When I left for Dallas on May 17, the Pacific Northwest had just turned the corner fully into spring. White blossoms were showering from the apple trees, the forget-me-nots and wildflowers I planted in late April were beginning to sprout, and there was new green all around, tentative and vulnerable.
Arriving home on the 24th, I drove up the steep driveway into a paradise of purple ... tall columbines, blooming in indigo beside my front deck and everywhere else they've taken root since last year; rhododendron bushes covered with soft lavender and vibrant magenta blossoms; and lilac-hued flowers spiking out from the chive plant that has over-wintered in its pot for two years.
The apple and plum trees are completely leafed out now, casting shadows on the lawn, which at this moment is greatly in need of mowing. A large flock of bluish-gray band-tailed pigeons visits my birdfeeder every afternoon, and frogs chirp and croak their mating songs all night long. By 5:15 each morning, the sun is peeking through my bedroom window, a reminder that the summer solstice is a little over three weeks away.
I've taken the week off from blogging to dig in the earth (I've got a plot at the local community garden, and this is planting time) and to absorb what this season of change has brought for me.
Sounds like the perfect homecoming. Welcome back.
Posted by: Sharon | Friday, May 29, 2009 at 08:37 PM
Ah ... how lovely to read about the beauty of your region, and to think of you digging in the earth there, just as I am in the Midwest. Rounding the corner back to my neighborhood tonight, I found myself admiring the pure deep green of the lawn on the boulevard, and our trees!
Funny thing, I've been at work on an upcoming post on taking time off from blogging to get back in touch with my "natural self" and to spend more time outdoors this summer, as opposed to behind a computer monitor. I think we're onto something ... Enjoy this gorgeous season.
Posted by: Cindy L | Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 04:40 PM