Rain, A Good Friend of the Gardener

Anyone who has read this blog knows how much I enjoy my gardens. They are a place just outside my door where I find great delight. I commune with the LORD in them. I love getting my hands in the dirt.

I love watching things grow. I love to plant seeds and watch plants develop with delicious vegetables.

If I need to relax I go outback. Within moments I can get lost out there.

Earlier this week I planted Swiss Chard, lots of it. During the summer and into the fall it will be enjoyed. This morning rain is falling. It s the best! As I work the LORD is watering the earth and my yard is getting a good, gentle soaking.

Rain is a friend of the gardener. While others complain, we are thankful or the rain!

Loving Spring

Its a beautiful spring evening here in the backyard. The birds are singing, some are at the feeders snacking on treats I just put out. Its is quiet and peaceful. Hard to believe that I live three houses from a ten lane highway! I find myself getting lost in the beauty of 
My backyard, forgetting about the noise of traffic. 

It is an oasis in the suburbs, a place where plants grow and animals find refreshment and refuge. Currently we are hosting three families of weaver finches, all of whom have begun to build nests in various bird houses on the premises.

David went to En Gedi in Israel and experienced the same thing. I have been there. Interesting isn't it that the place where the birds find refuge is good or the soul. 

There is life back here. In spring there is new life! 

I am enjoying the chorus of the birds this evening.

Sitting Out Back

I am writing this post from the bistro in my backyard. It is a beautiful spring day here. Spring clean up is to a point now where the yard is beginning to look like someone lives here!

The daffodils are almost in full bloom. The swamp buttercup is magnificent. The grape hyacinth has opened as well as some violet. At the pond moments ago 2 mourning doves were meandering around.

Weaver finches are building nests in the new birdhouse I put up yesterday. A chickadee just came to the feeder 4 feet away from the table. 

I love the chorus of song birds putting on a concert. It is one of the many gifts from my Father in Heaven today.

Spring's Sights and Sounds and Smells

I love the smell of freshly turned compost, the fragrance if the hyacinth and odor of freshly cut grass.

I love the sound of the birds happily chattering as they gather material for nests. I love the songs the red winged blackbird sings as he lands at the feeder or the pond. I even love the sound of the rake in my hands as it presses along the ground gathering materials for the compost heap.

I cherish the first sighting of that frog yesterday in my pond, the first time the fish come to the surface to eat after winter.  I love the beauty of the daffodils, the swamp buttercup and green of tulips and Daylilies.

I love spring in my backyard because it is all of these things and more.

The Appearance of the Frog in the Pond

Yesterday I topped off our pond. The fish were enjoyingthe aerated water comingmout of the filter. Birds were coming for drinks. As I stood andtook in the beauty of spring, one of our frogs emerged.

The frogs and toads and box turtles have been paying us compliments each spring. They have chosen to stay put. They could leave, but they have remained.

It was such a cool thing to see a tadpole we had placed in the pond last year, emerge fully grown and welcoming the spring.