Colorful Sound of Spring

I’ve said this before on several occasions that Fall or Autumn is my favorite time of year. Like many others, we are happy to welcome cooler temperatures and the colors of late summer, giving way to the vibrant, but dying colors that come from the changing season. Those early colors soon become leaves on the ground and a colorless world of bare trees and bushes. This continues through winter and getting to wear sweatshirts and hoodies and trying to stay warm. However, after a few months, I do tire of the cold weather and start getting excited for the new life and bold colors that Spring bring. This year, we’ve been fortunate to have a little longer mild weather with an occasional sneek peak of hot weather. New life abounds with the birds and my love/hate relationship begins with them choosing bad locations for nests that don’t allow for tree trimming or having to walk different paths to not upset the parents or the nesting fledglings.

Fertilizer is spread and we start seeing those pesty weeds coming under control and new grass blades appearing in their place. We see more deer as the newborns explore the neighborhood and learn who to trust and, more importantly, who not to trust. After several years of only the female doe babies, this year it has been nice having a small spike buck running around. We turn our attention to spring cleanups and sprucing up or humble abodes to shine and be at its prettiest of the year.

In East Texas, we associate the beautiful azaleas and roses with the spring awakening. Tyler has the azalea trails and this year, that area of the city has become the showiest of the five years we’ve been here. We stumbled on a small garden called Pyron Gardens, which is solely the work of an elderly lady and her dog. Her vision of color, conformity, and branching way beyond the typical azaleas and roses and adding lots of flowering trees and plants that show just as well. We visited this garden yesterday and was witness by many finding her handiwork for the first time. I’m sure there were many returnees, but mostly I heard more I didn’t know this was here than anything. Moving into our third spring of landscaping, we are being rewarded with Jen’s vision of our gardens and now we are inspired even more seeing first-hand what she is wanting to achieve. She now has her local muse and I’m sure we’ll be returning several times and hoping Jen will get to meet Miss Pyron and discuss strategy. She has met many Master Gardeners in our little community and has been asked to join their informal group to teach others the hugely gratifying hobby of gardening.

In Colorado, Jen transformed our backyard into an oasis of peace that our dogs even enjoyed. I think mostly they enjoyed the blackberries and vegetable garden boxes. I had built four large, raised bed boxes for herbs, lavender, and veggies. Outside of the walkways and boxes, it had been transformed into English gardens that many enjoyed. We have had some frustration here with learning what and won’t grow here. We’ve struggled with environmental changes after losing trees that provided cover for shade-seeking plants only to lose them with the overbearing temps and sun of our Texas summers. We’ve learned to go for hardy and not petite. The overall strength is better, and rooting is less of a problem. We’re learning about our watering as well and have made some conscious plans to water less and root deeper. Our finances will also appreciate this notion, now if I can transform our waterfall water losing pond to a fountain of changing light and less days of filling the water level. Being unable to find where we are actually losing water, we know not the pond itself, but more the wall for the falls is the likely culprit. Nightly we have a cacophony of frogs, each sharing their after dark singing and the orchestral benefit is in the numerous types of toad minstrels that use the falls wall as their mini amphitheater. Can’t wait for the additional sounds of the crickets, owls, and cicada.

Thus far, we have been rewarded with mild temps, not so bad spring storms, maybe a little more wind than normal, but overall one of the most splendid springs on record. I am hopeful that Summer will be milder than the last couple of years. Our increasing temperatures have been merciless and the crazy storm damage throughout the United States have been notable. So many don’t believe that our climate is changing, and the fragility of our world may be fighting back. Whether you believe it or not, you have to admit we are in the middle of something that is causing weather patterns to change. Almost a since of the jet steam flipping and the north becoming the new south with the volatility of weather and the onslaught of damage they have been enduring. I for one believe our weather has changed, and whether it is the so-called climate change, I don’t know, but my reaction is the same either way. Why be so hard-headed to believe you can still have relentless search of natural resources without some kind of change. I suspect as many times as this blue-orb called earth has changed land mass formation and roughly caused the extension of animals with climate change, once again it may be hitting back and taking control of its own destiny. My belief is to lower our impact, reduce our needs on natural resource minerals and fuel, and turn more to technological breakthroughs such as kelp and algae-based fuels for combustible engines, the increased direction toward hydro drives, finding alternatives for the production of plastics and any other things reliant on petroleum. This I hope, because I want to enjoy more and more springs like the one in 2025. It has been a spring to remember. Now if our honeybee population and the hummingbirds return my spring will be complete. Think I’ll wander outside and enjoy another fine day. Happy Spring y’all.