Changes Every Day

Apple and redbud,
view from my bedroom window

This time of year, the garden changes fast. Especially on a warm and sunny day, I can see changes from morning to evening. Because so much of my yard is shady, plants have to hurry up and perform before all the leaves are out, shutting out the smaller plants' view of the sun. Everywhere I look, there is something unfolding that enthralls me. Just standing and looking is very rewarding. And I have the ability to focus on an exquisite lovely little detail, and ignore a bigger picture that shows trash or trash plants right next to the little thing I'm admiring. My yard contains many little vignettes, no sweeping vistas.

Rocky enjoying the tulips
(the tulips possibly enjoying him less)

Everywhere I look, there is something that needs plucking out, cutting back, or just edited in some way. I will set out on a project, and as I gather my tools and prepare to start, I catch a noxious weed out of the corner of my eye. It's like someone calls "squirrel" to my fierce dog Abbey (long deceased). Carrying out a project from beginning to end will be filled with digressions, which might be why each task seems to take twice as long as I planned.

Front yard before it's fully shady

Carolina silverbell and tulips

Bluebells and anemones

So I plug along, filling a big brown yard waste bag a day, taking out much more than I add back. And in a month or so, I'll be able to stop and smell my roses along the way!