Walk Therapy

The bright spring sunshine and gentle breezes wooed me right out the door today. Actually, I probably was headed out the door anyway even without the wooing because at least once every 6 months I am overtaken by a compulsion to get out of the house, leave all responsibility behind, and take a walk.

No, I'm sorry to disappoint, I do not exercise regularly! However, I am up and down 16 stairs about 36 times a day and at least a half dozen times in the night. Does that count for anything? 'Fraid not. There is no column for that on the Aerobics Points chart.

I tucked my camera into my pocket because not only did I want to breathe fresh air, I also wanted to see anything alive, green, colorful, significant, inspirational, or refreshing. (I need to do this walking thing more often!!)

First up---my neighbors' nandina bush, positively dripping with beautiful red berries. I seriously covet these every Christmas for decor, tablescapes, wreaths, etc., but because she has an infrared security camera at all four corners of her house (no lie!!), I have not yet succumbed to the urge to snip off a few in the night.



Doesn't this empty nest just tug at your heart? It was home---where babies were hatched and fed and learned to fly and now it stands empty. Maybe it's the fact that my oldest will be 17 this December that brings this rush of emotion over the empty bird's nest!! (Okay, deep breath!) Do birds ever come back and reuse nests and build them up, refurbish them, put them to use again?



Look at the edges of this camellia. Winter is over, the time of the camellia is done. It's browning at the edges. But what a gift camellias are in the winter!! A beautiful, bright spot of color when you think nothing in the landscape will ever bloom again. (A lesson there, no?)

And right below this fading camellia, was the intense green and purple of the viola just bursting up, dazzling with its purples and greens. New life, new color. Goodbye camellia, hello viola.

Here is the pond from the farm that lies next to our subdivision and drives me nearly to a madness of longing when I look at its rolling pastureland, miles of white fences, and this mirror-like pond. I'll take one of these, please, PLEASE!

Sometimes you've just got to shake your head and say, "What ARE some people thinking???" A frog with a crown? Significance?

I actually thought this blue-speckled orb was a beautiful piece of art glass until my children told me it's an Aqua Globe. You fill it with water, invert it, and it will slowly water your plant down at the deepest roots. Wow, neat! And it's garden art!

I love this little arbor. With an entrance like that, there's got to be something magical going on inside!

Don't these look good enough to eat! Definitely one of my favorite bulbs. Wouldn't you love to see a whole field of them. Mmmmmm!

This empty planter must just be waiting for the weather to warm up a few degrees so it can be filled up with about 5 different varieties of coleus like it was last summer . . . lemon yellows, burgundies, strawberry pinks, and variegated greens, all spilling over the sides.

Okay, the walk has worked its magic. Bring on the dinner prep, 5 baskets of laundry to sort, and the new stain on the upstairs hallway carpet. I'm good to go for another 6 months!