Through the Winter & Into Sunshine

I am so ready for the sunshine and warm weather. Today I came home and my Mt. Laurel was blooming with a glimpse of the sunshine coming through. It was amazing and I wanted it to last forever. Mt. Laurel grown from a pod in 1995, now 3' tall and blooms :-) I realize for the not-native-born Texans this has almost been a Winter Wonderland with the below 30's temperatures and even snow at times. This winter has been a long period of darkness, lacking sunshine and I think everyone is ready for the temperature to warm with no more freezes. As for me, well, I'm from the Galveston area, I'm a sun baby. Bring on the 90 degrees + temperatures. The sun energizes me to move around outside and square up with Mother Nature once more. I've been gardening since I can remember. Always putzing with my Mama Rush in her HUGE yard, with her garden of vegetables, Dewberry vines, Tomato plants, Day Lillies, Hollyhocks, Pink Roses and Forget Me Nots. Mother Nature has always been good for my soul...Dirty Hands, Happy Heart. I have spent a lot of time in the library pouring through every book on South Texas shrubs and natives and taking classes to improve my gardening skills with Bob Wesbster at Shades of Green. It has helped my gardening and my adjustment from a very humid area (Galveston County) where you can grow ferns and oleanders (but oh no, don't try that in San Antonio, TX) to the almost every - year drought in South Texas. When the trees are green, their canopies trimmed to let the sun shine through and the newly planted bedding plants are blooming, all is well with my corner of the world. This past winter it felt like we would never see the sun shine but I realize we are quite blessed not to have blizzards roar in...I think they were calling them "snowicanes" or some such (snow + hurricanes) up east but as most of my friends and family know, anything below 70 degrees is freezing to me. During those (supposed) 282 sun-shiny days in South Texas (yep, I read up on the data when I moved here in 1995) we should all remember that even during the darkest days of winter the sun is shining somewhere to bring sunlight to others and it soon will shine on us. I grew my Mt. Laurel from a pod just like Bob Webster tells everyone on his gardening show every year. My gardens were neglected this past year save and except the weekly ritual of mowing and tidying up. Actually, my entire lawn was left to survive on its on while I worked and traveled 4 days a week but my Mt. Laurel has stuck by my side and it's showing off it's beautiful blooms in spite of the neglect. On a hill country drive, you can see Mt. Laurels in the middle of bare acreage and perhaps it is because they are such survivors that I admire them. This year is its second annual bloom as if to defy Mother Nature with her rain, sleet and snow to bloom in spite of the harsh weather and my neglect. It took on the erratic winter weather and said "Gotta Go With The Flow". "Go With The Flow". Hmmmm. I was recently told that I didn't "Go With The Flow". It was a shock to me when I think I do just that by navigating the choppy waters I travel in to get through my every day life; hectic, chaotic, and a bit of a frenzy at times. From the time I wake and throughout the day I show up, work hard knowing I'm not lazy (any more than the Mt. Laurel that bloomed in spite of the crazy weather) and do my best to blend my positive energy with those that may be procrastinators, lazy, not in attendance and generally just unmotivated. They seem to have trouble just getting by day to day with little happiness and definitely not spreading sunshine and happiness. Someone else's perception, of course... me "not going with the flow". My perception is that no matter where I am navigating in the waters, I am always willing to let go of my oars, throw over the baggage, change direction and be aware of the needs of others around me to help us get through the choppy waters safely and intact. I enjoy tapping into other people's sunshine and let them tap into mine. By doing that... BOOM we can take our energy and "Flow" with it, letting it take us where we need to go. But we're all entitled to our own perception. So like the Mt. Laurel, I'm going to continue to go with my flow, stand tall and make every attempt to bloom in the lives of others; hopefully, bringing a bit of sunshine along the way. May your spring be filled with the Seeds of Hope, Lots of Sunshine and Beautiful Blooms. ~ Babs

CATCH A FALLING LEAF...

I awoke this morning to a rainy, stormy day thinking how glad I was that the changing of the season was blowing through in the early morning hours, rather than midnight with lightning and noise. It's been a long hot summer. Gov. Perry declared a drought disaster in February 2009 in all 254 counties. http://governor.state.tx.us/news/press-release/2515/ The period from May 1, 2009 through June 6, 2009 was the driest in Houston weather history with a paltry 0.65 inches of rain that fell over 57 days. Does .65 in. of rain ever even make it to the ground? No rain, barely a drizzle for my corner of the world, either over the last year. Yards are parched from the 100 degree plus days, absent a drink of water and my roses have never looked worse. After the recent heavy rains, the lawns are confused and the flowers are dazed wondering whether to go dormant or bloom and wait for the cold. I feel that same dazed and confused way some days..I've actually been in a store in San Antonio, run into someone from work (out of town) and wondered: "Which store am I in, where am I?" Dazed and confused is not a state that I like to be in...nope, much to the chagrin of many, I usually have a plan and little room for change. Somehow the trees and flowers know that change is on the way. Routine is the ritual and nourishment for my soul...like the rain and sun Mother Nature provides. Cold- blooded All American Girl that I am, in anticipation of a temperature change and not liking that change at all...I'm a sun-baby, I turned off my air conditioner and no, I didn't open any windows. I was perfectly comfortable at 5 a.m., snug as a bug, as my grandmother would say, at 78 degrees in my house and that didn't bother me a bit. I'm under my comfy, it's raining outside and all is well with the world. Not one to doze back to sleep, I did reflect a few moments to listen to the rain pouring down on the lawns, like a long shower, leaving all the plants happy in their thirst quenched stupor. We had 4-5" of rain the week before so it was definitely a case of "watch what you wish for." There were flash flood warnings on the radio and alerts of more rain to come. Sunrise was upon me and I knew the day would bring about rejuvination and newness and there was definitely a change of plans. Well, rain or shine I knew I had to get to the AT&T store to change out a phone that the Coach ran over at the baseball field...cells phones and riding mowers do not go together well! I like that about new days...Things may change whether I like it or not, and friends may leave, but LiFe doesn't StOp for AnYbOdY! A clean start, a new slate, a new day to color on my canvas, though my days don't change much from day-to-day. Not even on the week-ends. Today I was ready to move ahead, take on the world, tackle my "to do list" as it waited patiently for me on the counter downstairs where I put it to bed every night, not thinking about it until I pick it up when I'm heading out the door. At 5 a.m. week-days, I'm energetic and enthusiastic...if only that energy and enthusiasm would stay with me all day. What a gift that would be. Nope, here comes the rain...scratch the list...new plans. Today is a day where being "rigidly flexible" as I have been described, is a good thing. An Indian Summer Day in South Texas with the sun shining after the rains and back in the 90's wouldn't surprise me a bit. I hope not, for the lawns' sake, the roses and even the trees that will shed their beautiful leaves in preparation for a nice long winter's nap. I frequently ask "why didn't I plant all evergreens", especially as I clean leaves out of the pool. Here you see...roses looking BaD! Flowers ThIrStY! WEEDS, WEEDS, WEEDS! Ugh! Most Thursday afternoons I have the same conversation with my trusty lawn helper that I've had for 13 years: "Why isn't there some device we can use to shake all the leaves off at once and be over with this anyway?" He just laughs and goes on about the business of mowing with music plugged in his ears. No, this morning was a tease...by Mother Nature of the chilly days ahead. Chilly and Beverly...two words that do not go together. Most days you'll find me with a sweater wrapped around my neck. Some people think I'm going for a "look." Wrong...it's for cold stores where I shop, movies and restaurants or on a trip. See Albuquerque in August above...sweater, just in case! A quick over the head goes the sweater and off goes any "look." It's not a look, it's just a little nurturing of my chilly bones to make a quick stop in a cold French cafe a little more cozy when sitting by the fireplace sipping a nice wine. Above: Traveling in the Sonoma Valley, CA., in the Fall at the Sauvignon vineyards with a sweater. A beautiful place to visit. http://www.sonomacounty.com/ The Case Ranch Inn, Forestville, CA. The bed and breakfast with hot tub: www.bedandbreakfast.com/california-forestville-case-ranch-inn Another story, another day about "chilly" in California in the Fall. Yes, Fall is arriving in South Texas. It's the changing of the guard as Summer teasingly slips away, Autumn is at our doorstep and here arrives the Master Artist Himself...with all the brilliant colors He has to brush our world with. I love the colors of Fall, especially orange. I admit I like orange and black since they were my high school colors (I know, I know..."yuk"...but they were ours) but it's in the Fall that the little orange pumpkins arrive in the church parking lots and children wander up and down the rows looking for that perfect pumpkin to carve. In keeping with tradition, I'll pull out my crafty, not real- from- the- pumpkin patch, pumpkins, for the porch, PLUS one more this year for Brock and up goes the Autumn wreath. Thus begins another chapter, another season to watch unfold...wondering...do people mirror the trees I see change? Do people go through their own seasons and change? I know I do... even not liking change... but accepting it as best I can. I've watched the trees I planted over 12 years ago root their way over and around rock, growing tall, cracking rocks and all in their effort to establish their roots and grow, in order to change with the seasons. Aren't we the same? Always searching for creative ways to go over and around the obstacles we hit in our journey of life? CATCH A FALLING LEAF AND MAKE AN AUTUMM WISH...HAPPY AUTUMN, HAPPY FALL, GOOD BYE SUMMER...