Walking Iten's Acres: The Loves of Springtime April 12, 2017

Things I love about The Acres in springtime:
1. Walks in a soft rain
2. The harmonious cacophony of bird song
3. Hundreds and hundreds of daffodils trumpeting and dancing around the pond, in the wildest of the wild area, on the fringes of the trees, and along the margins of the meadow--yellows, reds, pinks, oranges, whites rejoicing in sunlight or shade.
4. The grape hyacinth--even the non-grape colored ones. They start out with only a single bloom, and then year-by-year grow into beautiful bouqets.
5. Walking in a slow circle around the pond enjoying the antics of the goldfish, turtles, and their fussy protectors the red-winged blackbirds.
6. Surprises--new Lenten roses showing up in the woods, the resurrection of a scarlet crab apple, tulips blooming where the squirrels transplanted them. Forgotten and lost by the tree rats, they perform their lustreous duty and beautify their new place.
7. The anticipation of iris time
8. Shadow following me everywhere, rubbing against my leg if I pause in my journey; Psycho following at a distance curious but too afraid to trust the human up close. The Boss watching everything from the doorwindow preparing her lecture for when I return inside.
9. The physical labor and its glorious tiredness
10. Sitting in the chair by the doorwindow watching the day fade into twilight and then darkness. Or watching the darkness succumb to the light of a new day.
11. Honey bees
12. Memories--Mom in her hat sitting on the patio, granddaughters ringing the bell, family and friends stopping by to visit and walk--the invisible is always so visible at The Acres
13. Sitting on the green--now faded--throne at the top of the hill watching life filling up The Wild Area.
14. Goldfinch colorizing
15. Accidental visits--red-headed woodpeckers, yellow warblers, indigo buntings, Baltimor orioles, mallard ducks
16. The return of the hummers
17. The wind moaning to announce the arrival of a new spring thunderstorm
18. Planting the future
19. Clouds racing furiously or meandering almost imperceptibly across a bright blue sky
20. The inescapable heart of gratitude for the gift of such a place on earth for a chubby old bald guy to enjoy near the end of his journey Home.