Sunday, March 19, 2023

Spring!

 


"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:  As soon as its twigs get tender and the leaves come out, you know that summer is near." ~Matthew 24:32


Spring has yet to officially arrive on the calendar, but here in our own backyard, the signs of new growth are everywhere you look.  I know that some of my readers live in colder regions of the country, and have yet to experience the first whispers of spring's promises, but I hope and pray this little tour of our yard will filly you with anticipation for the warmer weather that will be here before you know it.

While most of our daffodil "family" blooms in February, these narcissus plants blossomed on March 1, my birthday.  What a great gift that was!



We don't know how or why they got here, but these trilliums, native to the Smoky Mountains, appear in our yard several years back, and seem to have firmly established themselves.

 



Moss is greening once again.




Fiddle-head ferns arise from the loamy soil.



A brave violet shows its delicate face.


And the azaleas are beginning to bloom, in spite of the fact that we neither trim nor fertilize them.  God's doing a great job all on His own!





Yes, God's amazing creation calls to us, sings to us, invites us to savor all of spring's promise and glory.  May your spring season, when it finally arrives, be just as beautiful!

Amen!

55 comments:

  1. Let's see...this morning at 5:00 when I got in my truck it was 23 degrees. Yesterday it was the same. Even so there are some hearty flowers showing. I don't know one from another but i believe they are daffodils.. I'll have to ask someone who knows! LOL I look forward to when Spring hits for real because that means summer is right around the corner. Have a super day Martha.

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    1. More than likely, they are daffodils, Bill. They are usually the ones, at least a certain strain of them, who dare to rear their heads as early as February here. Hang in there, spring (and summer) are on the way!
      Love and blessings!

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  2. Here too the first signs of Spring are in our garden. But I'll admit I cannot name them as you do. To me they are all either flowers or plants of some sort. The vines are still to wake up though.

    God bless you and yours.

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    1. It's okay if you can't name the plants in your garden, Victor. What matters is that you appreciate them as another perfect creation by God.
      Love and blessings!

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  3. We bought pansies a week ago -- too ready for spring. I've spent the last week moving them (still in their flats) in and out of the garage. Today, however, just might be planting day!

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    1. Hooray! I do love planting things in the spring, Glynn. Here's hoping your pansies thrive!
      Love and blessings!

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  4. Happy belated birthday to you!
    Thanks for sharing many beautiful spring flowers.

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    1. Thanks so much for the birthday wishes, Crane! Glad you enjoyed my mini spring tour here.
      Love and blessings!

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  5. Beautiful sings of spring!! Those trilliums from the mountains...maybe they came back with you from one of your trips and you didn't know it! They were "hitchhikers" on your shoes or clothes or something!! And those fiddlehead ferns...did you know they are a real delicacy in New England? They saute' them in butter (the little round head of the fiddlehead) and eat them. They are good! I hope you have a blessed and beautiful spring time. It's cold here in sunny Florida today...46 degrees at 10:45 a.m.!!! Wow! Not sure what happened! But it will soon warm up again and we'll be wishing it was cooler. Take care my friend.

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    1. Believe it or not, Pamela, it's in the high twenties here this morning. Brrr! But things are supposed to warm up nicely this week. I think you may be right about the hitchhiking trilliums, too. I never knew that folks in New England considered the fern a delicacy. Me? I'd rather just watch them grow!
      Love and blessings!

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  6. Thank you for delighting my heart today with your tour of spring sightings, Martha! We still have piles of snow here. But Spring will come! Love and blessings to you!

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    1. I figured that you, Trudy, like so many of my northern friends were still buried in snow, and that you could use the beauty that our early spring holds. Yes, spring will come in its own time, and I know you will more than appreciate it when it does. Glad these photos cheered you heart!
      Love and blessings!

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  7. That you for all the information on these plants. Being in California we have flowering plants year round. I don't have any bulbs planted so I'm not sure when they come up. Have a great week. Thanks for the nice photos.

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    1. Bulbs won't grow everywhere, Debby, only where they can experience cold winters. I'm assuming, since you say you have year-round blossoms, that your winters are mild. Glad you enjoyed the photos!
      Love and blessings!

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  8. Thank you for sharing you garden with us. It was 31 degrees when I called time-temperature before I had to go to the bank and to the pharmacy. Peace and blessings to you and yours.

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    1. So glad the photos cheered you, Cecelia. Thanks for going on this tour with me.
      Love and blessings!

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  9. Your yard looks abuzz with the beauty of new life! Praise for the hopefulness that Spring brings!

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    1. Amen! Let the spring keep coming.
      Love and blessings!

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  10. There are signs of spring everywhere, we have to just seek, look and appreciate all the beauty that surrounds us. Your garden is absolutely beautiful and thank you for sharing it.
    Peace and blessings!

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    1. Yes, the signs are everywhere when we take the time to slow down and observe. I know you do lots of that as you are continually taking beautiful photos. Glad you joined me on this tour, Bill.
      Love and blessings!

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  11. Dearest Martha Jane,
    Happy belated Birthday!
    Trilliums are native in the entire southeastern United States, we used to have them in our previous garden.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. I never realized that, Mariette, so thanks for informing me. It still doesn't solve the mystery, but I'll simply take it for what it is. And thanks for the birthday wishes!
      Love and blessings!

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    2. Martha Jane—birds eat seeds and then they 'poop'... We got lots of such bird—gifts! ♻️

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  12. I just love the daffodils! Thank you for showing us your little patch of Heaven on earth!

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    1. I'm so gratified to know that you view our yard with the same awe as we do, Myra. Heaven on earth is just what it feels like. Daffodils have always been one of my favorites - they just exude a joyous feeling.
      Love and blessings!

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  13. Enjoyed these beautiful spring flowers! Happy belated birthday!

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  14. Olá Marta
    Lindo jardim, a criação do Senhor é maravilhosa, feliz aniversário, desculpe o atraso, que Deus te abençoe sempre, um forte abraço.

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    1. So glad you enjoyed the photos, Lucinalva, and thanks for the birthday wishes.
      Love and blessings!

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  15. Isn't it glorious that God finishes off the cold, short, often-cloudy days of winter with an explosion of colorful flowers--the crocus, daffodils, and violets among them. I love their hardiness, refusing to give in to wind, hard rain, and chill without a fight. Lord, help me be like these harbingers of spring!

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    1. May we all be as hardy as these early blooms, Nancy. And yes, I love how God's glorious flowers shoo winter away at long last.
      Love and blessings!

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  16. Spring has been playing games with us here in Middle Tennessee, Martha. We get days that make us anticipate sitting around the patio, sipping on our morning coffee and watching the humming birds. Then we get days in a row where it barely gets above freezing during the day and gets down in the teens at night. About the only thing growing around our house is my level of frustration with the schizophrenic weather. But as much as it disappoints me sometimes, I'm not like some of those morons who think human beings who can't even control their own impulses can control the weather. It may not be blooming much around here yet, but the God we serve has color waiting in the wings beyond anything we can imagine. Thanks for the bright, encouraging tour, dear friend, and as many others have said, Happy Belated Birthday.

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    1. We have also experienced some of that wayward weather here, Ron, but luckily, after these photos were taken. It seems the hard freeze we experienced a few days ago nipped the azaleas pretty good. Be glad your spring is waiting a bit longer to come to fruition. Thanks for the birthday wishes!
      Love and blessings!

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  17. Happy Spring, Martha!! I enjoyed your photos!! God is so good!

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    1. Amen, Terri! God is good, all the time.
      Love and blessings!

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  18. Lovely pictures Martha. Happy Spring sweet lady. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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    1. Thanks, Cindy, and happy spring to you, too!
      Love and blessings!

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  19. It is so wonderful to see everything coming to life once again! I am SO grateful to God for sparing my life to see another beautiful spring. He is so faithful.

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    1. Amen, Cheryl! Our God is always faithful, no matter what. So glad you are here to enjoy another spring with us!
      Love and blessings!

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  20. Since I live south of you about a day's drive, Spring has already arrived here and yes, it is beautiful. I continue to marvel at all the many colors of spring flowers that don't generally show up in Colorado, where heavy wet spring snowstorms tend to steal the colorful show we see in the South. I've been here nearly 6 years and am enjoying it. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures!

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    1. Florida is all in bloom this time of year, too, Barbara. So glad you enjoy where you're living now, and that you enjoyed the photos I shared.
      Love and blessings!

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  21. It's been a crazy combination of Winter-Spring-Winter-SUMMER-Winter-Spring-Fall-Winter here the past few months. LOL My poor pastures aren't sure what they should be doing. :-) For the most part, it's been soaking up the rain for the past month. "Thank You Lord!"

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    1. So, so happy y'all finally got the rain you so badly needed, J. D. But the swing in temperatures is crazy, for sure! We're now in another warm spell, but winter temps will be making a comeback next week. I do hope that's the last hurrah for that!
      Love and blessings!

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  22. Susan here from thecontemplativecat. Seeing the trillions blooming brought back memories of mushroom hunting in the woods. I don't know how many 'rooms we got, but it was exciting for an 8 yr. old.

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    1. I'll bet that was exciting, Susan! My friend, Mariette (who often comments here) and her husband were in the mushroom research business for years, and know so much about these delicacies. If you see her name on my blog, click on it and it will direct you to her blog.
      Love and blessings!

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    2. Martha Jane,
      Pieter was not in the mushroom research but he was the founder and principal of a practical training college—unique in the world. He taught in three languages: Dutch, German and English and he also wrote the book and other manuals as there was NO material available. Now in 9 languages. https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2018/03/1978-pjc-vedders-modern-mushroom.html
      As for foraging wild mushrooms in the woods—that is completely different from the cultivated edible ones. We are no expert in that field.
      Hugs,
      Mariette

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    3. You might have missed this post: https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2022/09/september-9-1969-grand-opening.html

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  23. I enjoyed your beautiful spring sightings, Martha.
    Happy Spring!

    Hugs and blessings

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed these, Veronica.
      Love and blessings!

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  24. For behold, the winter is past, The rain is over, it is gone:
    The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing is come, Song of Songs 2: 11-12.

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  25. our photos are simply beautiful, Martha. I pray to savor Spring's promises and glory as it points me to the Creator himself. By the way, we were traveling for our channel and I could not comment until we got home. Spotty wi-fi! God bless!

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