abloom

It has become very evident that some of the trees and plants around this area are thinking it is spring. My across the street and next-door neighbors have flowering pear trees and they are really putting forth the blooms. On the way to church many of these same kinds of trees were in yards and along the exits of the interstate and were almost in full bloom. Many of the trees are also showing tiny green buds where leaves are just beginning to grow.

Blueberry Hill is no exception because the ill-kept little shrubs along our north property line have been showing their small yellow flowers for a couple of weeks. One of the scrub trees on the north side of the garden has a vine growing up in it that has been flowering for about a week. On the east side of the house, down close to the pond, is a tree that came up on its own and has been abloom for several days also. This was one that I allowed to live just to see what it was – I’m still not sure but it is possibly something in the wild pear family, this according to the shape of the leaves.

This morning I listened to the outside airwaves and the many birdsongs are telling the news of spring as well. By their calls they are searching for a mate at random, trying to woo a specific prospect or just singing for the joy of being able to do that. The very unmelodious far off caw of a crow joined in the message that spring is upon us. All this plus a proliferation of red, red robins that are bob, bob bobbing along in the yards of the area – why does that sound so familiar?

The really exciting news though is that the blueberries are blooming as well! OK, I guess you had to be here but it was exciting to me. Not all the flowers have opened up but there are enough to start to draw the bees that pollinate them and make possible the berries. These bees are a special breed and resemble a bumblebee except they are smaller. In an article on the internet they are even called ‘blueberry bees’. Several other types come along and help out but these are the main ones.

The time is fast approaching to till up the garden – my target time for planting the veggies is usually somewhere close to Good Friday. The only problem with that is my tiller. It is a front-tine one that has to be ‘man-handled’ with brute strength and it really can put a whuppin’ on a person in great physical shape – and that doesn’t exactly describe me of late. The plan is to purchase a rear-tined machine that is a bit easier to handle – hopefully this week.

As I have mentioned before in many missives, spring is my very favorite time of year because of the coming back to life of the seemingly dead trees and plants. The beauty of the aforementioned and yet to come flowers are also mixed into my enjoyment of the season. It is an illustration in nature of the new life God can give us in the spiritual – now and when we die. ec