MAY - THE MONTH OF WISHES

It’s the merry month of May. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and the warmth of the sun beckons us outside to smell the newly mowed grass. It’s the dig-in-the-dirt month, too. Everyone is scouring the nurseries for flowers and plants to decorate their porches and flowerbeds.                                                      

Most nights, we can hear our resident owl hooting away, often beyond midnight. He’s taken up a nightly position nearby our bedroom window, possibly on the roof of the house. It’s a comforting, if not slightly eerie sound to lull you to sleep.

I always have too many projects in half-started states when spring arrives. The birdhouses have to be cleaned, refurbished, and set out. My hummingbird feeder is now suspended along our patio for early arrivals. The robins are nesting under our deck and in the rhododendrons. The aggravating grackles have returned, chasing away the small birds at the feeders. The sparrows have taken over the bluebird house. The chaos has begun for our springtime feathered friends.

Central Pennsylvania is in the migrating path of orioles heading north, and I was lucky to catch an orange flash of one clinging to the hummingbird feeder the other morning.

Our weather has also been erratic the last few weeks. Rainy days teaches us to slow down. It’s nature’s way of telling us to shift to a more unhurried pace, interrupting our rush to get things done, but allowing us to experience the joy of spring. If we are lucky, we may even be rewarded with a rainbow stretching from horizon to horizon above budding and blooming trees in hues of green, white, lavender and pink. Oh, how I love this colorful month and warmer temperatures!                 

"May is the month or expectation, the month of wishes, 

the month of hope.”—Emily Bronte

 

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 A sweet romantic western and mystery!
Best Book Award Finalist!

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

March blew in mild and warm to Central Pennsylvania, then swept out while morphing into rainy days and chilly weather. We know April will be fickle here and always brings us breezy, sometimes blustery days as well. But, April showers will bring May flowers, as the saying goes.

As we look toward to spring marching in, we start thinking and rehashing in our heads all the outdoor and various chores we want to accomplish. Just remember the old phrase, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Take time to make time for yourself.                                                                    

Find something you like to do: Read a book, work on a craft, re-order your aggravating miscellaneous files or your desk. Put in order anything that makes you uncomfortable at a first glance. Clean an untidy corner. Take a walk. Do whatever will make you happy and feel good.

This month, I’m highlighting my book, “Courting Betsy,” Book 3 in the Ashmore Brothers Series. It’s a romance with a touch of mystery, but has the humor of children, the quibbling of grown siblings, intrigue, and of course, Two Bears, a Ute Indian and friend of the Ashmore Family.

BLURB:

When Betsy Ashmore, adopted sister to a family of four brothers, discovers U.S. Marshal Luke Ashmore is lying wounded in a renegade Indian camp, she can’t refuse to help a brother in peril—especially one she has loved all her life. With the help of a wily Ute Indian, the spunky shopkeeper saddles up to rescue him.

 Marshal Luke Ashmore never expected to be bushwhacked  while escorting the young boy of a murdered army scout northward to Fort Collins in the Colorado Territory. Outlaws want the boy and believe he knows the location of a hidden treasure.

As Betsy and Two Bears struggle to get the marshal and the child to safety, can they outwit the ruthless outlaws following them? And what will they do with two more orphaned boys they stumble upon along the trail?

Fall in love with the plucky shopkeeper and her three scheming youngsters—all determined to help the U.S. Marshal lasso her heart so they can become a family.

A sweet romantic western and mystery!
Best Book Award Finalist!

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April Slides in with National Poetry Month and Earth Day

April has arrived.

Photo JosepMonter, Pixabay

For many people April brings the excitement of an awakening in our land as we watch the dull brown of sleeping vegetation in the northern regions morph into the many vibrant hues of green. What better way to enjoy the month than to smell the earthy scent of mud, feel the warm sun on your back, and rekindle your hope that spring has arrived with its many showers and colorful flowers?                                  

April is also National Poetry Month and, on April 22^nd, we celebrate Earth Day in the United States along with Canada and other countries around the world. This year, the theme for Earth Day is Invest In Our Planet and continues to focus on the effects of climate change.

One of my favorite poems is It Must Be Spring, by May Fenn. It not only ushers in joys of the season, but also highlights the wonders of our earth, giving a nod to the importance of Earth Day.

Hush, can you hear it?
The rustling in the grass,
Bringing you the welcome news that
Winter’s day is past.
Soft, can you feel it?
The warm caressing breeze,
Telling you the sticky buds
Are bursting on the trees.
Look, can you see them?
The primrose in the lane.
Now you must believe it —
Spring is here again.

Photo by Beeki, Pixabay

So as we watch the red buds burst and bloom and see the first yellow dandelions emerge in the grass…or listen to the returning birds in the bushes and the honking geese in the skies overhead… let’s take time to enjoy the jaunty month bringing renewal to our earth and optimism to our lives. 

 

 

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MARCH - Named for the Roman God of War

Paddy caps (hats) off to the Irish! March is a windy, sometimes chilly, but joyous month when everyone becomes Irish on St. Patrick’s Day. In the northern states, it’s also the month which can come roaring in like a lion with cold blustery weather and go out with warmth and the softness of a lamb or—vice versa.

Everyone looks forward to March 20^th, when spring is supposed to march in and put an end to winter weather. Daffodils, the flower of March, rear their sleepy heads and poke through the cold ground, bringing the color of sunshine back to the drab flowerbeds.

Rain and mud are part of spring. If we’re fortunate, we might well see the return of early migrating birds. Birds that nest in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate in spring to take advantage of burgeoning insect populations, budding plants, and an abundance of nesting locations. I love to step outside, search the sky, and listen when I hear the first flocks of geese winging their way toward Canada.

For me, it’s also a bittersweet month. My mother passed away in the month of March. Ironically, her birthday was on St. Patrick’s Day. For someone of Polish ancestry, she was always a good sport and laughed and loved the cakes, iced in green with shamrocks, we made to celebrate her special day.

Most of all, for those of us who like to garden, who like to watch things grow, it’s an exciting month as we start planning the flowers, vegetables, herbs, and other greenery we’d like to plant for the coming spring, summer, and fall ahead. Last year, we had a bucket garden filled with a variety of spices. This year, my husband has found a “vertical squash” plant we want to grow. But that’s a story for another day.

Hats off to all… and to the month of March named for the Roman god of war, Mars.  May it be a prosperous and pleasing one for all.

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THE ROBIN - Singing and Ringing in Spring

Everyone has their favorite sign of spring. Some judge its arrival by various plants like the pussy willows or emerging tulips, or the return of wild geese, honking as they fly northward.

But for me, when I hear the first carols of the robins as they go bob, bob, bobbing on the greening backyard lawn, I get a feeling of optimism and glee that spring has sprung. Known to prefer an environment around homes and farmsteads, the robins will hurry and scurry to construct their nests in our high, dense rhododendrons at the side of our house. They are not opposed to building on flat surfaces under our deck, or on a man-made nesting platform either.

The true robin redbreast is a native of the Old World. Our robin in the United States is a thrush, but the pioneers named it the robin in remembrance of the bird that was common on the English countryside.

Nesting Platform

The nests of the robin is made of mud and lined with grass. The eggs are a pale, bluish green which we refer to as “robin’s egg blue.” They prefer to eat worms and fruit. Many times in July, I find them scouting my blueberry bushes for the first ripened fruit. If I put a net over the bushes, they often find a way in—by sneaking underneath the covering.

During spring, summer, and fall, I keep a bird bath near our patio. You can see them lined up, waiting to take a bath as soon as I replenish the bowl with fresh water. Then, I have to clean it again, since my little feathered friends have mud on their feet.

Folklore tells us that many people believe a visit from a robin is a sign that a lost relative is visiting them. Or in the spiritual world, the robin is viewed as a symbol of visits from deceased loved ones. I prefer the more modern symbol associated with the robin—a new beginning, new life, fortune and good luck. And of course, they’re my harbinger of spring. 

 

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HELLO, APRIL!

 I’m the first to admit that I enjoy April.

April is when all the flowers from bulbs beneath the sleepy earth emerge. Daffodils, crocus, wind flowers, and small grape hyacinths bring color, scent, and life back to the flowerbeds.

I think back to my childhood and how my mother loved plants and bushes of all types. We were a  farm family, and  it was not unusual to visit a neighbor’s house and go home with a piece of a bush, or some shoots wrapped in a wet rag, or a bundle of roots tied up in a burlap feed bag. Mother always found a place to plant her treasures and nurse them to maturity. And the favor was returned when friends, relatives, and neighbors came to call and left with a clump of rhubarb or day lilies.

At the front corner of my house, I still have trumpet vines from cuttings my mother gave me decades ago. Every fall we chop them back to stubby trunks, and in the spring they explode in a flourish of leaves and blossoms that entice the hummingbirds.

In the back yard, I have a bed of rag roses from around an old stone foundation of a house built in the early 1800s and situated along a well-used route westward. Everyone always referred to the cleared, often muddy pathway as “The Old Road.”

And, my favorite from our farm is at the side of my house—a large clump of Jack in the Pulpits my mother coddled in one of her flowerbeds.

April brings back lots of good memories. It’s a time of warm days, a time to get ready for spring planting and, for those of us who like to play in the dirt, it’s a month of sheer joy.

I’ll end with a colloquialism that the farmers often used in northeastern Pennsylvania: “So long, March. Hello, April!”

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Can Spring Be Near?

 March has arrived. Is it too early to hope that spring is here in Pennsylvania?

This winter, we northern folks have struggled with snowfall after snowfall. Our roads are lined with gray, dismal snowbanks, and most of our yards have a stack planted within view, the result of clearing our walks and driveways.

Last night, our first thunderous spring rain arrived. It pounded down in waves, soaking the yards and washing away some of our snow.

With warmer daytime temperatures inching upward, we now hear the gurgle and drip of water from our gutters. A layer of snow slides off the house and garage roofs making a plopping sound heard indoors. At long last, small patches of grass and earth peek through the lawns. Pussy willow is struggling to emerge. Who would have thought that the smell of mud and wet dried leaves would cause such a joyful reaction when we take a jaunt to the mailbox?

   Coming Soon!

Birds have become more lively and vocal. If your timing is right, you can now catch a chorus of bird songs coming from the trees in the backyard. When I filled the bird feeder the other day, being careful to walk in small patches where the snow had melted, a lively chickadee in the cedar tree scolded me for not working fast enough. Four-legged wildlife is making its appearance, too. Gray squirrels and rabbits are exploring the yards.

Now is the time to listen for the first flock of Canada geese to wing their way northward, confident that spring is on its way. Let’s hope for their sake and ours—they are right. 

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Bucket Gardens in May

"It's May, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
It's here, it's here, that shocking time of year,
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear."
                Lusty Month of May - from Camelot

Despite the snow, despite the rain, May is the time when those with a bit of farming gene in their blood start thinking about spring gardens as they sit in their recliners in the evening and pour over stacks of seed catalogs. They are anxious and ready, and they know there is magic in the month of May. Soon it will be planting time and the excitement of growing vegetables and flowers is as exhilarating today as it was for their ancestors centuries and centuries ago. Seeds are united with soil, sun, air and water to create the miracle of life.

This year, I’ve convinced my husband into making me a bucket garden stand from two-by-four lumber. It consists of two-levels of raised shelves where five-gallon, plastic buckets—filled with soil, seeds, or plants—stand above ground to make gardening simple and easy. I’ve added a picture here, but it’s not my stand.

I’m pondering what plants I want to grow, but I know for sure that two buckets will be filled with tomato plants, one will be a basil plant, and another will be seeded with yellow squash. Since mine is an eight bucket stand, I have time to come up with some other choices, including one bucket that may be filled with flowers. I can’t wait to smell the soil, stand in the sunshine, and get some dirt under my fingernails. As soon as our creation is finished, I'll be sure to post a picture.

Now, all we have to do is chase this rainy, cold weather away, and let the lusty magical month of May arrive with all its blossoms, bird songs, and beauty.  

Coming June 24th - HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS 

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Rainy Days in May

“It’s May, it’s May, the lusty month of May,” as the song goes in Camelot. 

With the incessant rains this year, Pennsylvania in May is a beauty to behold if you squint between the raindrops.

Named for Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility, May’s birthstone is emerald which symbolizes love and success. It seems appropriate to designate the emerald since spring in the northern hemisphere often is a brilliant green as dormant deciduous trees, grass, bushes, and emerging flowers and weeds dress themselves in shades ranging from lime to blinding green to deep avocado. 

The ferns in my flower beds are unfurling and jumping skyward. The Jack-in-the-pulpits have poked their heads up on the east side of the house, thanks to the protective shade of a rhododendron, and the hosta plants are so huge I fear they could join forces and overthrow all the plants in our yard.

For me, May is a time of awakening with warmer nights with golden moons. The bluebirds and hummingbirds return. The hawks soar. The robins bob, bob, bob on the lawn. And the very vocal wrens scold everyone from atop a cedar tree

.

This year, I’m foregoing a garden and will have a patio tomato and my basil plant in pots. I’ve decided instead of fighting the rain, I’m going to endorse an old farmer’s saying: Rain in May is a barn full of hay.

I’m going to enjoy the down time and dawdle a little, write, read, and look for rainbows. What are you favorite things to do on a rainy day in May?

                                                             WILLIE, MY LOVE
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