...all things bright and beautiful

the wind is picking up outside....
evidence that spring has sprung is everywhere...
but that doesn't stop nature from reminding us that,
"It's not WISE, to take Mother Nature for granted... ! "
[well, I just "dated" myself with that old margarine ad paraphrase...]

the celebration of all things, "bunnies, chickies & duckies"...
is past...[and Unkle Phil enjoyed eating most of them...]
but the explosion of blooming things in my yard...
is in full sway...

finally, a brave Iris has unfurled...
[deep purple... my favorite]
hopefully, there will be more...
but they are late this year...

the older lilac bush from Mom's cuttings...
is covered with fragrant lavender plumes...
the final cutting, transplanted last year,
survived last summer and this past winter...
and is shooting up, covered with leaves...
in the shadow of it's sister's radiant plumage...

roses are blooming in front and back...
Joseph's Coat are cozying up to the lilacs...
and most of the bushes in the front are covered with buds...
as well as a few early risers in yellow and orange-y red...

my "new" weeping cherry has only a few blooms left...
it was much prettier in this it's second year...
it's shape is perfect ...
and I look forward to many years of admiring it...
it was sad to see the old one go, but its time had passed...

the "original" gardenia bush next to my front steps
finally succumbed to old age, too many frosts...
and being covered by Virginia Creeper...
I found a new gardenia, and it's waiting for me to "muscle up"...
"put" the creeper up on newly acquired trellises...
dig out the old one [won't be easy... lots of roots...]
and plant the new one...

I also have some red anagazanthis [kangaroo paws]
to plant in the back [another harder-than-it-sounds job...]
a large schefflera to repot and put inside [ditto]
and some marigolds and petunias who smiled at me,
outside the grocery store... and now need planting...
[this...I can handle without hurting myself...]

then there is the veggie garden...sigh....
I found some pole bean sets...
they await my soil prep and planting of them
in their "long & narrow" bed...
[did I mention that the stakes, etc.,
from last year have to be dealt with first ?]

but I can do this...for just this one bed...
I should be able to do this ...
without too much damage to my arthritic body...
the rest of the veggie garden though, is another matter...

planting squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant...
only creates food for the "critters"....
last summer, I got to eat beans and tomatoes...
the squash & cucumbers were "critter chow"...
[ not to mention the long-awaited apples...]

the thought of a garden without tomatoes...
is depressing...
but it's probably too much for me to prep alone...
actually, I'll be lucky if I get those beans in...
at least my water bill will be lower...

my apple tree is blooming...the cherry is setting...
as well as the peach and apricot...
no pomegranate blooms yet...
but they need more warmth...
as do the citrus, which wait until late April to perfume the air...
[of course, the Meyer lemon blooms year round...]

soon, the dogwood will bring forth its snowy blossoms...
the yellow freesia had a white surprise for me this year...
and the new leaves of the Japanese maples,
in green & red, glow from the sun...

the "ying-yang" that is Spring...
the glorious bursting forth of reinvigorated life...
and the dark, bare branches of those
that will burst forth in blossom no more...
last year, it was the weeping cherry...
planted on Easter, many years before..

this year, the old gardenia...
and the flowering quince from Mom's hasn't "popped"...
I'm hoping the dogwood is healthier than it appears...
and that the tangerine the rats attacked, eating the bark...
will "come back"...

life and death...in the garden...
so much to do everywhere...
leaves to rake... grass to trim...
beds to clean out, prep & plant...
and soon...

but Spring still has me in her thrall...
I find myself, like my dad before me...
life-long farmer that he was...
just standing... and looking...
I "come to", and time has passed...
but my goals are no closer... the yard is a wreak...

I remember when I could work hard all day...
being only a bit stiff the next...
and accomplish so much...
I remember digging HUGE gardens...
harvesting bushels of tomatoes, beans, squash...

I wouldn't want to be "that person" again...
but I'ld sure like to have that strength and energy...
if only for a few days...

I guess, all things considered...
I'm in a pretty good place...