Tag Archives: Redbud trees

Easter, Poetry, Spring, Wildlife

Welcome Spring!

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“It is Easter morning.
Children who are still gentle as milk,
wake to its wonder.”
Caryll Houselander, “Souer Marie Emilie”, The Flowering Tree (1945),

It’s Spring!

 “Autumn arrives in the early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day.”
Elizabeth Bowen, The Death of the Heart (1938).

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“Forsythia is …pure, undiluted, untouched joy.”
Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Bring Me a Unicorn (1971).
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“Flowers and plants are silent presences; they nourish every sense except the ear”.
May Sarton, Plant Dreaming Deep (1968).

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Have you ever looked into the heart of a flower? …I love their delicacy, their disarming innocence and their defiance of life itself”.
Princess Grace of Monaco with G. Robyns, My Book of Flowers (1980). 

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“Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day – like writing a poem, or saying a prayer.”
 Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift From the Sea (1955).

“Every spring is the only spring, a perpetual astonishment.”
Ellis Peters, The Summer of the Danes, (1991).

 

Spring is a time of reflection and hope for new beginnings (SMB).

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It’s Spring !
Welcoming sun’s warmth on bare arms;
tilting  faces up to tree branches ablaze with pink and white blooms;
bending to touch nature’s  yellow and red living lights on bushes,
gathering a bouquet of smiling faces pushed up amidst grass and rocks.
Witnessing a joyful display for the senses this Easter! (SMB).

Sue Marquis Bishop,2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exploring My World, Poetry, Seeking Joy, Spring, Transition

Look Up! The Trees are Shouting “Spring is on the Loose!”

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Look up! Look out as you walk! The Bradford Pear trees, Forsythia and Redbud trees, that herald the coming Spring with their fertile flowering, are beginning to shout.
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It’s been a long winter, especially for our friends and family in the North. This year, our mild winter mixed with unpredictable bursts of cold and snow and dreary, left us in the southern U.S, also eager for Spring. What a thrill to walk under and among cascading blooms.

It’s time to put on our walking shoes and get out our bicycles to witness first hand the magical transformation of the season of rest into the season of hope and renewal.
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Spring!
A time
of new beginnings.

Nature
is adding,
dividing and multiplying.

I’ll
make a
change this Spring.

Old grievances
left behind.
It’s a new day.

My forsythia.
Dainty yellow
blooms held aloft
on graceful arms,
longer than a
prima ballerina could.
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Beauty
doesn’t last
but the memory
of beauty savored
does.
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Time to start a list of Spring projects and personal goals.

Spring
breezes whisper
in my ear –
hope, engage, reach –
act now!

Exploring My World, Spring, Transition

Spring! Is it Here Yet?

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EACH SEASON OF THE YEAR BRINGS IT OWN DELIGHTS, and I enjoy each one as it lingers awhile before giving sway to a new one. There is one season though, that I want to speed up its arrival… and that is SPRING. No doubt about it. I have Spring Fever!

I LIVED IN WEST VIRGINIA, KENTUCKY AND INDIANA for much of my life. When I lived those years in the Midwest, as February came to a close, I was so ready for Winter to be over. I was eager to put away heavy winter coats, boots and gloves,… to no longer have cold hands, nose and feet, or have to scrape the car windows of ice and snow. All of a sudden, I seemed to notice the drab winter colors everywhere. Mother used to say, “Don’t wish for Spring too soon. The too warm air colliding with the cold air causes tornadoes”. She was on alert in the Spring for tornadoes as long as she lived in Indiana.

I BEGIN TO MAKE TO-DO LISTS for Spring, think about cleaning out sock drawers, and previewing seed catalogs for herbs and flowers. February was a trifle early in the Midwest to look for Spring, but it never failed that each year I developed a growing yearning for Spring to bust forth in all its colorful new growth and warm breezes.

I HAVE LIVED IN THE SOUTH for over 20 years now, and still appreciate getting just a little head start on the arrival of Spring …or so it seems to me. One week ago, we had snow for a few days… then it warmed up to 70 degrees. It is cooler today and rainy, but I have started my annual look-out for signs of Spring. Daffodils are up about 4 inches, and red bud trees are in full bloom spreading touches of pinks and rose over the still quiescent landscape.
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RUNNING ERRANDS TODAY, I was happy to see redbud trees everywhere proudly waving their Spring colors in the wind.

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THE GRASS IS MOSTLY BROWN, yet to awaken from Winter rest to herald Spring with a showy new green carpet. The rosy blooms against the blue Carolina sky are a contrast with the brownish grass…reflecting en environment in transition.

WE LUNCHED AT MIMI’S. When we shared it was our anniversary, we were treated to a trio of desserts: apple crisp, bread pudding with bourbon sauce and crunchy brownie with ice cream. Although I love chocolate, my favorite was the bread pudding…soft, sweet and custardy!

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I WILL WATCH FOR, and celebrate, other signs of Spring, as I go about my daily chores. In the meantime, I am grateful two of my indoor orchids are showing their lovely blooming faces to cheer us, as we warm ourselves by the fire and have a cup of hot cocoa and cranberry orange muffins.

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Do you look for signs of Spring?

Sue Marquis Bishop 2014