Golden Hour Walk Around the Garden

Apr 7

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

~ Quote by Karl Lotz or perhaps Martin Luther, no one really knows…

Whoever planted this scraggly/glorious apple tree in our yard however many years ago, THANK YOU. Every year, right on schedule, her flowers bloom and hum with a thousand honey bees, and I feel a ray of hope inside. The predictable rhythms of nature are so healing right now, aren’t they?

I wish I could walk around the yard with you and show you all the blooming things! But we’ll just have to settle for a few photos I snapped last night at golden hour. Barefoot. In the middle of dinner, because I couldn’t resist. If you know me in real life, this is not surprising.

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and walk with me…cheers to noticing the LIFE all around us and reading God’s love letter to us through nature.

First, the wisteria. It’s draped all over several trees, and I know that’s probably considered “invasive” in the gardening world, but I don’t even care. They smell like vanilla mixed with lilac. And that lavender color reminds me of the color of the carpet in my parents’ 70s bedroom when I was little. Wisteria also makes me think of this song I love by Richard Shindell.

Here’s the dogwood tree just beginning to bloom…

In my front yard growing up in New Jersey, we had a dogwood tree named Amanda. My brother was so much older (9.5 years), and I always wanted a little sister. Instead, my mom bought me a tree. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I fostered hours and hours of imagination under that tree and even had a spot of grass near it that was fluffier than the rest of the lawn that was my “nest” (this explains a lot - ha!). Here’s a photo of my girls in front of that dogwood tree this past summer in New Jersey…

Taking a stop at the white lilac bush - its blooms are just starting to pop. The smell of lilac is super sentimental to me.

Now, over to the firepit area is just waiting for some friends to come gather again under the twinkle lights. Sigh.

If you’re wanting to build a campfire to gather around with your family and pass the time during “shelter in place,” here’s how to build a backyard campfire (the new, easier way).