spring has sprung . . . .

spring has sprung -- part of a little jingle i learned in my scouting days.  so i thought of that today, of course, because it is the first day of spring; a beautiful day.

i took these three pictures on saturday, when we finally have had a very nice winter storm, at least in merced.  i've managed to walk in between downpours, so i've kept to my goal, and have reached my 2000 health miles prior to march 30.

we're told to keep walking anyway, even though we've reached our goal; we get $25 for achieving that goal, only no one has shared where that funding source is from!  i guess i could just say 'thank you' and leave it at that!

so a little bit about these spring pictures. . . .

prior to my mother's plan to move -- i believe she sensed that she would need to leave her home, and enter a retirement center where she could not keep everything she had -- including plants.  so, on one of my visits, she 'encouraged me' -- mom is very persuasive in her encouragements -- to take back the cymbidium i had given her when she moved to walnut creek in 1993 after retirement.

walnut creek is much milder than merced, and so i had to place the plant on the north side, where i never really see it; yes you guessed it, i hardly take care of it.  but by golly, after two winters, this plant still yields such grace!  i wonder if it thrives on neglect?!

this year yielded three spikes of orchards.  i clipped one on saturday because i finally noticed as i was finished my walk, that it was blooming!  i cut one spike and put it into the vase above; that was a vase that had not sell at mom's estate sale, so i thought it was an appropriate container.

i had another vase from a prior estate sale; this from a parishioner.  many members of our church will purchase a little something from a church member's estate sale to honor and remember them; i did the same.  so, here is this third picture. 

honestly, i never really understood orchards, so i'm not a great expert on them, but it amazes me that a plant you put in bark and water on occasion can yield such delicate blooms that piggy-back on one another and stay in bloom for long periods of time!

other plants don't do that.  case in point.  i wondered why my hanging baskets in the backyard were in such sorry state -- not that i give them much encouragement during the winter, but, still, i wouldn't call myself abusive!  anyway, as i was washing dishes yesterday, on the last day of winter, i began to understand why! 



those hanging baskets, of which i replaced the straw lining last summer, were being ceremoniously robbed by starlings and blue jays ... actually, there was a fight in the yard, that drew my attention; such a disturbance in my small little yard.  spring had sprung, and it was time to re-nest for the season, and evidently,the straw from MY baskets make a fine cosy nest.  i really should have invested my retirement in the hardware store industry, as it seems that i will be purchasing new straw liners again this season.

all of this is a reminder, of course, that spring has sprung ... the realization that after the winter season, when the cycle of life goes dormant, these signs of new life -- shoots of orchards and birds in search of nesting materials -- remind us that the cycle begins again with spring.  we need a period of rest and renewal so that the mystery of beautiful life can again emerge and we can begin again.

easter is not far off; the signs of life are all around us -- spring cleaning, showers that clean our systems and replenish our supplies, and shedding our sweat clothes for lighter ware.  literally, spring calls us to lighten up.  not a bad message to behold!  how will you spend your 'spring has sprung' day?