Finding Spring on a Walk on the Farm

First Sunday Devotional Thoughts.

Today was a beautiful spring day in Kentucky. It’s almost as if these fine weekend days are showing up to help lift our spirits in these uncertain and often trying times. That said, I know some of you didn’t have a beautiful sunshiny day but had rain. Perhaps you needed the rain so it was still good. Perhaps your beautiful spring day will show up tomorrow or one day next week. But here at my house it showed up yesterday and then again today. The flowers are blooming. The grass is green velvet after being mowed and the trees are putting on their spring finery. And we’re glad to see it even as we are wishing the pandemic would ease so that kids could be out there playing baseball or kicking around a soccer ball while parents and grandparents sit in lawn chairs around the field and cheer them on. We’re wishing girls were rushing out to stores to find the perfect prom dress while their boyfriends are wondering about renting tuxedos. Brides should be planning weddings and families should be heading to the beach or somewhere fun for spring break.

Instead we are sheltering in place and dreading the new reports of those sick and worse those who have died. My husband and I are  staying in. I’m thankful to live on a farm with plenty of space to walk my two dogs without concern about social distancing while I’ve been gathering spring to share with you. So come along and see what flowers and spring markers we can find. Up top you’ll see pear blossoms on some old trees that were planted here on the farm long before we owned it. These may be second growth trees because they never have fruit. Only blooms.

Then there are beautiful violets decorating the lawn and fields. I know most consider them a pest plant, but I love how they dress up the spring grass with patches of purple. They have green leaves that cover the ground nicely once the blooms are gone. An invasive plant, wild garlic is blooming everywhere right now and so is the purple dead nettle. If you look closely you’ll see a chickweed bloom photo bombing the dead nettle.

But the flowers on the ground weren’t the only thing to enjoy. The trees are putting on a show too. Redbuds are blooming. Box elders are putting out a fringe, the maples are blooming, and the pawpaw trees are budding. On a day like today with nature exploding all round, I have to think of that song that says “Everything is beautiful in its own way.” So much truth to that. We might not see the beauty in everything but that might be because we haven’t looked in the right way.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind, and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12 (KJV)

Giveaway Winner

Thanks to all of you who commented to help design a book cover on my last post. You had some great ideas and horses and dogs showed up often on your covers. That works for me. Also thanks to those of you who commented on my cover reveal of An Appalachian Summer. The winner of my giveaway is Connie Lee. She chose my Louisville book, Words Spoken True. We’ll do more fun things soon. Meanwhile you can check out Revell’s Beyond the Book Facebook group. Every month they feature a book for an online book club type discussion and this month they are talking about my book, These Healing Hills.  I get to join in and have fun talking about the book too. It’s an open group so you can hop over and join in if you want to see what’s going on.

Then last, but not necessarily least, my last Shaker Book, The Refuge is on special e-book sale for $1.99 or less according to where you do your e-book shopping. Here’s one of my favorite graphic quotes from it from Darcie and from Mona.

As always thanks for reading.