The Loveliest of Trees

The Loveliest of Trees by AE Houseman

LOVELIEST of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.


Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.


And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

i was twenty when i first read this poem and fell in love with its clarity and succinctness. twenty years were gone and would not come again; if i had an average of 50 more, what should i do with them...what could i do with them. everything and anything i thought. the world was truly mine to have. i was young and full of aspiration. ten more years have passed and why should i feel any differently about the future? i do, though--feel different. i think we all (now and again) find ourselves in a funk--the existence of everyday mediocrity. but maybe that's just an idea i've bought into. it is no more real today than it was 10 years ago. the highest walls to climb are those we build in our mind.

i tend to think that my cherry trees are my boys. and they are. but i sometimes miss those magical moments because i am worried about the dishes in the sink and dust bunnies collecting along the baseboards.

we all are driven to seek answers, but are there any answers... really? who of us has achieved self-actualization? or is that just for the Mother Teresa's of the world? and can everyday people be mother teresas?

i will think about it, but won't figure it out tonight. anyway, here i am finally posting some of the easter collection this year.

i didn't buy anything this year for easter (meaning decorations) and i actually only put out very little. i have spent all my extra pennies on a huge antique gilt mirror, 1800s metal frame bed, an industrial coffee table, and an antique galvanized metal double basin washtub. thank god for layaways. that thing of the 80s is a god-send with big ticket items.

my husband always asks me to "go shopping" in my own home when i feel the urge because i buy and store and forget i ever had it to begin with!

but vintage jewelry is always a must. always l0oking for pieces that tantalize the senses. these little babies remind me of delightful confections.

i am so sad that nicole sayre has stopped producing her seasonal lines. there was nothing to buy this year.

Welcome Spring!!!

Spring Blooms

ranunculus are one of the truly gorgeous flowers for me. they are dense and spectacular!

r. with statice and foxglove which we grew easily in north carolina.

you'll have to forgive the tons of pics from same bouquets. i couldn't narrow it down!

salmon lady roses.

these are not english roses they resemble them a little.

purple calla lillies.

white roses, heirloom hydrangeas, pink peonies,and orchids

these flowers were my favorite this easter.

the unfolding of petals is perfection.

the variation in color of these hydrangea is stunning. i couldn't stop looking at them on my kitchen counter.

...and hyacinth are the sweetest smelling flower i have ever known.

orchids for the santos...

i used to grow orchids, but now i've narrowed my collection to this one, which i am giving to my mother. with little ones, some things fall by the wayside.

again, these colors are -- well, nature is an artist!

pure and clean.