A Solid Hint of Spring

Sprouts are sprouting and buds are blossoming!

These are a mixture of spinach, romaine lettuce, and green and red swiss chard.

As soon as we get the garden tilled up just so, with all the good compost and nutrients added back in, we will transplant our 'cool weather' seedlings into the our backyard garden.

Are any of you getting your gardens started?

Javamom

Favorite Things

This edition of Favorite Things is dedicated to the wedding planning/shopping. Our daughter, her fiance and I have been researching photos, websites and all sorts of ideas. She has been making notes while I take photos of ideas she and her fiance are settling on for the big ceremony and celebration. K's fiance has drawn and is finishing the painting of their wedding invitations.

These are the Perfect Shoes ~ Do they remind you of anything? They are patterned after the design of Danielle's shoes in the movie 'Ever After.' These are in ivory, while the Ever After shoes were in silver and white.

Table decorations. We hope to have Indian Paintbrush wildflowers to place in bottles. There may be something else in the water in the bottles, which will keep the little kids entertained.

The following informal bouquet is one idea dd has for the wedding ~

I bought these to place out on the front porch ~

Another idea for guest table centerpieces. I have a collection of pottery pitchers, and the kids like the idea of using them to decorate the tables. Sunflowers are one choice, but it all depends on what's most available. Dd loves wildflowers, so that is what she is hoping for.

Since tree leaves will be somewhat limited in mid-late march, we've come up with these tea lights to hang from various branches of our backyard trees.

One of my girlfriends, who is like an aunt to the bride, has bunches of ivy vines she needs to clip back in her yard. We are going to work together and use those vines to create our own wildflower heart wreaths.

We purchased these garlands and flowers already to post around the deck railing and in places on the second-hand iron gazebo we've purchased as a focal point for the service. I think we will wish we had more! Or, we can fill in the gaps with fresh flowers, perhaps.

I love symmetry when it helps to balance out areas that are not symmetrical, so I purchased 14 glazed pottery pots to line the deck. I told the kids that I liked them and would buy them for deck decorations in the spring anyway, and that they did not have to agree to use them for the wedding unless they really liked the layout and pots. I think dd was surprised at how it softens and dresses up the barnwood, so we'll either plant wildflowers or Tulips in them. I need to find four more at a different JoAnn's to have enough for the far railing to the left of where these photos end.

Do you like the look?

Ooooh, gorgeous lace we've already purchased ...



Another view of the bouquet idea ~

May or may not make some of these for the doors and windows on the house ~ Dogwood provides such a picture of early spring, but it may be the wrong shade of yellow for the look our dd wants.

Veil ideas ~

and a lovely, lovely shawl. Do I need this? I may go with a bolero or other jacket over my dress, instead. Easier to move around during the reception.

In case you are interested, this is where you can find those beautiful shoes!

I'll post a progress report when we get the gazebo assembled.

Javamom, mother of the bride :-)

Some of our regulars

This was taken about two weeks ago. It is amazing how quickly Spring has sprung here, ever since the end of February, actually.






Our Garden is going in nicely, now we hope the wind will not destroy our plants! It has been very gusty. I'll post garden photos when the wind dies down and I can capture a few good shots.

I also need to update the blog with some photos of our spring break family camping trip. The vacation time was so relaxing. When we returned home, we hit the ground running and only now is it about to slow down just a wee bit. We still have some big events that we've been getting ready for.

More on all that another day. Can't let any cats out of the bag just yet.


Javamom

Today is Beautiful

Bradford Pear blossoms and lots of bees ~ We have gardening plans to act upon this weekend!








The bees are also surrounding the Rosemary bush blossoms beneath these beautiful (but smelly) white blossoms.

This has been a gorgeous week. It is so sunny and warm today that I had to switch on the AC, but it should only be for a few hours; and we'll keep the thermostat at 78 degrees.

The only thing lacking is a little bit of beneficial rain.

Blue-eyed grass

This is one of my top five favorite Spring blossoms

After the rain

The after-the-storm-blown blossoms are like confetti on the driveway, as if some celebration had just gone on in the sky.

~ TP'd again ~

Our boys had some fun tp-ing our friends' home...so said friends got even :-). Though said friends have also gotten us two or three times now, and one of our boys participated in the aforementioned activity only once.

Yes, our boys had to clean it all up, with a little help from Dread Pirate Sparsebeard. He can wield the extend-a-poll a lot better than Jr. High arms can. He's strong from all that Swabbing of the decks, raising of the sails, and all that "piratey" stuff, LOL.

One reason to love Texas

Pear Blossoms - do you see the bee in the top photo?



It is in the mid 70's today, and no wind. It's just blue skies (smilin' at me) blooms, and the soft, buzzing hum of honey bees :-). The bees kept avoiding my camera lens, but there are hundreds of them hovering around all the blossoms. I caught one in the top photo.

Rose Bushes ~ I get to wake up to the view of two of these bushes every morning. They are bursting with blooms!

Indian Paintbrush

Indian Paintbrush

Spring is in full swing, here. The trees are all filled with new, bright-green leaves, and the Indian Paintbrush and Blue-eyed grass are blooming, as well! When our oldest kids were very little, we used to pick the clumps of Blue-eyed grass to put in a small vase for their Daddy, and we called them "Daddy's Flowers," since his birthday is in April, when they come out in force.

Wildflower
a poem (among others on the site) with a natural theme


On the grassy hills grows a wildflower
Breathing in the sun like heavy air
Free to dance with the wind every hour
And the bees and neighbors without care

She came from the sky, as all wildflowers
Falling into a comforable place
Devouring the succulent season's powers
Proud perennials pale in light of her delicate face

Sweet is the rose, but shows her teeth
A rose, prisoner of her own lovely thrill
Groomed and prepared to perform a loving feat
While wildflower dreams of ecstasy on next year's hill

Wildflower captured a heart on Spring
But the season's change carried her away
The wind blew, she set free, it seemed the natural thing
Yet she dreams of deeper roots, some day, giving her cause to stay

-- S. Shelton

Rainy Day Redbud

Courtesy of our own Ansel Adams son, who really prefers taking B&W photos

*Spring has Sprung*

Spring Goeth All in White

Spring goeth all in white,
Crowned with milk-white may:
In fleecy flocks of light
O'er heaven the white clouds stray:

White butterflies in the air;
White daisies prank the ground:
The cherry and hoary pear
Scatter their snow around.
~Robert Bridges

This is the same tree I photographed in its autumn splendor back in December!