Sunday, March 15, 2015

Yes, Spring Is Definitely Here

I have kept myself busy and worn myself out today which, I suppose, is the best thing I could have done. I did go for a long walk and took a few pictures. It's funny how I will always think of Steve Reed now, when I take pictures of my surroundings. And speaking of, here's a picture I took of him by the majestic live oak next door when he was here.


Such a lovely tree. And a lovely man, as well. 

Anyway, yes, I took a walk. I took pictures of the blooming dewberries.



For some reason, there is one patch of dewberries which bloom the palest baby-pink. Such a tender color. Here's what most of them look like:


Dewberries are much like blackberries but their canes are more vine-like and grow along the ground whereas the blackberries grow on upright canes. And the dewberries come first. There are lots of blooms this year. 

I walked up to the old graveyard and took a picture.


That overhanging tree is a dogwood and it should be in full and blowsy bloom but as I have noted, the dogwoods of Lloyd seem to all be suffering from a blight and most of them are dead. This is unbelievably sad. We have cut down at least three in our yard. I will wait a few years to replant, hoping it passes. You can see, if you click on the picture, one small cluster of flowers on one branch of that tree.

I noticed a blooming wild azalea in the field of the horse farm and can't wait to see more blooming in the woods. They feel so special to me. So blessed when I see them. The one I planted in this yard is still alive after many years but it never really blooms very much. Not enough sun, I suppose. My across the street neighbors have a gorgeous one. 

One the way home I picked a branch of flowering azalea from an old yard where a house used to stand and brought it home, put it in a vase. Mine are not blooming this year, either due to too-late pruning last year or because of the late freeze we had. They will bloom next year, I hope. 

I stopped at the empty house next door to purloin a few more branches of a gorgeous flowering peach.


I think it's a flowering peach. I could very definitely be wrong. But I am not in wrong in how gorgeous it is.

The bees were loving up the camellias over there.



I saw a fellow I've just noticed recently, also walking. He wears sunglasses and carries a golf club and has a smile as easy as a breeze. The first time I saw him, he cracked up and yelled across the street to me that I was the fastest walker he'd ever seen. He cracked up when he saw me today too. I must look pretty funny when I walk, cargo shorts flapping all over the place.

I came home and finished up washing and drying all the old sheets and tablecloths I used to cover outside plants during the freezes. I put them away and then put up the beautiful tablecloth I bought the other day in our bedroom as a curtain. The curtains in there were just these boring white things that hung down too far and got tangled up in sheets. I didn't go a very good job, but it's such a beautiful thing.




I'll redo it eventually. Maybe. I tend to let things be unless they annoy the crap out of me. 

I washed the old curtains, put them away, mopped the bathroom, laundry room (two square feet) and kitchen. I took the recycle and trash. I put my flowers in vases. That is one thing I really love about spring, as if there wasn't enough to love. All of the flowers I can bring into the house and on the porch.



Such a magical time of year when the camellias AND azaleas are blooming. 

And so it has gone. I've moved and I've noticed and I've been grateful and the house looks a little better and the kitchen floor feels good on my bare feet and here we are. 

Boys coming tomorrow. 
The adventures continue. 

14 comments:

  1. Either Steve Reed is itty bitty or that oak is HUGE!

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  2. I love all of the pics you post. Those flowers today are a welcome sight.

    I washed sheets today and you know Ms Moon, I thought of you! You change your sheets way more often than I do and every time I read it I get guilty, so I set my mind to do it :)

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  3. This was a meandering walk for me -- and oh, how I needed it!

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  4. I loved scrolling through these lovely photos; that oak and Steve Reed, well that is everything.

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  5. Thank you for the flowers and the account of your day. Wonderful photos of your local flora.
    I love the tablecloth. It's perfect, and yes, I suppose there might be a fancier way to hang it, but I really like it as is. No matter what Martha might say.

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  6. Definitely better than white tangled curtains. And I like that it still looks like a tablecloth.

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  7. LOL -- I am laughing at that first comment. For the record, people, I'm 6'3. That is a HUGE oak. :)

    I love the tablecloth-as-curtain idea! It looks great!

    Your mention of the azalea growing next to the site of the old house reminds me of Kate Wolf's song "The Lilac and the Apple," which is all about a conversation between a lilac and an apple tree growing at the location of an old homestead, now long gone. I have a feeling I may have mentioned it here before. Anyway, it's a good song!

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  8. Sorry -- I'm not 6'3, I'm 6'2. Not sure what I was thinking there. :)

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  9. spring is here too but it's just so weird. nothing seems to be doing what it should. the trees are all blooming and coming out but everything else still seems f=dormant. well, the dew berries are blooming here and out little azaleas that don't get enough sun are showing a few flowers. the baby blue eyes haven't even started blooming yet. it's late for them. I'm wondering if they are going to bloom at all.

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  10. That oak tree is amazing! It's nice to read about plants growing and blooming. Ours are still under a good two feet of snow, which is down from the three plus feet we had this time last week. It snowed all day yesterday and it's snowing today and it's going to snow for the next two days ...

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  11. Great post, and you're right about everything...

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  12. Birdie- Ha! Nope. Steve is a tall guy, although I probably outweigh him.

    Jill- I change my sheets because I love nothing more than clean sheets. It's a completely selfish thing for me to do.

    Elizabeth- I did take the long trail, didn't I?

    bluesmtn- Pretty much. I agree.

    Denise- I saw pictures of Betsy Johnson's apartment once where she had old slips and nighties hanging on her walls and in her windows. I was like, "Well, hell. I'm not the only one!" And yeah, Martha would have gotten out the sewing machine for sure. Good for Martha.

    Fien- Me too!

    Steve Reed- I was going to make a joke and say that the tree is so big that it even made YOU look slender and you weigh at least three hundred pounds but I thought better of it. I've never heard that song. I think I must give it a listen.
    And yeah- no claiming an extra inch! (Ha!)

    Ellen Abbott- with the freezes we had and all the rain, everything is sort of off, isn't it? Well, we will get what we get.

    jenny_o- I honestly could not stand that. No way in hell. Bless you!

    e- So sweet! Thank you, dear.

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  13. Love the picture of SteveReed with that oak. Love being back here. I'm catching up on posts I've missed, all the news from Lloyd. That tablecloth is lovely and definitely needs to be seen.

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  14. Nice oak that Steve is under. That is a huge tree for sure. Glad that it has been protected from destruction.

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