Spring Promises

As our lilacs promise to fully bloom within the week...

... our hope is that this Spring will bring a renewal

 of faith and trust in all that is good and true.

 

Our jonquils and daffodils

 raise their sunny faces to the morning sun.

The colors of early Spring...

The weather is warming up... finally...

 and our dogwoods and flowering trees will be in full bloom soon.

I can't help but smile looking up at these frothy pink blossoms!

Spring...

...a time of renewal, promise of all that is beautiful 

and hope for a better future.

We needed Spring.

Feeling sooo grateful that she is finally here!

:)

Heavenly Promise

The rains came last night.

Today was dark, dreary and cold.

But earlier this week...the sun shone brightly

 and the dogwoods in our yard put on a show.

Isn't it comforting to know the sun will come out again?

And things will seem brighter.

promise.

:)

Spring Zinc

It's a good thing I took pictures of  the lilacs and flowering trees while the sun was still shining last week...

...because, by the time the torrential rains end this weekend

 the blossoms will be gone.

Such a fleeting but always inspiring time of year...

The forecast is for clearing weather by Saturday ...

...just in time for the sale at Paula's home in Centerbrook, CT....

I have been dragging out the zinc pots and containers....

...still have to find all those watering cans.

Trying to decide what to bring to sell.

Can't keep it all!

Hope you are having a good and productive week...

decisions, decisions!

:)

Almost!

 

A few more days and our lilacs will be spectacular!

Our Japanese cherry tree will be in full bloom

 with hundreds of soft pink petals...

...and the white and pink dogwoods lining the driveway

 will be glorious!

Almost!

Don't you just love this time of year?

:)

Flower Power

How is it that these beautiful blooms have so much influence over my mood?



Is it because they are so temporary...their beauty so fleeting?



Perhaps it's because they represent a new beginning...
...a time of re-birth and transition...
...and hope.



...and the sunshine...oh the sunshine!
That has more influence than anything on my spirits...



While cleaning out today, I found this sunny yellow silk piano shawl in an old suitcase in the attic.
I cannot remember now who it belonged to or how or when it came to be here.
I guess it doesn't really matter...

I hung it on the clothesline to let it air out...
... its colorful silk flowers still hold the power to make me smile!

:)

Secret in the Old Dogwood Tree

If you have been reading my blog for a while.....you may remember that back on May 1st I did a post titled Grace....It happened to be my daughter's birthday and it included some vintage postcards addressed to a young Grace back in the early 1920's....In any case my photographs revolved around the blossoms of this old dogwood tree......



Being a parent of single young adults ... young love is on my mind.....
.... I admit....I have been fantasizing a bit.....



Combine these romantic musings with childhood recollections of an old tree we used to pass on our drive to my grandparents farm....This special tree had a big hole in the side which had been tarred over and the resident artist of the home it stood in front of, frequently painted varying characters on the flat tarred surface ......Bugs Bunny, Woody the Woodpecker, Mickey Mouse, Tinkerbell....to name a few that I recall.....It was a highlight of our short drive to Nana and Pop's farmhouse and if the tree happened to reveal a new painting.....we would all exclaim with delight as we drove past......



Anyway, this old dogwood in our backyard has a similar hole in it where a branch once grew ... The hole in our tree is not tarred over...in fact the cavity makes a perfect hideaway for some small trinket... or.... perhaps a love note? Hmmm....Is there a secret to unlock? What will we discover? You can see that my imagination has taken a turn....



Perhaps two young lovers....a Romeo and Juliet....could leave secret exchanges here...











Perhaps I have an overactive imagination and am ridiculously silly tonight....perhaps I am a romantic....perhaps you would like to write your own story?
Good night! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

This is a picture of my beautiful mother when she was 22 years old. My mom is an amazing person who to this day is hard working and full of fun. She raised four children, had a long career as a registered nurse and continues to be a volunteer with several organizations as well as an active church member. My mom is a talented decorator with an incredible sense of color and style and has always kept a beautiful home.....She is a great cook and loves to entertain....I have always felt loved and supported by her and admire her faith and courage. I do not know what I would do with out my mom....



These flox I picked from my mother in law's garden this afternoon. The vase I purchased from the annual sale at the school across the street this morning.....Sorry you missed it mom......50 cents!



Here is a photograph of my lovely mother in-law when she was a young mother.....My husband and I have lived next door to her and my father in-law all our married lives.....She too is a lot of fun.... Mom was a school teacher for many years and is a quilter and an artist. I could not have asked for a better mother in-law. My Mom and my Mom in-law are close friends.....and they were friends even before my husband and I were married...(that's a story for another time).



These grape hyacinths are from my mother in law's garden....







This picture was taken in March at the Webster Flea Market in Florida......both my Mom and Mom in-law came with me that day...... My Mom is 81 years young and my mother in-law is 87! Aren't they adorable? They were such troopers as I was determined to search every aisle .... we had a lot of fun together as we always do.



These double french lilacs were my mothers and when she moved to Florida we transplanted them to my mother in-law's back yard. Beautiful blossoms this year!







Mom's dogwoods in our yard .....finally a day without rain!
Not many people are blessed with both a mother and a mother in-law as special as mine!



Happy Mother's Day dear Moms , I hope you have fun together today!
And Happy Mother's day to all the mothers and friends that may read this post!