Monthly Archives: March 2012

Spring things that make me go “Yay”

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Today’s post title gives away my age a bit, as it’s inspired by Arsenio Hall’s “Things that make you go ‘Hmmm'” segment on his short-lived, late-night show back when I was coming of age.

After a mild winter, spring has come early and breathtakingly. So I wanted to share some of the things about spring that make me go “Yay.”

An azalea blazing in my front garden

The only ranunculus to come back for the third year

The first snapdragon to bloom this spring -- I love the fuzz on its buds.

I love, love, love snapdragons, and they perennialize for at least a few years at a time here. This is the third year (I think) that this particular set has come back. I’ll plant more this year Continue reading →

Training dogs that rescue … trees?

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Spring is in the air, and for my part of the world, that means pine pollen is, too, turning the air and everything else a dusty yellow.

I can always gauge the level of spring fever by the number of tree and flower photos in Facebook status updates I see in a given day. Yesterday’s beginning of spring brought a profusion of blooms online. One friend posted a photo of a gorgeous bonsai tree blazing with fuchsia-colored blooms. Another posted a picture of Monet’s beautiful painting Spring (Fruit Trees in Bloom).

A third friend posted a link to a story about a pear tree blooming at the site of the 9/11 memorial. The tree had been found severely damaged among the rubble after the attacks, was relocated and nursed back to health, and then replanted at the memorial site. Isn’t it amazing that someone thought to bother saving that tree and now visitors to the site can see it as an offering of beauty and hope and nature’s resilience?

Let’s turn back to that pine pollen, for a moment, and some amazing dogs who are being trained to make sure pine trees stick around and keep on giving us their tangible, hopeful announcement of spring every year.

Auburn University is doing some really cool work in a project called EcoDogs that trains dogs to detect certain items of ecological interest: animal droppings, baby fawns, boa constrictors and even tree fungi. That’s right: tree fungi. Continue reading →

Springing into a good book

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I’ve mentioned before that this first week after the time change isn’t my most favorite one of the year. Maybe you feel it, too? The body’s confusion about why all of a sudden we have to get up even earlier than usual. Even my dog isn’t ready to get up first thing, but she has enjoyed getting dinner earlier than usual.

The weather is gorgeous, though, and Spring is definitely here, making it practically impossible to sit inside for long lengths of time. And the light lasting longer in the evening means I can sit outside and read. Here’s a list of some of my favorite reads from the last few months that might inspire you to grab a cold Izze and head outside to read.

A few of the books I've been reading, along with my favorite soft drink: grapefruit Izze!

Continue reading →

When it’s time to repot

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You’ve heard the expression, “Bloom where you’re planted.” While I believe it’s a good saying to encourage us to make the best of our circumstances, I also think it’s true that sometimes we simply need to move out of particular situations to improve our lives.

If you’re like me, you’re already looking around your garden preparing for Spring and planning what plants you might need to repot or move to a different part of the garden. Repotting or transplanting plants can be essential to those plants’ survival. Maybe the pots are too small for their roots to thrive. Maybe their spot in the garden has become too shady for them to grow and bloom and flourish the way they should.

The same may be true of your own life. Sometimes staying put and making the best of a situation is simply not the best strategy. Maybe it’s a destructive relationship that we need to leave behind. Or an untenable work environment. Or an addiction to something unhealthy. Or simply a lazy habit.  Continue reading →