not always successfully but a grower of things just the same.

If you had to come up with a title for me, I wonder what it would be. Don't limit yourself to grower of things or farmer... let your mind go and see what it comes up with! hahaha I bet some of you will have some pretty funny things to say :)

The plans in my head lead to my hands in the dirt and that, my friends, leads to food in my stomach. It sounds simple really but for me it is an intense feeling of needing to nurture, of giving and protecting. Much the same way I feel about my loved ones. There is so much in me to give which kind of explains why I want to grow some of everything. Perhaps then I would be able to give and give of this that I feel inside me. Perhaps, I'll never be able to give enough.

So the gardening/farming/growing goes on for me. While I'm at it, I stop and smell the smells around me. I stop and look at the tree right next to where I'm standing. I notice if it has new buds or just the old leaves leftover from last year. I notice if it has branches in need of trimming and if it does, why is the tree guy no longer on this earth? It's not for me to decide but surely he sits in the biggest tree in heaven watching me admire and observe these trees that are here for all of us to enjoy. Surely.

I stop and listen to the sounds of the outdoors. The birds singing, the chickens whining (yes, they whine most of the day), the dogs barking, the leaves rustling, the owl hooting in the woods, the woodpecker pecking away at dead trees. I watch the squirrels scurrying this way and that collecting acorns and hickory nuts that they love to hide in my flower beds. The occasional gun shots off in the distance whenever it is turkey season, or deer season, or just target practice. I've actually learned the difference!

I can be outside all day and every day I hear something new. Every day I smell a new scent or notice a new flower or wander off into the woods just because. The woods call me down the path and I go with abandon. I follow the path and sometimes wander off of it until my heart is content. It can't be helped. I always find a cool walking stick and I rustle leaves with it to be sure no snakes are there before I step. I look for bird's nests and turtles and tracks on the ground and scat (aka animal poop). I can even identify some of the animal tracks and even the animal the scat comes from - not sure if that's important or not LOL, not sure I spelled it right either. Just thought it would be funny to include it! I have learned is what is important.

This life in the woods may not be for everyone, in fact I know a few of you who wouldn't have it at all. But you know me well and you know what all of this means to me. If I can bring some of it to you in this style of writing I've found within me, then I thank God for a gift I didn't know I had. And for loved ones I wouldn't have any other way than just the way they are, I am truly thankful.

I've said it before but I can never say it enough. Stop and smell the flowers my children, my family, my friends. You'll be surprised at what you've been missing. You may even be surprised and what you find makes you happy that you haven't known about all these years. Maybe you'll pass it on as I have to you. I know I would be honored to hear what it was you found. :) xoxox

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