Blooms & Prose....

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I'm hesitantly share these pictures of my hydrangeas....

I have planted and lost many in my dreams of having a garden full.

In a quiet whisper, so as not to be forced to eat large and loud braggadocious words later,

 

Here is my hydrangea story.

~

This past fall, I purchased 3 substantial and fairly healthy bushes that were on clearance at Houston Garden World for just $7.99.  I planted them in the back north facing bed, just underneath my pecan tree. With our extremely cold winter, a bit worried, I forced myself to read on their care.

Honestly, my many gardening books are vitamin D deprived!

 Quiet confused with the info for our "zone",  I erred on the side of doing little, watched them die back as expected and waited!!

To my pleasant surprise, as spring set in, there were reddish buds on the ends of the "old wood". Immediately I started second guessing my decision not to cut them back...But as they began to green and bloom, more tiny buds miraculously appeared up and down the "old wood".

And now here they are... 

 

 

Are they not beautiful?  Shhhh!

They have survived the torrential rains along with bevies of squirrel and dove company.  

 I'm praying, yes really praying they are rooted and ready for what's to come...

 since the JuneTexas heat is unpacking it's bag.

And speaking of bags, I'll be packing my own for 3 weeks.

 A blessed trip to hang out with my generous and lovely friend Robin of Pagosa Springs!

~Can you say weather heaven?~

Hoping when I get home, my blooms will have survived, along with St. Philip and our youngest.

Oh yeah, I'll be praying for them too and hoping that they will enjoy "their vacation"!

 

 

 

Hoping your blooms, whatever you have planted,
 are full of beauty, blessing and grace, B

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.”   Isaiah 43:18

A Morning Offering

I bless the night that nourished my heart
To set the ghosts of longing free
Into the flow and figure of dream
That went to harvest from the dark
Bread for the hunger no one sees.

All that is eternal in me
Welcome the wonder of this day,
The field of brightness it creates
Offering time for each thing
To arise and illuminate.

I place on the altar of dawn:
The quiet loyalty of breath,
The tent of thought where I shelter,
Wave of desire I am shore to
And all beauty drawn to the eye.

May my mind come alive today
To the invisible geography
That invites me to new frontiers,
To break the dead shell of yesterdays,
To risk being disturbed and changed.

May I have the courage today
To live the life that I would love,
To postpone my dream no longer
But do at last what I came here for
And waste my heart on fear no more.

John O’Donohue ~ (1956-2008)
To Bless the Space Between Us

Weekend Snag...Farm Find

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This is the tail portion of the old windmill from St. Philip’s family farm near Moulton, Texas.   No longer used for its real purpose, I plan to display it in the farmhouse once it has WALLS…As you can see, it has served the farm well over the years including stand in target for little boys with plenty of energy and 22 ammo! 

 

What do you think, PAINT OR NOT? 

I’m torn!

 

Pulled it out of the brush on our trip last weekend, when

St. Philip and I decided we needed to get away for some much needed respite.  

A bit hard when there is always something there that needs his attention, like a half finished farmhouse!!!

 

And after years of talking about it, walking around it, deliberating where to begin…we decided to start taking down the dilapidated house that has stubbornly stood on the property for the last 75 years.  We started on the "hardly recognizable as" back porch.

 

Two burn piles and few ultras later... 

 

Our hopes are to reclaim some of the beautifully aged interior wood for use in the new place. 

 

So yes we spent the weekend relaxing…

enjoying the last of spring’s cool breezes, pulling down the old back porch, looking for snakes and spiders, removing rusty ten penny nails, dodging bumble bees and cow patties and stacking perfectly patina-ed wood for safekeeping.

 

Saving these treasures for what, I'm not yet sure... 

And I've got my eyes on that beautiful blue wood just beyond the screen door.  Room by room, just a few weekends of toil away!

Needless to say, it was one of those weekends that end in the kind of cleansing exhaustion that makes you realize simple things are the most fulfilling!

 

I'm coming to appreciated more and more the graceful old charm that abounds at Shaw's Farm.

Praying you have a place that brings such grace and peace!

B