Please, Join Me For A Little Bit of Spring

Don't get me wrong, I like Winter as much as the next girl, HOWEVER, I must say, enough is enough. Do I sound ungrateful? I don't mean to...I usually am thrilled with Winter, but this year has been rather exasperating, no two ways about it.

Snow and ice is quite traumatic to Southerners. We love the first thrill of waking to the silent white clad landscape and there's nothing as much fun as a few minutes sliding on sheets of cardboard down a snowy hill...but then, noses get red, cheeks begin to sting and our shoes aren't quite prepared to cradle our frozen little "piggies". Ok, it's been fun, but now it's turning into brown slush and we are ready to "get back to normal"... 200 degrees in the shade.

This winter has been, well, let's say..nutty. Cold, ice, snow, freezing wind...quite the norm for many of you...but quite UN-Normal to those of us down here. If the news is correct (and I take much of it with a grain of salt...that's another story), then it's been an extremely difficult season for everybody. Well, in my ever so humble opinion, what we need is a big ole slug of

S P R I N G!

Come on into my backyard and let's wander around a little and "pretend" it's spring! A dose of sunshine will do you good! Just scroll down and think about the fact that S P R I N G can't be too far away...the groundhog promised!

Remember my little mockingbirds from last year? Oh, how I hope to have little birds again this year. (Even though these met with an untimely demise...I know my bluebirds will nest again. They always do and the redbirds will be everywhere.) What says spring better than little creatures with their mouths open...waiting for Mama and Daddy to pop in with a fat juicy worm.

Let's sit on the back porch and rock a little while, listening to the tabletop fountain gurgle and watching as the birds flock to the feeders. Nothing says spring or summer like a cool morning on the porch, drinking coffee and just appreciating what you've been given.

The sun slowly rises above the trees, casting its warmth all around.

My favorite slice of spring is just as the plants emerge...the leaves on the trees aren't babies; they are teenagers...a little darker than the light, light green of complete newness...but not the dark green of adulthood. When the sun shines through the branches, the leaves appear lacy.

My favorite lilies are the strong, clear yellows. They look like shooting stars against the dark green foliage. Deadhead the faded blooms and they will bloom for weeks.
Darker yellows are pretty, too. Their petals are more pointed.


I do love these salmon ones also, but the yellow appear earlier in the daylight hours and last later into the twilight.

My Black-eyed Susans don't appear until later in the summer, but they are a favorite addition to any garden. Some people call them "lowly". I call them perky.

New Lantana Sonrise and Sonset series are deliciously colored.

Wave purple Petunias...lots of bang for the buck!

Probably my all time favorite (and my mother's) flower, Queen Anne's Lace. She even spells her name like my mother spelled her name, with an "E".


My bunny family is always in evidence.

Neatly tended beds give me a great sense of satisfaction.


While rocking maybe you could dream a little about an upcoming vacation to the beach.

You know God always uses a rainbow as a lasting promise to us. Floods won't last forever and their waters will not ever completely overtake the earth again. Winter will end soon.


And with its end, hope and renewal will return once again.

Keep the faith, friends. Spring's around the corner.




Blessings and hope to each of you,