Woods in Winter

On Friday, the sun shone, a slight breeze blew, the air was crisp and cool.

I had my to do list ready.  Things that weren't arbitrary.  Things like cleaning bathrooms.  Changing sheets.  Washing dishes.

Youngest Son suggested a walk in the woods.

I was torn.  A walk in the woods, breathing fresh air, drinking in nature.  Home responsibilities.

The walk it was.  Of course.

And we were off.  I was glad I made that choice the moment we walked out into the sunshine.

The woods were full of treats for the discovering . . . flowers drying to a crumble on barren twigs, bright holly berries, gently blowing dried grasses, minuscule purple flowers cupped in green ruffled leaves  shelf fungus thickly dressing a log, blue-black berries, dried seed pods hanging delicately from their stems, pine cones, mossy logs.  

A delightful tangle of the woods in winter.

I love to watch Youngest Son in nature.

He is enthralled by it.  Senses slowly soaking it in.

And now that he has discovered the camera, his eye catches two bent trees making an "X" in the sky, the sun glinting on the surface of the creek, clouds leaving a fading trail as they puff across the sky.

The woods enchanted us . . . transformed us from irritable children and overworked mom to co-conspirators  on a secret adventure.

I even saw Youngest Son offer to hold Youngest Daughter's carefully collected dandelion as she crossed the creek.

Proof of enchantment to be sure.

We trotted back to the house chattering about things found, things discovered, things captured on camera.  A buzz of talk inspired by the quiet beauty of winter woods.

The toilets, laundry and dishes waited.  I thought they would.

Sunsets

If you are around our house at 5:00 in the evening, you will hear a sudden flurry of activity.

One certain 13 year-old boy will grab up his camera and with much dashing, clomping down stairs, scurrying and slamming of doors, he will be up the driveway, across the field, and over to the lake . . . before it's too late!

He will be looking at the sky.

Because right now, his current obsession is sunset pictures, taken on the IPod and posted on Instagram.

I love them---these pictures of the nighttime sky, with all its wideness and wildness and swirl of clouds and rich colors.

That last joyful shout of pigment staining the sky  . . .

. . . before the sun slips below the sill of the earth . . .

and all is dark . . . and still.

Morning Walks in a Safe Place of Grace

Easter morning started out with a glorious walk.  

Best place in the world to start?  Lying under my drippy, drapey zelcovia tree, 

sunlight flickering through the leaves.

Happy, dreamy place.

Can't lie there long if I'm going to go walking . . . 

and get back to get everyone up for church . . . 

and get the ironing done (that would be wise to have had done last night.)

Morning walks . . . best time of the day.

God wants me to spend time with Him.

To talk with Him.

I'm learning to do that.

I'm not a talker.

I'm a listener.

And a stuffer of my own thoughts.

Way deep down.

God is teaching me to open up and talk to Him.

That He won't be bored . . .

or rushed . . .

or irritated.

That talking to Him in an atmosphere of unconditional love and acceptance is healing.  

That letting Him know my deepest thoughts draws us close . . . 

just like any other healthy relationship.

He says, "Come close to me, and I will come close to you."  

(James 4:8)

And I have.

And He has.

And I'm beginning to see . . .

. . . that opening myself up in an atmosphere of perfect grace

can be the safest place in the world . . .

. . . and make these walks the best time of the day.

Pink Tulips

I was not planning on purchasing pink tulips when I walked into the grocery store.

As a matter of fact, I was specifically there for three items:  Chocolate Cheerios, bananas, and Peter Pan Superchunk Please-Not-Creamy-This-Time-Mom peanut butter.

And then I saw them . . . right by the ice cream freezer.

Pink Tulips.

My heart swooned.  I steeled myself.  I'm at the end of the grocery budget.  Must focus.

I found my peanut butter and bananas and rounded the corner to head toward the cereal.  And there they were again.  Blush pink, faintly edged in white.

I had just come in from a drizzly, grey outside.  A drizzly, grey day that followed about 13 other drizzly, grey days.  My hope of ever seeing the sun, color, or bloom again was fading quickly.  I couldn't at this point exactly be held accountable for the grocery budget; could I?

Somehow those luscious tulips got into my basket and I made a firm decision.  The children would be eating Honey Nut O's until the end of the month.  No Chocolate Cheerios.  Cost of 2 boxes of Chocolate Cheerios = Cost of Tulips.  Do the math.  These tulips were mine.

I felt like I had found a hidden secret, my own little stash of pink-hope-for-spring.

That afternoon I looked at blogs and found that pink tulips were popping up everywhere.  It seems that others have also found their own private stash pink-hope-for-spring in their own shops.

These were from Uncommon Grace.

These from Beauty Does Matter.  ::sigh::

Can you even imagine looking out your farmhouse window and seeing this sight?  I do believe I'm hyperventilating.

My favorite, from Farmgirl Paints.  Love the blue canning jar, love the rusted turquoise metal "box," love the vintage shakers.  And, of course, love the pink tulips.

The sun is flickering on my tulips, I'm smiling, hope springs eternal.  The kids will never miss those Cheerios.

My Yellows and Purples

While I take a bit of a blog break, I'll leave my dear yellows and purples for you to enjoy.  Mmmmmmm, I'm just eating these up . . . figuratively of course.  Happy Spring!  And I hope all those still buried under ice, sleet, and gray-ness will soon find color popping out all over!!

Awakening!

Just a typical afternoon errand run.

Eyes glaze over the sleeping landscape . . . bare trees, brown grass, piles of decaying leaves blown up against fences.

When suddenly my head nearly swivels off my shoulders.  What was that I saw?  Could I have been imagining?

No!  It really is.  The first blossoms of the season.  Bursting into life.  Bringing the tints of color to the landscape.

Redbud, I think, though I'm not sure.

A little later, swinging by the library, almost hidden by a tree, small yellow flowers peeking between the branchy tangle of the forsythia bush.

It's official.  The spring sap is flowing.  Color is coming.  Nature is awakening!

Winter's Beauty Is . . .

 Elusive.

She sends you on a search.

You have to seek to find her hidden beauty.

(firepower Nandina)

Unexpected.

She doesn't offer the idyllic loveliness that nature brings in spring . . . 

full colorful flowers

trees bursting forth with little knots of new green leaves

lush meadows.  

Instead, she's . . .

(snow laying in graceful curves in the branches)

A little quirky.

Unique.

Surprising.

A beauty of a different kind.

(Heavenly bamboo)

Quiet.

 Don't expect her beauty to knock you over

like a dramatic sunset.

Her beauty whispers.

Understated.

Almost reclusive.

(tattered pussywillows)

These qualities draw me to winter.

To make the effort

to find and appreciate her uncommon beauty.

(dramatic white berries of unknown origin!)

And to be richly rewarded

when I do.

With Love to My Neighbors

Can I just say that I am sooo thankful to my neighbors this year!

Because they have planted flowers!

And so as I go on my morning walks, and the sun is just tipping over the roofs of the houses, I can enjoy all colors of orange, yellow red, purple, pink, and white in the beautiful morning light.

Would you like to see what I've planted?

Mmm-hmmm . . . that's it this year. Downright pathetic.

Which is exactly why I'm so delighted that I have neighbors that love flowers and plant flowers and tend flowers.

And let me enjoy them.

Sometimes on my walk I remind myself that this exquisite garden belongs to a couple with no children at home and this lucious layout belongs to a family with a professional gardener and this showstopper has a man of the house that is as passionate about gardening as my husband is about golf.

It's good to keep it all in perspective.

And enjoy the good gifts of His creation . . . right in my neighbors' yards.

The Delight of the Party

I said I'd bring an appetizer.

The hostess didn't even have to ask me. I volunteered!

It was an amazing vision. Spending the afternoon whipping up mouth-watering deliciousness. Walking through the door with a masterpiece.

What about Goat Cheese with Fresh Dill and Paprika?

Or Pioneer Woman's Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie?

Maybe Apricots Stacked with Blue Cheese, Pistachios and Honey?

What was I thinking?

On Friday I tagged and dropped off books for a book sale, attended a high school graduation meeting, took a child to a basketball tournament, and treated 4 children to a movie.

On Saturday I did the bi-weekly grocery shopping, attended a seminar on children's cognitive differences, dropped in on a friend's art show, and cleaned bathrooms.

And when did I think I was going to come up with this heavenly confection???

Instead, 10 minutes before the party found me washing mounds of strawberries, plunking them on a platter, and sliding a glass of powdered sugar in the middle.

And guess what was the delight of the party??

Pretty hard to improve on God's amazingly delicious creation!

Inspired by Spring

It just wasn't fair.

Over the weekend we had heavy grey cold skies; thick, bone-chilling air; and 4 inches of snow. And the lot of you were e-mailing me everything you were looking forward to for spring. Oh, my goodness! It just about drove me to distraction. The wonderful, fresh pictures you painted of just exactly you were dreaming of, anticipating in the coming of spring.

So, turn about is fair play. I was totally inspired to show you what everyone was looking forward to! This will probably prove a little too painful for those of you in Minnesota . . . or Nebraska (sorry Lori and DoJo) who have about 2 1/2 months of winter yet!

Rebecca is looking forward to warm sun, cool, wet dirt, and the smell of upturned earth in her garden. Mmmmmm!:

(source)

Gena escapes to the beach in April!!





Sherry wants those Florida breezes blowing through the house. And Laura wants open windows and fresh air. (Does this look like your front porch??)

(source)

Missy is waiting for the campus of Furman to burst with blooms:

For Lori, spring is blooming trees:





Lacey doesn't want to have to constantly bundle up the kids:






And Gerry is sick of bundling up herself. Is this more how you picture yourself in the spring, Gerry : ) ??

source)

MCA can't wait to get to the Cincinnati Zoo.

(source)

Serena wants to be out hiking (only I don't think she has a husband and 2 kids . . . don't mean to freak you out there, Serena!):

(source)

DoJo just wants the snow to finally melt:

(source)

And Jan is ready to see daffodils:

This is a cute one. From Missouri, Anna Marie just doesn't want to have to warm her side of the bed up with an electric mattress pad! How's this as a bed for spring, Anna Marie?

(source)

Paggre has a unique spring wish. She's waiting for the fragrance of grapefruit blossoms. Now I've never smelled a grapefruit blossom, as far as I can remember, but doesn't that sound just heavenly? Lucky Floridian.

(source)

And finally, since there has to be at least one in a crowd walking to the beat of a different drummer, there's Debra down in Australia. And you know what she's looking forward to in that Land Down Under, down in the southern hemisphere? She can't wait for autumn leaves!

And now may we all cheerfully return to our grey skies, bare trees, and icicles and wait patiently for spring. ::sigh!::

And hopefully, while we're waiting, we'll even find a haunting beauty in the stark chill of winter.