Like a bee let loose from hibernation — zigzagging from bloom to bloom — me.
And April seemed to go by in a blink!
We began the month in North Texas although we spent some of our hours deep in the German countryside — my brother is the engineer behind the multiple trains and detailed scenery.
We enjoyed the warm days and our all-too-short visit. These blooms are in his yard. I had never seen Passion Flowers before. They are amazing! 
On our way to the airport and home, we spent some lovely, quiet hours in the Israel Prayer Garden in Corinth, TX. I hope to post more about that stop.
Spring is a time to keep an eye on the weather. Frost. Storms. We knew that had been some storm violence but we didn’t see much evidence on the drive from the airport. It was a shock to round the bend on the driveway and come to a stop. A tree had fallen and the crown covered the driveway.
The next day, I realized that much of my outdoor spring cleaning would have to be done, again. Our county has a brush recycling contractor — a blessing at the end of each truck load of pick-up and pruning. We were also blessed that your new lawn keeper came with a chain saw, took away firewood and left the driveway clean. I’m grateful for the stamina to do the work, however, it has has been tiring leaving no energy for digging and refreshing the garden beds – my winter dreaming. And, if only I could record or keep my thoughts together, there would have been blog posts along the way, not just wishful thinking and coffee drinking!
Late frost again nipped the new leaves on the hydrangeas and the bloom stalks of the Bleeding Heart. Time will tell if there will be bloom this year.
Indoors, the last stalk of Amaryllis bloom awaited our return from Texas. I had found an interesting article on caring for these amazing plants so I added to my normal regimen the advice to leave the spent stalk till it withered and faded. Another week or two and the plants can go outside for the summer.
I had reserved Annie F. Downs’ new book, Looking for Lovely, at our library. She writes, ” I want us to learn to look for the lovely all around us and collect it, hold it close, and see how God drops beautiful things into our lives at just the right time to help us step forward on our own paths.”
This is such a timely read for me, I bought my own copy. I had more experiences of loveliness in April, so – To be continued!
Elaine- so beautiful stopping by hear today! Your pictures and words are restful and refreshing! I am so sorry about that tree!! That is a huge amount of work! I was thinking of reading that book too! She visited liberty University (where two of ours go) a few weeks ago and I watched her speak on their convocation podcast. It was so fun to hear and inspirational too! sending blessings and hugs
So nice to have you visit, Susie. I had read Annie’s Lets all be Brave and this is like a continuation. It takes courage to look for lovely. In the face of pain and sorrow, we have to be open to see. You are one who sees and I am always grateful that you point me toward lovely.
Thank you for the link to the Amaryllis care. I have bookmarked it for when I dig mine up and bring it inside. It seems I did not do any of the things I should have except give it plenty of sunlight (but at the wrong time). The frost did a number on my Hydrangea and Bleeding Heart, too, but the Bleeding Hearts have recovered. Sill waiting to see about the Hydrangea. I’m so glad to hear someone speak of miracles in terms of expectation instead of wishful thinking!