Sunday, April 20, 2008

Still In My Flannel Jammies

Here it is the 21st of April and usually it would be warm in the house without the heat turned on. Not this year. I sit here in my flannel jammies trying to get the old bones warm enough to actually get up and do something. Anything!

Last night, as we drove to Wal-Mart to do our shopping, a huge peach colored moon came into sight just above the tree line over the farmer's fields. It was truly a spectacular sight and me, without my camera, of course! I followed that moon all the way to the store and it just became more and more beautiful to me. The sky was a pretty shade of blue, and as it darkened, the moon became more softer looking and I could swear there was a face in it.

I arrived at the store and spent an hour or so looking at potting soil, buying wildflower seed, lots of it! For some reason I bought lavender to put in my rock garden. What a mistake! By the time I got home from the shopping trip my eyes were almost too swollen to enjoy that gorgeous moon, much higher in the sky by then.

My plantings don't do too well with the deer eating up my tulips,lillies and other expensive plants as soon as they reach the stage just before the bud begins to open. And I notice less and less of my bulbs, planted by the hundreds, just seem to have disappeared. It is disheartening because I look forward to the first tulip to make it through safely somehow, and now I just get leaves. What a bummer! The deer do stay away from my daffodils though. Thank goodness because I look forward to the first sight of yellow in my yard. It gives me an automatic lift. I even love the dandelions that pop up everywhere and I forbid my hubby to destroy them. No manicured lawn for me. Wildflowers (weeds to some) are beautiful to me. Especially when accompanied by the bright purple and white of the wild wood violets. It is a heavenly sight to drive up and be greeted by all that color. It looks likes a painter's palette. The good Lord's doing and not mine.

I remember my great love of flowers caused me a lot of grief when I was younger. A bad habit of putting my hands through the slats of the neighbor's fence to pick all the beautiful colored flowers usually landed me in hot water with my parents. Especially when I picked our landlady's prize roses which were to be judged in a contest. Stems didn't look too exciting after I was through with them. I was so proud to bring my mom those beautiful roses though. Even without stems. She chewed me out and then put the blossoms in a large clear bowl on the kitchen table. They were sweet and worth the trouble. Until the landlady came over and yelled at me while shaking a large wooden spoon in her hand. I knew what she would rather have done with it. Ah to be a 3 year old again. Oh well, the landlady made us move shortly thereafter and I went on to greener pastures. I also grew up to know better. Not that it kept me from snitching a flower or two when they were in my way while walking home from school. I couldn't leave them there to be trampled now could I?

Ah youth, climbing apple trees and reading a book, all the while smelling the sweetly scented blossoms. Once after moving to the country when I was 13 I wandered into a farmer's field. Just by accident of course. Walking through the tall grass toward the apple trees, I was delighted to find a tree I could climb without too much trouble seeing as how I was carrying a book and a journal to write my poetry. I made it up that tree and got nice and comfortable and during my musings, fell asleep. I awoke to cows milling around beneath me. I had never encountered cows before and they looked mighty big to me. I sat in that tree until the farmer's son came out to call in the herd and he walked right under my tree. MY tree! I had to let him know I was there and couldn't get down because of the cows. I thought he would bust a gut laughing and I forever heard about it all through high school.

Well, the sun is now streaming in the living room window, right on my left shoulder and I am getting mighty warm just sitting here. I think it's time to move, as in getting showered and dressed before someone comes to the door and catches me. I don't think blue jammies with snowmen is quite the fashion statement now. Especially for someone my age.

Have a great day and if you have sunshine, send up a Thank You. We've had a long and dreary winter as far as I'm concerned.

Hugs,
Precious Memories

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