Saturday, March 17, 2018

We Never Really Figure It Out, Do We?


Well, that's the view from the street of my azaleas, or at least some of them. They are a fantastical spectacle of spring, aren't they? And can you see behind them the tiny new leaves beginning to decorate the skeletal branches of a live oak? On our drive down to Weeki Wachee it was so beautiful, seeing all of the different shades of green coming forth between dirt and sky. There are few things more exquisite than the delicate greens of new spring life with the sun shining upon or behind them.

The Tung trees are blooming too, and I caught a bee in the act of industrious love with one of the blossoms today.


In fact, I am heartened to see as many bees as I've been seeing in the last few weeks. They are busy in the azaleas and in the wisteria and they seem to love the plain little flowers of the arugula. Wouldn't you love to taste arugula honey? I would. Butterflies are already starting to get in on the nectar action as well but they are so hard to capture with the camera. 
For me, anyway. 

I kicked bamboo today and took this picture of wisteria vine, looking for all the world as if someone had hung the blooms from a line to dry in the dappled sunlight.



I went to Publix and bought a corned beef and some cabbage and I pulled some carrots to cook with all of that and some potatoes. I also made a loaf of Irish soda bread and took it across the street for my neighbors who tended my chickens and cats while we were gone. I will make us another loaf here in a little while. I know of few baked goods which are so simply and easily made and yet, so delicious as Irish soda bread. 

And then- the best part of the day- some of my oldest and dearest friends called to see if they could stop by for awhile before they went to the surprise party for Dave's dad's 90th birthday. It was so good to see them, so very, very good, and I made them coffee as they'd been driving all day long and were exhausted and still had the party to go to. We talked about kids and grandkids and the stuff going on in all of our lives until they had to change into their party clothes and head on down the road. There is something just so amazing about being with people whom you have known for over forty years, who are, in fact, part of the very foundation of why and how you have come to be where you are now in your life. 
I think back to the kids we were then, how absolutely unaware we were of where life would take us all. 
Thank god we didn't know because some of it has been more than anyone should bear. 
And yet. Here we are, still able to connect, to shorthand conversations, to hug hard and long, to laugh and perhaps, finally after all of these years, to show our true selves in ways that we simply couldn't have all those years ago. 

I don't know. I don't know much but the few things I do know, I am almost certain I am almost certain of. 
Know what I mean?

That people of our heart can be people of our heart forever. 
That I do not understand people who need a resurrected savior with holes in his hands and his feet when every year the earth resurrects itself so obviously, so splendidly, so gloriously, so perfectly. 
That as long as there are bees and babies, there is hope. 
That a hallway like this is one of the finest things in the world to live with and that I am so lucky this one is mine. 


And that camellias and violets and spirea can all coexist in beauty in said hallways. 


With azaleas. 

And that is pretty much it for what I know.
For certain.

Much love...Ms. Moon




10 comments:

  1. The photos with this post are simply stunning, every one. Yes, nature sure does do a good resurrection. You live in a verdant corner indeed. Such color. Such warm light. Thanks for sharing your world. We see the familiar with new eyes when we’ve been away.

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  2. Do you mind sharing your recipe for Irish soda bread? I'm not sure I've ever had it and the recipes on line seem strange.

    I have not seen a single bee this year and it's got me spooked. I've let the weed flowers in my lawn go, the vegetables going to flower - but not a single bee.

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    1. I used this (the brown bread) and it's pretty good: http://www.sodabread.info/menu/.

      I'll still probably make my weekly yeast bread, though.

      Either way - what to do with all the leftover soda bread? Breadcrumbs, I guess. Most recipes I can think of/find are sweet which I'm not really wanting.

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  3. Your posts are awesome, so vivid. The photos of kids and family and flowers inspiring. Thank you. Joanne

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  4. This morning we woke to yet more snow and icy winds. Your pictures are like a secret promise.

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  5. This morning we woke to yet more snow and icy winds. Your pictures are like a secret promise.

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  6. I could not agree more! In fact so much of our Christian resurrection imagery COMES from pagan festivals that celebrate the resurrection of the earth each spring. It's all interconnected, and for me, the simple beauty of spring outweighs Biblical dogma every time. (Not that I'm seeing it yet, buried as we are under EVEN MORE SNOW.)

    I love seeing all the flowers and beauty of your Florida spring. And yes, I feel the same way about my old college friends -- the ones I visit in Anna Maria every time I go back to Florida. They're in my heart forever!

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  7. Your nature pictures make me swoon today. I can never see too many of them. I really can't. I went to a birthday party last weekend where I saw a whole tribe of people of my heart - it was wonderful, balm for my heart and soul.

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  8. well, I already commented on the azaleas on FB. I had to google tung tree though. never heard of it. and yeah, me too, don't get the whole Jesus cult thing.

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  9. I love azaleas, and your front yard is stunning, with the white picket fence. We tried wisteria once, until it got a grip on our roof.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.