A new beginning

Ah, spring. A new beginning, for sure. I thought this delightful young lady would be perfect to begin my blog. Opening my front door I notice the grass is growing and turning a deep, beautiful shade of green. As I peek outside I smell that wonderful smell of earth warming after a long winter's nap - a truly lovely thing after the long, bitter cold, and snowy winter. I open all the windows and hear the birds tweeting and chirping, surely just for me, calling me to come out and play.

This morning my husband asked me to step outside to look at something. He pointed to a little bird's nest some busy mother had prepared in anticipation of her own new beginning. It was perched in the ladder on the side of the shed, up safely out of harm's way. Of course I had to peek, and to my delight, this is what I found!

I literally squealed when I saw these four tiny, bright teal eggs. I've never seen such a shade of blue on a bird egg before! It dawned on me that this would be perfect for my first post, so I ran for the camera and started clicking away. I tried to get the mother sitting on the eggs but she took flight every time I tried. I told my husband that maybe I'm not like a lot of women, because finding these beautiful eggs made me happier than shopping for a $300 purse, because actually I'd rather spend money on fabric or yarn or garden supplies!   I felt absolutely rejuvenated, and even though I am suffering with a nasty cold, (whine, whine, feel free to say oh you poor thing), I asked him to pull out all the planters from the shed. Sick or not, I am going to buy some plants today. I usually start some things from seed, but since winter hung on so long this year I'll pick up some plants already started to get the show on the road. I'll still plant my morning glories and sweet peas and and zinnias from seed though, as I have had pretty good luck with those!

Today I will go to the charming little garden center down the road. I try to frequent the small family businesses in town whenever possible, instead of the big box chain stores. The customer service is great, and the people really know about gardening. They will be more than happy to walk up and down the rows of the greenhouse with you and help pick out the perfect plants. They'll even carry it to your car with a smile, and wish you a good day as you leave. Whatever happened to those days? And just for the record, I also get good service at the larger garden center in town, but this place is just so charming.

Where I live winter sometime doesn't want to leave us, and it can still be really cool, even at the end of May, so today I am just buying some cold weather crops, lettuce, spinach, and onions. I already have garlic coming up from last year, so I'm thinking spaghetti sauce! I will also pick up some organic garden soil, because when it comes to anything we will eat I like to stick with all natural, no fertilizers. I'll plant most of the lettuce and spinach now in the garden, and in about a week I will fill the planters we dragged out of the shed with soil and plant some herbs and flowers and some more lettuce and spinach. I will set the planters along the edge of the back porch, with southern sun exposure. When I sit out in my wicker chairs to take a break and relax with my embroidery project or crocheting, I will enjoy all the wonderful smells of basil and oregano and mint, and whatever little plants that call out to me as I peruse the greenhouses! This is my version of a kitchen garden. I especially enjoy having these plants on the back porch, as I get to enjoy their beauty and fragrance, as well as have them nearby for cooking.

So, this is my goal for the day: Go to the little garden center to pick up these items, and perhaps start weeding one of the many garden beds. We live on a little under two acres, and I have about six HUGE garden beds! Every spring I go crazy planting, and by August I am scratching my head out in the heat, wondering why I must always go overboard! And guess what . . those are just the beds in back. I have another HUGE flower garden in front. Fortunately it is all perennials, so I just need to do some weeding and watering to keep it looking good. I promise to post pictures of all of them for you to see. I know, I can just hearing you sighing now, saying "Oh no, not that!" like having to sit through someone's vacation pictures, but these are the things that make me happy, and perhaps you will enjoy seeing them too!

This blog will be filled with all my hobbies - quilting, crocheting, gardening, painting, knitting, embroidery, baking, (I'm guessing my husband wishes I liked to cook a little more!) sewing, antiquing, and a few others. Little by little you will be seeing them. I used to have my own pattern company where I designed my own dolls and quilts and clothing for children. I no longer have a pattern company, but I continue to come up with more fun ideas. Sometimes I wish I would quit thinking up things to do because I can't even finish the ones I already started! I occasionally have some things for sale, which you can find in my Etsy shop. There is a link on my blog home page.

There will probably never be anything earth shattering or really amazing on this blog, but I'm thinking there are those of you out there who just enjoy the simple things in life. I really look forward to sharing all the little things in my life that make me so happy, and would love to hear about the things in your life that you treasure. May God bless you as you go through your day. Happy spring to you . . . may it bring many wonderful new beginnings!