Some Very Needed Time Away...

I know some of you are missing my posts, and I know I haven't had so much to say lately.  I'm doing ok though, and during this hiatus I've been following along with your posts.  My time away began as a time-budget thing.  It was really hard for me to manage my time because of my new job.  I pretty much came home, cooked supper, tended to as many chores as I could manage, and hit my pillow already asleep.  I wouldn't trade my job for anything though.  Love it!  As much as I love to post things on my blog, I had to cut back in one area for the success of other important areas.  For those of you who haven't given up on me yet and are still reading this, I thank you and am humbled.

When our winter finally broke, that began a whole new arena for me to spend any extra inkling of my time.  I usually have all sorts of new plantings and the occasional new flower bed happening.  This year is a little different though.  I dialed it back.  Oh, I still have new plantings don't worry about that.  I just didn't get too crazy with the creativity this year.  I have just enough planted that I feel like there's something pretty to look at. 

I never really had an annual color theme thing going on here.  I usually planted whatever sparked my fancy and tied it all together.  This year, I don't know why, but I decided to have a "Color Theme" with my annuals.  I think an Annual Color Theme will be fun!  Maybe I could create whole new bedding ideas with this?!  For my First Annual Color Theme, I've decided to go with something of a Patriotic palette.

I don't have any photos of that yet (I'll try to do that soon!), but I do have a couple I took of my bleeding hearts. I absolutely swooned over them this year.  They were just so striking, and there were so many bloom spikes that lasted for weeks and weeks!  Our weather must have been just right for their liking.

There was also another thing going on for me during this time.  Well, ok, a kinda big thing.  And this big thing has been going on for some time now.  Nearly 3 years to be exact.  And it was getting bigger.  You'll have to trust me on this, bigger is not always better.  It brought along with it many complications; quite debilitating at times!

So after dealing with far too many evil complications, much contemplation, much self-reflection, and a great big deep breath...

2.  Days.  Ago.  I.  Did.  Something.  About.  It.

The new me.

Each day has been a tiny bit better than the previous one.  Tiny is good.  I'm up on my feet, albeit a bit unsteady and a bit achy, I am up on my feet!  I'm a very lucky girl; my family and friends have been so supportive of me.  Somebody needs to tell me to knock it off and try to rest after all!

Now, a whole new chapter awaits me.  And I can hardly wait to see what and where it will bring me.  So my flower beds will keep till next year.  I'll be ready.  For now I'm content to have my little uncomplicated plantings.  Amen.

Early Spring Quietude

 

 Not very far from the farm is a single-lane bridge that nobody has used for quite some time now.  I'm not sure that is would be very safe to actually drive across it these days though.  But then again, I've seen the river so high that the water is actually rushing across the floor boards.  On closer inspection, it's surprising to see that the floor boards aren't nearly as rotted out as you'd think they should be.  It stands as a testament to how well-built things were  "back in the day."  I sometimes wonder what year it was built, and I try to imagine how many changes in cars there were from the time it was built, until the last one drove across it.  If only it could talk!  It may not be as beautiful or interesting as the covered bridges we all love (we've got those around too!), but I always thought that this was an interesting structure and beautiful in its' own way.

(here's how it would look without the effects)

What's a dog to do with so much snow?

 Aha!! Have snow cones of course!!

Mmmmm....very happy.