Spring is Bustin' Out All Over!

All those days of waiting and watching and counting the days until Spring seem to be behind us ... as Spring has finally made its presence known here in Vicksburg.  I saw my first butterfly yesterday, and a wriggly worm greeted me when I was digging a hole while planting some flowers. After taking its dear time, Spring seems to have arrived overnight ... slipping up on us, with buds popping out of nowhere, unfolding like flowers in a time-lapse photography scene.  Everywhere I look in our yard, I see new life. In the trees ... And flowers ... Even the honey bees and bumblebees seem excited!  It won't be long before these little Midnight Elephant Ears ...  Will look like this ... And the tiny leaves on this Lantana plant ... Will turn into a profusion of yellow blooms ... In the backyard, I was happy to see two little green Mexican Petunia leaves poking up through the pine straw ... Soon they will look like this ... I also found mint creeping in and amongst the stones on our path leading to the backyard ... I'll have to be sure and keep it under control or it will take over the path! Little green tentacles of my Asparagus Ferns are waking up and reaching for the sun ... And this Umbrella Plant will soon take over its corner of the pond ... I love these little leaf sprouts on our Chaste Plant.                                 It won't be long until they look like this ... The leaves on the Japanese Maple tree in our courtyard are almost ready to transform it into a blaze of color.  Soon ...  And in the meantime, while all of these awesome transformations are happening, our heron, Harry, will be tending this urn of purple Petunias.  I can tell by the look on his face that he, too, is very happy that Spring is finally here.  Here are some close up shots of those petunias that I captured when the late afternoon sun was filtering through the petals. I hope Spring is bustin' out all over where you live, and you can take time to see God's glory up close and treasure each and every "how great Thou art" moment while watching His beautiful world unfold with new life.

A Special Visitor

I was working in my yard yesterday and was delighted to see my first butterfly of the season. He (or she) was enjoying the blooms on our Majestic Hawthorn bush, and almost landed on me. His wings were torn and tattered, as if he had just arrived after a long journey from wherever butterflies go in the winter. But I thought he was beautiful, and I ran inside to get my camera so I could capture that bright glorious spirit, gracefully flitting from flower to flower, as if he was sent to personally wish me a "Happy Spring!" I hope your weekend is filled with butterflies ... and flowers ... and the sound of birds singing their songs of Spring. For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. The flowers have already appeared in the land; The time has arrived for pruning the vines, And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land. The fig tree has ripened its figs, And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. [Song 2:11-13]

A Breath of Spring

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.                                                                                                  — Psalms 118:24

I know we should be thankful for each and every day, and find beauty in whatever weather the Lord sends our way ... but around this time of year, I always seem to find myself feeling restless and longing for warmer days and something GREEN outside the windows.



I call this restlessness "Spring Fever," and Mark Twain must have felt it, too, because he described exactly how I've been feeling for the past couple of weeks. Mr. Twain opined:

“It's spring fever when you don't quite know what it is you want,
but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”

Is that not profound!

I feel fortunate to live in Mississippi, where our winter landscapes and roads aren't covered with snow and slushy, dirty ice for weeks at a time. I can imagine how depressing that might be after a while, so I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one suffering from this thing we call spring fever.

Today, I'd like to send a little "breath of Spring" your way by sharing some of my pictures from last Spring. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I took these pictures ... so, hopefully, we won't have long to wait and pine before this Spring will be here.

Bradford Pear Tree

Bradford Pear Blossom

Japanese Tulip Tree

Nothing says "Spring" like Tulips ...

And Azaleas

And Dogwood ...

And here in Mississippi, when we see the Redbud Trees blooming, we know Spring has arrived ...

Most of these pictures were made last March, so we still have a few weeks to wait for its arrival here in Vicksburg. For those of you who have to wait a little longer, take heart and remember ...

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
                                                        — Hal Borland

A "Weed" is in the Eye of the Beholder

Last week, I wrote a post about Bradford Pear Trees, one of the prettiest early-Spring blooming trees here in Vicksburg. While I was out taking pictures of the Bradford Pears, I noticed several patches of tiny purple "weeds" growing amongst the grass near the pear trees. Of course, I had to get a closer look at the pretty purple flowers, so I stopped and took some pictures of them, too.

As I looked through the macro lens of my camera, I was amazed at how beautiful these delicate little flowers are up close. You can click on the photos to enlarge them, if you'd like.

After googling "purple weeds," I discovered that my purple flowers are a member of the mint family and are called "Henbit." A winter annual that blooms in the spring, Henbit is found throughout the United States. It's probably not very popular when it's growing in your grass ... but, after seeing these pictures, perhaps the next time you see some on the side of the road, you will remember the beauty hidden amongst all those little purple "weeds."