Saturday, May 1, 2010

Eye Candy.......

everywhere.....just everywhere. Green grass, trees leafing out and the flowers....oh the flowers. It amazes me how these delicate looking flowers can withstand the brutal winters we have here.....hidden underneath the soil, sleeping and waiting for the sun's warmth to entice them from their sleep to poke their heads above ground and explode in gorgeous colorful beauty for all to see. I love summer but this time of year is special. Its rebirth....and anyone who slows down long enough to absorb the beauty of it is rewarded with a calmness.....something soothing for our busy minds.....a time to take a deep breath and just sigh and say.......oh yessss.

Everything outside is perking up and I love it. Today I awoke at 7 a.m. to a very dark morning. I let the dog out and heard the rumblings of thunder and then saw a few flashes of lightning. I got her safely back inside and within five minutes we had a thundershower. A nice soaking one that does the plants and grass so much good. I looked at the dog and she looked at me and we decided mutually that this is Saturday.....and Saturdays can be what you want them to be if you don't have to work. So we went back to bed and snuggled under the comforter and listened to the rumblings of the thunder and the rain pattering on the roof before dropping back to sleep for a couple more hours. These are the occasions that I experience a sense of well-being and thankfulness. Thankful for the blessings that I have, that I'm warm and dry and safe.

Its been cloudy and rainy all day and the same is forecast for tomorrow. I don't mind because I know we need it to make everything out there grow. I checked my peony bush and right on schedule, the ants are frolicking all over the buds, encouraging them to open up and expose their beauty for all to see. You know peony bushes are fussy. This particular one belonged to my best friend and next door neighbor. When she moved out of state, she told me I could have the peony bush that grew beside her front door. Another friend dug a hole close to my front door which faces the same direction as hers and walked over to her house, dug up her bush and brought it over here and plunked it into the hole by my door. This was in November. I don't really have a green thumb even though I love plants and some of my green thumb friends told me that peony bushes are finicky and it would probably not bloom for a couple years since it had been moved. So I prepared myself for it but was pleasantly surprised when it did bloom, right on time.

Now this has always been a funny story with me because it was as if the peony bush didn't realize it had been moved since it was facing the exact same direction and apparently my friend plunked it down into the new hole the same way it was taken out of the old one. Anyway, it bloomed and I picture it opening its buds and taking a look around only to be shocked that it had been moved while it had been sleeping. After gasping in horror, it promptly lifted its leafy skirts, curled up its roots and refused to bloom for two years afterward, being all indignant over the move. But finally it got itself calmed down and back on track. It has doubled its size and has bloomed every year now for 18 years. This picture is a few years old and doesn't really do it justice, but you get the idea. Its just beautiful.

12 comments:

Respectfully Yours said...

Lovely post. Love the flowers. We managed to squeeze a golf game in today in between the storm.

Joy Des Jardins said...

You're peony bush is beautiful Val. We had a nice big one in our backyard by the office window for the longest time...and honestly, I'm not sure what happened to it. We've been having some rain here too...and high winds. I've noticed a lot of branches blown down around town; but today was sunny and warm. I love seeing all the flowers in everyone's yard. I still need to figure out what I'm going to do about some dead...and dying bushes in my front yard. Lord, I'm not good about these things. Happy weekend.... ~Joy xo

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

I agree, spring is such an exciting, thrilling, promising time. You are ahead of us; no ants on the peonies yet. But they'll be here soon. Have a great rest-of-the-weekend.

Linda@VS said...

There's nothing I find cozier than snuggling in bed during a thunderstorm. If my dogs could only share the pleasure, it would be perfect.

Loved the peony story.

Linda Medrano said...

That peony bush is gorgeous! I love Spring! It's my favorite season by far. It's such a time of hope and renewal! I always feel better in the Spring. Summer gets too hot for me! Winter too cold. Fall I hate because it means winter's coming! But April and May make it all worth while!

Maria said...

I never liked rain when I was younger. Now, I am one of those old fogeys in elevators who say things like, "It's good for our yards."

Mama Llama said...

I love peonies; that is something I ought to plant in my backyard. My spring garden has been glorious this year; the creeping phlox has kept its brilliance for so long that my tulip-to-rhododendron season has been bridged.
Lilacs, iris and rhodies coming out now--the perfect birthday present for this Llama!

Happy Spring, Val! Be well.

happyone said...

Spring is my favorite time of year!! I love watching everything turn green again and all the flowers coming up. One reason I walk in the morning. I can really stop and look!!
The peony bush is so pretty!!

ethelmaepotter! said...

Peonies are one of my favorites, and yours is so pretty.

We had torrential rains and record flooding the past two days. And even though the rain has ended, the rivers are still rising, so more flooding is expected. No fun!

Stay safe and enjoy your beautiful spring!

Cheryl said...

Spring makes winter bearable, don't you think? I'm in wonder every day over the greens and colors and the light.

I've never had a peony, but I love them and love your story.

Anonymous said...

After living in Florida for a year, the one thing I really wanted when we got back to Indiana was to PLANT SOMETHING IN REAL DIRT instead of sand. (nothing grows in sand!) I delight in my new Dahlias, and I even bought two hanging planters FILLED with assorted flowers that I have no name for. Now if only winter didn't have to come and take it all back....yeah...already I'm thinking about that. lol

p.s. My blog is back.

Anonymous said...

I have about 5 peony bushes and a couple of them smell like roses, I wish they'd stay blooming for longer than two weeks, and unfortunately this year we had a lot of rain and chilly weather so I didn't get to enjoy them as much as I'd like.