loving the soft rain........

soft gentle rain is honey to these new young plants in the ground.  growing up, momma kept the garden, daddy did the yardwork.....with all of us helping!  
i suppose i have been returning to my roots.........since home I began adding indoor plant babies and when they survived....then thrived..........i felt a nudge from above to take it outside.  Some of the yard is pretty and some of it looks like a grazing area for goats.........the ground is rocky, the soil is a combination of red Georgia clay and sand.  not the rich black soil of my youth. grass grows well in the back, but the front is very challenging, hence the large pine straw beds. 
growing things makes me feel more encouraged to try, to do, to be........
like our own lives working through challenges, the soil keeps trying and with that it finds ways to thrive despite the odds. 
i'm awful sore this morning.......bruce only has limited hours right now to come help with the yard.  he made me take the pledge not to buy any more plants.  i joked back........so are you saying my yard is holy enough?  ..........as in no more holes?  he looked at me like you would at any dork.  shook his head.......held his tongue.  so far he's never shown up with a straight jacket so i'm taking that as a sign.
last night he surrounded the big oak next to the house with red azaleas.  he poured bags of top soil to help give them a chance........it sure does look nice.  things are progressing........!!!
he put bark on two of the three flower beds........just one more to go!  Next he planted the yellow sweet brooms.  These are gonna be monster shrubs in time........at maturity they will be 10' by 10'.  He planted 4 along the side fence line.......and the other two at the back of the property.  We worked out a way to water them.  I had two 50' heavy duty hoses.......he hooked them up in back with the third curly hose and now I have an easy way to water them all.  Sweet!!!!  I don't have the stamina to carry a water bucket back and forth so far multiple trips...........this is great!
bruce is a little heavy handed......lol.  he pours the bark on EVERYTHING (makes me think of church casseroles topped in a thick layer of cheese) ....yup, he covers the smaller plants & decorative boulders completely........he's a good guy, but not so much on finessing the details.  i went round uncovering plants, poor little things.......gasping AIR, NEED AIR!!!!   all the while I heard the words IDIOT. NOT ABOUT him, about me for bending.......my left arm & lower back got iced early this morning.   
it's all but impossible not to want to take part........poor ol back is cussing in something that sounds Greek to me.  ice, ice baby!
i know, cussing and on a Sunday too.  i sat on the porch in the cool sweet air and prayed over everything, the new plants, the lives of loved ones........in care of this world.........it is so peaceful. 
fertilized the hydrangeas.......this stuff balances the soil & helps the hydrangeas develop a deep blue color.   just think by the time i turn 60 they should be 3-4 feet high, covered in lush blue flowers.  that's gonna be a real pretty birthday present!  by the time i turn 65 the sweet broom should be ?  anywhere from 5' - 8' in height & width.  WOW.........! right now they are so little and cute. 
fertilized the rose bushes........and sprinkled miracle grow on everybody else.  this is all still new territory..............for me and this scrabbly yard of mine.  more beauty with every spring. with prayer and good wishes from ya'll -  i'm following God's nudge to create a garden of joy........to bloom where i am planted.
this corny Iowan likes to think that if you plant it spring will come.........again and again.  and with each spring comes fresh hope.........dum spiro spero.  thank you Lord for this gift of hope........thank you for all of your gifts and blessings.........time to go give a listen to Sunday's sermon.............morning hugs........love you, sparrow