Sunday, March 31, 2013

Joyous Spring! Flowers and Balboa Island

Happy spring! How I love it! You can almost feel the energy of new life vibrating and expanding, plants starting to burst with new life and birds happily singing and enjoying the skies. My orchids have been blooming like crazy, freesias bloomed weeks ago and are almost done, a random sweet pea popped up, geraniums are blooming (I love their beautiful red!) and the roses are leafing out and have buds. The time change always triggers a burst of excitement and energy for me as the days (finally) don’t get dark at 5:30 and daylight just seems to linger deliciously. Longer days equal more fun!

A friend and I went to a seminar last week at a local quality garden center. It was fun and interesting! They showed different plant types for 4 types of gardens: formal, drought-tolerant, shade and cottage. They stressed "easy" cottage because cottage gardens require the most work, with all the deadheading and maintenance required when you have a lot of flowers. We had a great time! It was very warm and sunny; I had sweat running down my back even though it was only 10:30 in the morning. I allowed myself to spend less than $10 and bought two sweet pea seedlings that I'll plant later this week. 

         

Pics of my garden right now:
This beautiful sweet pea just decided to pop up this year. (Probably reseeded itself from last year.) It’s so sturdy and so fragrant. Sweet peas have always been my favorite flower.

Another volunteer: a yellow freesia that decided to pop up from the 2nd row of the planter wall. (I didn’t plant freesias this year, either.)

Cymbidium orchid. I do nothing but water this very giving plant and it just blooms and blooms despite my benign neglect.

Kalanchoe (which really needs a bigger pot) with freesias hanging down in them. Next to it is a mix of red and white cyclamen that I planted for Christmas a few years ago. (It could probably use repotting as well.)

     

Can you spot the little green siskin on the side of the garden hook? He came to play and splash in the fountain. My fountain is old and worn, but has a top basin that’s perfect for the birds to bathe in.

032913 siskin on hook

Last year, I took my grands to Balboa Island on the first day of Easter vacation. We explored, had lunch, walked around the harbor area and checked out all the cute houses. And, of course, we decided we’d love to live there in cute little cottages, too. Bri decided that we should do a “Balboa Day” every year on the first Monday of Easter. Their family headed to Utah this morning, though, so we had to revise our plans and we went for a short visit last Friday. I picked up both girls after Jas got out of school and we headed down to stroll a bit and get Balboa Bars (delicious ice cream bars, famous on Balboa). We admired the cute cottages and spied an older couple sitting out on their tiny front porch, reading the newspaper in their Adirondack chairs and having a chat with friends who strolled by. Perfect scene of contentment. (Jas had to go for an MRI on her shoulder right after this; persistent problems made worse by water polo and swim team. We hope the issue can be resolved. It’s causing her a lot of pain.)

My beautiful grands!   

                      032913 clock balboa island

Lovely cottage border garden on the island.

If spring hasn’t come to your area yet, it will! I hope it’s a beautiful one for you, too!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

owning the journey


What should I do? you ask me
What do you think?
I’m unsure, uncertain …
I’m in need

I need you to help me

I’m unhappy
I’m not well
I’m hurting
I’m troubled

I need you to help me

I need you to solve my problems, I hear
I need you to stand for me
I need you to take care of this
I need you to tell me what to do

I need you to help me

I need to hand over my problems to you, you tell me
I can’t handle this any more
Give me the answers 
Carry my burdens for me

I need you to help me

I answer:
I will love you and support you
I will hold your hand
I will cry with you
I will be present for you

I will share my own experiences
I will be your companion on the journey
I will listen with my full attention
I will hold you

But I cannot own your journey
Your journey is yours alone
I don't have your answers
You have your own path to trod, as I have mine

I will accompany you
As you receive what you are given
In your own way
On your own terms

Just as I must stay on my own mat
Receiving what I’ve been given
In my own way
On my own terms

We each have our own way of being in the world
We each have our own journey to experience
Our own lessons to learn
Our own understandings to grow into

I cannot take your troubles,
Your heartache, your sorrow
I cannot take your burdens for you
They are yours to carry for this time

But I can stand witness
And be by your side
To catch you when you can’t stand another minute
To hold you when you need to be held

And I hope that you will do the same for me
As we each travel our own journeys
On our own mats
In our own way of being in the world

Namaste