Changing Seasons

It's not spring yet but you wouldn't know it from the way the gardens are looking around here. Several days of 70 degree weather has brought all the daffodils out. I am not complaining at all!

With the warmer temperatures we spent the afternoon walking the Garden's and snapping some photos. There was yellow everywhere you looked, it was a beautiful sight.

Just a s the seasons seem to be changing from winter to spring, our "life" season continues to change. I've been   debating on whether or not to continue with my blog, I wondered whether the time for it ended?  I have not been able to devote as much time to it as once did, but there are still things I want to remember, and photos that I don't want buried on my phone.

I asked for some feedback and the response was a surprising, yes, please continue, so I am.
The blog may look different going forward, there may just be a memory of the day, or a photo, or a scripture. It will still be a reflection on what is happening in our lives, how the Lord is working, but sometimes it may just be something I saw and want to remember. Something beautiful or ordinary that makes up the stuff of life.

The photo below is a clue as to what has been taking up all my time. Our room over the garage has gone from being a playroom for my grandchildren to an office/storeroom, I never saw this one coming!

May Moments

May was full of flowers and family. We started the month with a visit from my sister and ended the month with the arrival of our DIL and grandchildren. In between we spent most weekends at the Garden's enjoying all the beautiful flowers. The roses were blooming this month and they were spectacular. May is also strawberry picking month for this area and we managed to pick 20 pounds before we realized it.

Our grandchildren flew in on the 29th and we have been enjoying every minute with them. "June Moments" will probably be photo heavy with all our everyday activities with them but for now, here's a little sampling of what our month of May looked like

Roses

The Roses are blooming at the Garden's. I get really excited when the first flowers of Spring start blooming but when the Roses start blooming in the Garden's it's quite spectacular.

A trip to the Garden's on a Sunday afternoon after church is probably one of my favorite things to do.  You can take a leisurely walk or ride a free tram around the Garden. The last couple of weeks we haven't made it much further than the Rose Garden (near the front of the Garden) I start taking photos and before I know it we've been there two hours and it's time to go home.

The Garden is a peaceful place for us. It's a place to slow down, it a place you sit  for hours, if that's what you want to do.  I've been known to sit a spell and take all the beauty in, not for hours but for a good long time. You can do a lot of thinking in the Garden's. 

 

The roses are just about done now, but the Perennial  Garden is just coming into bloom. That's the nice thing about the Garden, something is always in bloom.

I have roses in my garden too. I'm not great at growing roses but I try. Roses can be kind of fussy and mine always seem to get black spot or mildew. The rose below is blooming in my garden and is called Coretta Scott King. I found it at the Garden Center at the end of last summer, it looked pretty pitiful then and needed rescuing. I didn't really know what it was going to look like when it bloomed, but like the two toned colors, I hope it does well this summer. We will start to have Japanese Beetles soon, the roses will be covered, so now is the time to enjoy the blooms. Anything pretty blooming where you are?

Thoughts on Mother's Day

Before you all get the wrong idea about what I am to write, let me assure you, I had a very nice Mother's Day. I heard from the one's that I love, I was treated to an afternoon at the Gardens and served a scrumptious meal of Soft Shell Crab by my husband. (complete with a small fire on the stove top, caused by splattering oil. I had to giggle a bit over the fire, it really was quite small, my husband is very competent in the kitchen, so this kind of thing just doesn't happen) In the end everything was delicious and he did an amazing job cleaning up the mess.

What came to mind yesterday morning when I was thinking about Mother's day was how difficult a day it was going to be for a lot of women.  I thought of those that wanted to be moms but couldn't. The moms with estranged children, or prodigals or those that have lost a child. What about those that have lost a mom or who's mom isn't like the one in the Hallmark commercial. My heart was heavy with the thought of it.

I am not anti Mother's Day, being a mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world, having a day to honor them is a good thing. What we need though is to be aware of is the pain that this day may magnify for so many others. (I know I'm a little late on this one) I know you know who these ladies are in your life, pray with them, encourage them, point them to the Savior who sticks closer than a brother.  Remind them of the truth of the Word. Be there for them, let the Lord direct you in how you can best serve and minister to them.

                          Photo below taken of my mom and I almost thirty years ago

Touring Through The Gardens Note Card Party

One of our favorite excursions is a trip to the Botanical Gardens near our home. The Garden's cover 155 acres, with over 40 themed gardens. I can't think of a time of year when I don't enjoy visiting. It's a beautiful place to take a walk, with lots of areas to sit, tucked all through the gardens. If walking through 155 acres seems a little daunting, you can hop a tram or take a little boat ride. Each time we go we chose a different direction to walk, you never see the entire Garden with one visit, that's why we get a Family Pass each year.It's hard to pick a  favorite time of year to go, there is Spring with the beautiful azaleas

But I also love the Bicentennial Rose Garden that begins blooming around the end of May

With Summer the Perennial Gardens are blooming, and this year they hung baskets on the                      bridge... gave me all kinds of inspiration for my own garden next year

The hours change with the arrival of Fall but the Garden is still a great place to visit that time of year. Temperatures are cooler, so the walking a little more pleasant and the fall color is beautiful. Starting in December till the first part of January, they have the Garden of Lights, this helps keep interest up in the Gardens all year round

I know it's not the same as being there but I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of the Gardens. Linking up with  Vee today and her Note Card Party

Day Lilly Show

We ran onto a  Day Lilly Show at our last visit to the Botanical Gardens the other day, it was really a nice little surprise. The flowers were beautiful, with many types represented, there were small ones and large ones, singles and doubles, many I had never seen before. They had already been judged...and to be honest I couldn't tell you why one flower would get a blue ribbon and another get a red one...I thought they were all beautiful but I think what fascinated me the most were the flower arrangements. I had never considered putting  Day Lillie's into any type of flower arrangement...after all they are called Day Lillie's for a reason, the blooms generally only last a day, closing up at dusk. When I went through the different rooms I thought about how these gardeners must have been up at dawn collecting just the perfect specimen's. Then they had to get them into an arrangement for judging all before show time....it had to be a pretty frantic morning for them. Perhaps I was thinking about what I would probably be going through if I ever did this...think I will just enjoy their efforts..hope you do too.

Virtual Garden Tour

The azaleas are blooming at Botanical Gardens, now I know the drive may be a bit far for you all but I wanted you to see how beautiful they are, so I thought I would take you on a little virtual walk with me...they really are lovely.

Our spring has been delightfully "spring like" with temps in the 60's during the day...kind of unusual for southern Virginia. The milder temperatures have prolonged the blooms on our trees and shrubs.

The Garden has an annual plant sale every Mother's Day weekend, it's been a great way to try native plants. I have managed to keep a butterfly bush alive as well as a rose of sharon that I have purchased through one of those sales

Our Ladies Group makes an annual trip to the Garden's when the Rose Garden is in bloom, that should       be in another couple of weeks. There were just a couple of roses blooming this weekend

Hope you have enjoyed the walk and hope you are enjoying spring where ever you may be. Does your city or town have a garden that you can visit?

Spring always makes me think of new beginnings

Spring Has Sprung

We went to the Botanical gardens last weekend and guess what?...Spring is here!...Well actually it was here for about two days.... then guess what?...... Summer's here!

Our temperatures for the last couple of days have felt more like July than April... Folks are pulling their slip and slides and their kiddie pools out...no kidding.. but not to fear, judging from the weather map, our temperatures will be dropping like a rock by the end of the week....but I have enjoyed the warmth.

The Cherry Trees were blooming at the Gardens...note to self...you didn't have to go any further than 20 minutes down the road to see them. I will have to say seeing those blooms made me think of the kindness of God, I got to see Cherry Blossoms after all this year..plus the Bradford Pears were at their peak last weekend...they were beautiful

and the daffodils were still in bloom

and there were potted plants full of flowers everywhere

A stroll through the gardens is one of our favorite activities

I know some of you are still shivering in cold and snowy conditions....hoping you too will soon see signs of spring 

Happy Mother's Day in the Gardens

The rose garden in Botanical Gardens is in full bloom. Perfect way to spend Mother's Day afternoon. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there

He Directs my Steps

The last two days have been beautiful, weather beginning to warm up and there is signs of life everywhere. We decided after church we would head out to Botanical Gardens, it's a great place to spend an afternoon. We walked about an hour, there were benches throughout the garden, places to sit and enjoy the view. Camila garden was beautiful, azaleas just starting to flower, should be a gorgeous show in another week or two. I am blessed to have a husband who enjoys the gardens as much as I do, we are already planning our return visit.

Work yesterday....I made it. I prayed for grace that morning...Lord just give me the grace I need to get through the day. Much different Monday than last week. A  plant with little yellow flowers waiting for me on my desk, ready to plant in my garden.(a gift from a friend) I received encouragement and offers of assist from my coworkers, it was a much calmer atmosphere. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers. I worked about five hours, then decided it was time to go. Praying that the Lord will continue to direct me in this transition.

My continuing to work is a subject my husband and I have talked about. I decreased my time to twenty hours a week when I went back to work in December. I now only work three days a week. We really haven't been able to determine how this new schedule is working for us (there was the holidays, vacation, then out again for surgery) so we don't feel like we should make any decisions right now. My husband and I  will revisit this subject in a couple of months...we need to see how the current changes work first... and our lives may be changing again. Praying  the Lord will continue to direct our steps.

"O Lord you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord. You hem me in, behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me."  Psalm 139: 1-5

Searching for Signs of Spring

I am getting kind of weary of winter, for those of you in the Northeast and Midwest I know my complaint is laughable, our winters are generally mild in comparison, so I apologize for my whining. Today was sunny and in the 50's so we decided to head out to Botanical Gardens to see if we could find any evidences of spring. There was still patches of snow scattered here and there (we had 4 inches on Thursday) but there were also plenty of signs that spring could be close at hand. Several trees were budding and the daffodils were up about three inches. The gardens should be beautiful in another month. Spring is my favorite time of year, for me it has always represented new beginnings, even more than New Years. Everything comes back to life, it's a new start. I have a lot of hopes for spring this year.