May Day

May this May Day bring you happy surprises and exciting new beginnings.

xo

The Ugly Tulips

Easter Sunday, dear Rosemary was helping me in the narthex as my daughter and I tried to figure out which flowers were ours to take home.

There was a mix-up on the sheet and, of course, I couldn't remember what I had ordered.







"You could have a mum, or a lily, or a tulip", Rosemary said reading from the list of options.

I looked at the breathtaking wall of colorful flowers and noticed a pot of shriveled brown tulips tucked to the side.

"I like those," I pointed to the odd, hidden flowers.

"You're kidding aren't you?" Rosemary gasped in disbelief. "We thought they were dead so we hid them in the back."

"They're interesting looking." I picked up the pot and looked at the puckered bulbs.

"I think they're called parrot tulips," Rosemary scrunched up her nose, "And you are more than welcome to take them!"

The wrinkled, brown buds opened into lacey yellow, flaming orange, and burnt red petals. 

Aren't they lovely? 

All these colors tightly closed together made a muddy brown. 

But as they opened... 

all this beauty was revealed!

Growing, Growing, Gone.

I love my vegetable garden. It's certainly a yearly learning process. After 4 years I have learned the following:

Stink bugs stink.

Watering does make a difference.

Do not put metal supports around zucchini.

I cannot grow cucumbers.

And chipmunks are a pox upon me.

But this year has been pretty good. We had wonderful sugar snap peas and lots of peppers. We would have enjoyed a bountiful tomato crop had the aforementioned rodent not single paw-edly removed my heirloom fruits one by one. 

Every year I plant sunflower seeds. And every year the seeds are removed by probably the same tomato-mauling chippy. 

But this year he must have been distracted by the bumper tomato crop and missed a few. Three grew and one was enormous! 

 

The best part? One morning this beautiful butterfly came to visit. 

The butterfly flew away for a moment when a slightly larger visitor took center stage.

 Things definitely grew in the garden. As well as elsewhere. 

It's the first day of school today... growing up!

New Beginnings

I planted my vegetable garden yesterday. 

Last year it served mostly as salad for a persistent deer, a fence-climbing rabbit, and an army of moles. 

But I put seeds and baby plants into the ground again. At least creating the opportunity for growth and harvest. 

Placing a large trellis over a tiny tomato plant gives me a sense of optimism.

I love the potential in a new beginning.

It's A Pansy Day!

Pansies, to me, are a symbol of happiness. 

Not only are they rainbow-colored, smiley faced, harbingers of spring, but they have a history of good memories for me as well. 

Early each Spring, my mom would come home from the nursery utterly joyful. 

And she would dig in the dirt planting spots of color with a satisfied smile. 

Since moving to the Midwest, I have a very hard time finding pansies as early as my mom does. Now it has become a quest for me to seek out the earliest pansies in Iowa. 

I am a notorious daredevil eliciting, "You've planted your pansies already???? It's too early!!!!". 


But it's not. These dainty little posies are deceptively hardy. They are resilient even when frozen. 

I think they're smiling in their planters...

 

 Knowing how happy they make me...

Happy Pansy Day!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

The kids are back in school. We parents struggle to find out if the minute by minute calendar on paper really works in real time.

 The light shifts and dusk falls on evening soccer practice. 

In between I cram in work time. Trying, again, to find a balance between creative time and cleaning time. 

I walked outside on this rainy morning to document the creeping of autumn. 

I wear long sleeves even though it's still warm, and dream of draping the mantle with bittersweet.

 mmmmmmmmm, bittersweet.