63. Apple Blossoms, Lilacs, and Birdsong

/ Apple Hill Cottage

This is part 3 of several posts discussing Richard Foster’s chapter on Simplicity in Celebration of Discipline.

Ahhh, spring!
The flowers, the colors, the smells, the birds, the sun… It’s just good for the soul.

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We’ve been talking about Richard Foster’s practical ways to simplify your life. And today we are skipping to #6 because this is an easy one: “Sixth, develop a deeper appreciation for the creation…Walk whenever you can. Listen to the birds. Enjoy the texture of the grass and leaves. Smell the flowers. Marvel in the rich colors everywhere. Simplicity means to discover once again that ‘the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.’ (Psalm 24:1)”20130421-002630.jpg

And when better to start this part of your new simpicity regimen than spring?

The view from my back porch...

The view from my back porch…

My back porch workshop is open for business again, and I was painting out there on Saturday morning. Painting is a quiet, lovely, simple activity, and I was enjoying the birds. In the two hours that it took me to paint the shelf boards for the built-in spice rack, I saw a flicker, a dove, robins, a red-winged blackbird, a phoebe, a female cardinal, mockingbirds, wrens, a starling, goldfinches, and a turkey. What joyful songs they were singing… I had stepped off the porch just to turn my face to the sun, when I heard a bird sing “Look here, look here. Tuweet, Tuweet.  Over here, over here, Tuweet, Tuweet. Right here, right here. HaHaHaHaHaHa.” 

I laughed just for the gloriousness of it. I was sure that mockingbird was teasing me. But just a few minutes later, I was back painting on the porch when I heard him singing the same song for his girlfriend. She turned her back to him, totally ignored him and soon flew away. He stopped singing; he may not have won his lady love, but he certainly entertained me.

maple tree in spring against a blue sky

Somewhere in this fuzzy spring maple tree sits that singing mockingbird…

Mr. H.C. could hardly wait to get on his tractor for the first time. He was spending a lot of time mowing, but I was busy and not paying attention to how long it was taking him to mow the grass. He finally came and found me and said with a grin, “Want to go walk around the estate?” If you knew what the “estate” looked like, you would laugh. Apple Hill is not exactly an English country cottage on manicured grounds. In fact, where the moles don’t live, these do:Dandelions

But we have wanted to mow paths around the berry patch since last year, and Now Is The Time! So we walked around the newly mown paths, scoping out the possible berries, and discovered an apple tree that we couldn’t reach last fall because of the briers.Apple tree blossoming

Under the dappled light of the apple tree the air was sweet from blossoms, the bees were humming, and the grass was trampled low from deer sleeping there.

We walked home clutching handfuls of wild chives and sticks of apple blossoms to add to the vase of lilacs in the kitchen.apple blossoms and lilacs
How easy it is to be joyfully at peace on these glorious days of spring.

16 thoughts on “63. Apple Blossoms, Lilacs, and Birdsong”

  1. Love the pictures and the fact that you have deer sleeping under your trees :)

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  2. Ah, stated so very eloquently. I sigh with pleasure. We’ve waited so long for this spring.

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    • We have, haven’t we? Even Punxsutawney Phil got bashed for being wrong!!! His handler took the blame though, so the charges were dropped. The guy said he must have mistranslated groundhog-ese.

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  3. I LOVE this!! I don’t get quite the variety of birds that you do …but I love listening to them “talk” to each other, and to me when I get in their way! :) You have a lovely estate….Spring is a glorious time of year, full of hope! I can’t wait to see the apples that all those blossoms produce!

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    • Oh thank you! Your comment made me smile. Sometimes when I get excited about the birds, my husband looks blankly at me… But he did get me an identification guide with CDs for my birthday, so I can’t complain too much :-)

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  6. Stopping by from The Domestic Fringe… you MUST be from New England? We have all of these same trees springing forth right now. And, it is indeed glorious to behold! I so enjoyed the feeling of gratitude laced throughout this post.

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    • Thank you! Western PA actually (but this was last week’s post).
      I’ve been specifically trying to cultivate gratefulness this year since I seem to be kind of a whiner by nature. (Boy, is that ever hard to say out loud!)

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  7. Oh, my!! I love this! As I read it, it is as if I am right there with you experiencing it. I laugh about the dandelions—they have overrun my butterfly garden so I understand that all too well. I am still waiting for the lilacs here. Great pictures!

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    • Thank you for such a nice comment! You know when the dandelions are pretty little flowers, I don’t mind them. If only they weren’t so unruly! And so darn hard to pull out!

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