A Spring Day

Beautiful and soft breezes abounded yesterday, and there was no other choice but to be outdoors wrapped in those very warm wafts of mild air.

I pulled out dozens of alien beasts (invasive weeds) from the flower garden in the front yard. Some strange sort of plant that looked like chives, but is perhaps a wild, unwelcome onion grass, had popped up in that spot. Plus, I have an ongoing battle with the ever-present thistle which keeps returning its obstinate self; its propensity to propagate and its sharp edges and leaves represent the pinnacle of an evil plant, in my view. 🙂

Last year the fragrant verbena bush died that was front and center, so I took a picture of it and went to the garden store and replaced it (a type of Korean spice vibirnum). It is blooming now, which means it survived the winter. I’ve noticed this bush always blooms around Mother’s day or my birthday, and is amazingly fragrant.

It’s spicy perfume was right next to me while I worked. With the breezes and the sweet scent drifting nearby, several hours passed by quickly.

The spring daffodils and tulips have done their job now, and nothing will be blooming near the front door from this point forward. That flower bed space is clear, the spring bulbs are done blooming, and those empty spots are calling out for something to fill in the gaps, so I will go to the garden store and see what calls out to me….

These (mini) grape hyacinths look quite different close-up than they do from far away, and they actually have a fragrance, too, but you have to get very close to them and inhale to know that. These tiny blooms look like little bells, pointing downward, heralding little songs to the ground beneath them.

(Do you think I am weird? Maybe the birds’ songs are songs of praise… maybe flowers and trees speak a language we do not speak… at least I can imagine all of this is going on… and I like to think it so, even if I am wrong. There are worse things to be wrong about.)

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
    let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
¹²  let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalm 96:11-12

This stubborn robin continued to build her nest on the light fixture right by the front door, after we repeatedly tried to move it. I didn’t think it was safe for the bird or us. 🙂 We’d move it one day and the next day, she had rebuilt it. When we were out of town recently and returned, my son discovered there were eggs in the nest, so the nest will stay where it is. She flies away now in a huff whenever the door opens or someone approaches. I am wondering how much of a mama bear this mama bird is going to be when those baby birds hatch. Is she going to come after anyone who comes near the front door? My son, E, has a very vivid memory of getting pecked by a mother robin when he peeked into her nest to see the fledglings a few years ago. 🙂

Too much creation and bursting beauty around, too many things hankering for life and just enjoying their simple existence– I don’t want to think about anything else, the mundane things, the goings-on in my small world, any self-centered thoughts. When you stop and look carefully, how can all of this life and order and beauty point to anything else but a Creator God? I think it’s easier to see all of this in spring and summer (at least it’s easier for me), when creation comes alive after a long winter dormancy.

¹² “For you shall go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
    shall break forth into singing,
    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

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