Trees and leaves – Page 7 – Skelton Sketches

Chasing Bumblebees…

Posted on May 23, 2012April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

Just in from chasing bumblebees in the garden… a fine pastime for a sunny spring day, while the sun plays peek-a-boo with encroaching clouds–some fluffy white, some frowning gray…

The eider down of dandelions-past-their-prime, now reseeding for future generations, is upstaged by the glow of buttercup faces…But the real draw is the overwintered kale now gone to seed, the garden’s first brightness in spring.

The peas are peeking out; potatoes are eyeing sunshine from their dark furrows. The comfrey’s come back with all the power of a mighty weed.

How did I think I would let this season go, for a change, and not do any gardening? Sheer nonsense. I can’t keep myself out of the beds—searching for emerging seedlings, planted and otherwise…on the lookout for new life, excited by the growth that comes once my precious seeds are committed to the dead earth…

It’s hard to let them go. What if they don’t germinate and grow? All will be lost. There’s no instant manufacturing of more seed, only a long season of growth and fruitfulness and maturity. And then the gathering and the storing and the patient waiting for spring. Once in the seed packets, nicely labeled, the seed is mine—holding all the potential of a flourishing garden of veggies and blooms. But it ‘abides alone’, useless really, (no matter how lovely the packaging), if I fail to take the plunge and commit my precious seeds to the ground….

The painful part is passing now. Most of my seeds are planted and hopeful I ramble through the yard bending to see the first shoots, and finding the rewards here and there and the springing hope of summer’s bounty and autumn’s harvest…Yes, it’s a fine day for chasing bumblebees in the garden…

And so glad I am for the plants that reliably spring out of hibernation every spring, mature and ready to bloom where they’ve been planted in bygone years… They brighten my hopes for the rest yet to come!

Wishing you a happy ramble with the bumblebees, rejoicing in the hope of springtime…

–LS

“He that goes forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him.” Ps.126:6

“…unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone…” Jn.12:24

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For a close-up of some of my precious seeds, go here.

Stop and see…

Posted on May 4, 2012April 30, 2017 by lindaskelton

We are blessed to live in such a place… was out walking (and praying) with a few gals on the weekend marveling that living here is like living in a National Park, only without the signs and the tourists! Any day of the year you can tromp off into the ‘bush’ with no admission fee, and wend your way down endless trails through cedar, hemlock and fir forests glowing chartreuse green with moss on all sides.

But walking isn’t everybody’s favorite pastime… some prefer pedaling. And for this we have a tandem so we can share the experience and the work load ( ; Had a happy easy ride for a change on an antique tandem given to us recently by a friend . We’re good on this one as long as there are no hills! (It has no functional gears) Great for the seaside…

(and no seaside tour is complete without a stroll on the dock and a pic of a stalwart tugboat…)

The nice thing about an easy ride is you get to stop and see the flowers…

Every week should have some easy pedaling—time to stop and behold the moment…

“…Stop and consider the wondrous works of God.” Job 37:14

–LS

Spring comes Marching…

Posted on March 17, 2012May 18, 2018 by lindaskelton

We’re HOME again from visiting much family, and just in time! Home to wind and weather, even a smattering of snow—wild, wild winds that keep the ferries huddled in their terminals, and make roadside trees come crashing down, and power fail…. Days like these I’m glad for a wood stove…which can not only heat the house but can provide hot tea to go with a cold toast-less breakfast…

The willow still hasn’t any flaxen loveliness to her tresses. She more resembles an old hag tossing about in the wind, making work for the picker-up-of-branches in our yard, again.

But at least the torrential rain took a break long enough for a short walk through a much-trod trail and back around home…

The dead give-away that spring is surely afoot is the upsurge of crocuses in all their brilliance!

And though I don’t know the name of this antique-looking bloom, it captured my eye and would surely make a splendid watercolor painting someday when I’m holed up in the house watching the rain fall…

Spring is on the march—watch for it!

–LS

Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase…Lev.26:4