63. Apple Blossoms, Lilacs, and Birdsong

May 1, 2013April 15, 2023 / Apple Hill Cottage / 16 Comments

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.

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)”

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

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.

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.

58. Black and White

March 28, 2013January 20, 2016 / Apple Hill Cottage / 9 Comments

I’ve had black and white on the brain lately.

Everywhere I look, I see black and white together. Dark and light. Absorbing and reflecting. Hot and cold. Opposites. Contrasts.

black and white in nature Today, stopped at a stop light in the burbs of Pittsburgh, I saw a bald eagle. My first thoughts were, I must be wrong. What other kind of bird looks like that? Some sort of hawk? I may have misidentified it; but there it was — huge, flying out of the treetop, thirty feet above me. I got a good look: white head, black body, curved yellow beak, very large. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology tells me that it could be a turkey vulture, but I definitely saw a white feathered head. I’m sticking to my story.

black and white in the world
I was marveling at the sight when twenty yards down the road came two black and white police cars racing to a somewhere scene, lights flaring, sirens blaring. Yes, that was more like the city — powerful, forceful, a place full of opposites — street lights illuminating the dark, sirens piercing the silence of the night, churches and rescue shelters — havens in the midst of desperate neighborhoods.

Black and white in design is a study of contrasts. The design blog Hongkiat.com calls black and white a “stark dichotomy,” which makes the design impossible to ignore. It is clean and simple, yet it can be complex as well. Black and white together have “…endless opportunities that other color schemes just don’t manage to generate. It all just balances itself out.” I especially like the word balance.

I love old black and white films, and black and white photography fills me with a longing that color just doesn’t satisfy. (See post 30. A Stillness in Time). Wikipedia says, “Since the advent of color, black-and-white mass media often connotes something nostalgic, historic or anachronistic.” Yes, that’s me — nostalgic, anachronistic, and yearning.

Black and white together — it is bold. Courageous. Balanced. Stunning. It takes a stand. Bald eagles, police cars, photography, design… and our new kitchen floor.
Armstrong VCT tile

It is bold. I generally believe in hardwood floors or muted rugs. This stands out. It shouts out. I love it!

I have never been bold or courageous, though as I get older I discover I am gaining on them. Arguments still make me squeamish; heated discussions still often silence me; and I usually just want everyone to get along together. My walls are white, and my wardrobe consists of neutrals, though I occasionally wear an emerald scarf, a bright red sweater, a purple t-shirt. I have always admired boldness in others, while secretly thinking that bad things always happen to those who stand out or stand up.

In a world that needs boldness, I want to stand.

In a world that needs the saving grace and redemption of Jesus, I want to shout of His power to save.

Happy Easter! May we be bold in speaking of His love.

No, the issues that are fracturing us are not black and white. But what we must all take to heart is His love; His redemption; His power. Written over both the black and the white is His love — written in His blood — written forever, no matter who we are, what we do, or how we dis-grace Him. His love covers us all, and it’s free.

41. A winter’s eve

January 6, 2013October 20, 2014 / Apple Hill Cottage / 8 Comments

The new fallen snow and ice of winter is beautiful when the sun shines

or when it lights up an otherwise dark night

or when the icicles glint like crystalline daggers protecting the house within

or when I am inside sitting by a fire in the fireplace … a mug of fragrant warmth in my hands (a cookie doesn’t hurt either.)

Oh wait, how did TWO cookies get into this picture?

But mostly I struggle with winter.

The gray and the cold; the colds and the blues…

This year it wasn’t even to the first day of winter before I was sick of snow. I was sick of snow, and it hadn’t even snowed yet…

And yet, the seasons were created for a reason. It’s all a wonderful circle of life, even though in winter there’s not much life visible. (And the visibility is bad for us poor folks who have to drive in it.) One good thought about snow — it protects the fruit trees from cold and makes better fruit next year. Two good thoughts about snow — I got these gorgeous boots for $9.99.

What kind of boots did you think they would be? This is the country after all, and Tractor Supply is my new main store…

There isn’t much happening at Apple Hill this winter. We are huddled in the city house by the fireplace, trying to decide if we can settle for a gas log fireplace in the living room at the cottage. There’s something so soul-satisfying about a real fire. The smell, the crackle, the heat… Ah well, you can get heat from a gas fireplace, but there is definitely no wood smoke or crackling involved. Of course, the lure of just turning it on whenever you want is a tantalizing extra…

I’ve discovered that many people have strong feelings about fireplaces. So what are yours? A real wood fireplace or gas logs for convenience?

___________________

Extra notes for consideration:

The gas line is already run to the fireplace
We are most likely going to have a wood stove in the mudroom, and the stove has a window in the door for live fire action
The fireplace in the living room doesn’t have a flue/damper so serious work is involved.