Select Page
On the Road and Feeling Right at Home

On the Road and Feeling Right at Home

Riverview Conference Center

The Cedar Falls Christian Writers’ Conference is underway at the Riverview Conference Center. I may be away from home, but I’m not homesick for a couple reasons.

First, in a former life Riverview belonged to the old Evangelical United Brethren (EUB) denomination where EUB rugrats like me went to church camp every summer. Those were golden weeks of childhood, so coming here is like coming home.

Second, Cedar Falls is about 60 miles north of where I live. So the late spring that ended last week in my neck of the woods is still underway. Which means some of my favorite flowers that are fading back home are in full bloom here. Things like:

IMG_1874

and more roses.

IMG_1876

Peonies,

Peonies

daisies, and coral bells.

daisies and coral bells

So far, no CSA with fresh strawberries,

strawberries

but I’m dealing with that.

What makes you feel at home wherever you are? Leave a comment.

Top Ten Reasons to Love Spring

Top Ten Reasons to Love Spring

10.

IMG_1738

The wild plum tree blooming across the road.

9.

Blossoms on the cherry tree across the fence in the neighbor's yard.

Blossoms on the cherry tree across the fence in the neighbor’s yard.

8.

A white crab apple tree just about to burst into bloom.

A white crab apple tree just about to burst into bloom.

7.

Sunshine streaming through trees covered with new leaves.

Sunshine streaming through trees covered with new leaves.

6.

White jonquils waving at the morning sun.

White jonquils waving at the morning sun.

5.

Red bud trees vibrant enough to take a person's breath away.

Red bud trees vibrant enough to take a person’s breath away.

4.

A field of dandelions...next to someone else's yard.

A field of dandelions…next to someone else’s yard.

3.

A red crab apple tree heavy with flowers.

A red crab apple tree heavy with flowers.

2.

A fairy ring of bleeding hearts.

A fairy ring of bleeding hearts.

1.

A tulip festival in our own backyard!

A tulip festival in our own backyard.

What do you love about spring? Leave a comment!

 

 

 

March Madness at our House

March Madness at our House

For most of the country, March Madness 2012 ended with last weekend’s championship game. For many Iowans, like my husband, the madness ended in the second round when the Iowa State Cyclones, the team that beat the reigning champs in the first round, lost to Kentucky in the second.

But for other Iowans, like me, the March madness continues, not on the basketball court, but in our flowerbeds. This year’s mild weather was mentioned in a previous post, and afterwards spring marched through March like mad. In fact, so unbeleivable was spring’s onslaught that on the last day of the month, I used my camera to make a record of the mad, mad, mad, mad spring of 2012. Crazy stuff, unheard of in Central Iowa. Stuff like

bleeding hearts blooming in March,

along with tulips,

and more tulips,

and violets.

Not to mention buds on the clematis

and the lilacs, too,

rhubarb almost ready to be picked,

and the roses in full leaf.

Only the wild plum tree blossoms, usually the first of the spring flowers to bloom, waited until their usual time to appear.

Surrounded by the many evidences of this mad spring, the plum tree nearly escaped my notice, until the fragrance of the blossoms wafted on the breeze and tickled my nose. A lovely March Madness I pray will rule at our house until the end of May.

Top Ten Reasons to Visit an Allergy Clinic

Top Ten Reasons to Visit an Allergy Clinic

Today, a compassionate, caring medical professional at  Allergy Associates of LaCrosse, Wisconsin is going to hurt me. This person will perform allergy tests by pricking my baby soft skin over and over and over. Why submit to such torture? I chalk it up to these top ten reasons it’s time to visit an allergy clinic.

10.  You plan your daily walks to avoid homes that vent their dryers, and hence the scent
of dryer sheets, along the sidewalk.

9.  You avoid campfire smoke by bribing little children to roast marshmallows for your s’more.

8.  You can’t to visit your friends unless they get rid of candles and incense first.

7.  You beg God to put all Bath and Body Works stores out of business.

6.  Your husband scrubs his face and/or shaves with unscented lotion before daring to kiss you.

5.  You’re beginning to think face masks look kinda fashionable, even sexy.

4.  You start thinking of perfume and men’s cologne as instruments of Satan.

3.  You ask your hubby to demonstrates his love by not buying you flowers.

2.  Your eyes get red and itchy when looking at pictures of cats.

1.  Your personal road to hell is paved, not with good intentions, but with scented candles, Glade air fresheners and department store perfume aisles.

 

 

Waiting for Spring

Waiting for Spring

For the first time ever, my indoor bouquet of American Cancer Society daffodils and the bed of outdoor daffodils are blooming at the same time.

Since today is the first day of spring, this may seem like no big deal to many of you who live south of Iowa. But in this state, the calendar’s first day of spring and the weather’s first day of spring are usually weeks apart. But not this year.

This year on the first day of spring, the bleeding heart looks like this:

The magnolia like this:

Not to mention the iris,

the tulips,

the columbine,

and the lilacs.

Spring is almost a month ahead of itself, and its early appearance is a worry. Spring is one of those things to be anticipated, best savored when it arrives on time or even a little late. An early spring leads to complications, like when house guests show up before you’ve made the bed with fresh linens, or babies are born prematurely, or young people become rich before they’ve learned to handle money.

Once the leaves and buds and stalks appear, they’re sitting ducks for the killing frost that’s bound to come. After the frost, flowers don’t bloom, fruit trees don’t fruit, and plants spend the entire summer trying to recover. An early spring is like dessert being served before the meal. It tastes so good at first, but it spoils the appetite while leaving the stomach unsatisfied.

But, an early spring is the one we’ve got, and nothing can be done about it. Therefore, I’m doing my best to enjoy it, trying to convince myself that it’s okay to eat dessert first if it’s the only food in the house. So far the ruse is working. But when the killing frost comes – and rest assured it will – and wipes away all this early sweetness, will these pictures of early spring be enough to fill the emptiness inside?