Spring has sprung...

I am beyond happy that spring has sprung... for this one reason: the smell of orange blossoms. Other than cinnamon rolls baking in the oven, this is my forever favorite scent! My neighbor has an orange tree that peeks up over our fence line... and for that I'm grateful.

I spend more time in my backyard during Spring than summertime, just because of the orange blossom scent...


Plus, it's kinda pretty-lookin' back here... we've worked hard over the past year or so to slowly build it out. And now it's almost come into it's shape...



Several times a week I get to retreat to the backyard with my clippers and a book ... this is what I'm enjoying.



The above plant is a milkweed... it attracts butterflies. I like butterflies...



Here is where I sit with my book, feet kicked up on the chair to my left... enjoying the noises and scents and beauty of God's creation...



We have a small patch of grass, and a large flower bed, size proportionate to importance!



And two different types of scented geraniums... rose-scented (above) and lemon-scented (below). They look totally different from each other... and on their own they don't really smell... until you rub your thumb and fore-finger against the green leafy part. And then the scent stays with you for a while... so refreshing! Thank you Creator of Heaven and Earth for creating such an amazing gift!





Take a stroll with me into my little place of retreat...





There are weeds and tools not organized into their right places... but I don't care. Some of the original plants have died. But there's no rush to make it perfect. It is what it is... and we'll pull weeds, and prune and water and make things grow and enjoy the space we've been given. We'll invite friends over to sit and talk and look and sniff and enjoy...





We'll watch as the wind carries the grasses to and fro...







We'll peek at the plants and watch for new blossoms...



Fast forward to 3 weeks from now (below)... we'll watch as God's beauty again unfolds.






And before we return to our 'to do' lists and the errands and the cleaning and the cooking, we'll take a step back and enjoy the full picture... we'll breathe in deeply and get one last wiff of orange blossom. And we'll be content...




Content... so content.


“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” - Frederick Koenig




life is good...