May promises

My sister, in Poland right now, writes and tells me what's blooming at the moment. Her list of the most prolific flowering stuff is not unlike my list. Until she mentions the flowering trees: acacia, linden... Yes, I remember the scents from my childhood. But I see neither tree on this side of the ocean.

Though who could complain! The world outside is full of heady scents right now! And the perennials! Scented or otherwise, surely they're coming into their period of full glory!

So, do you mind? A post emphasizing the blooms of the second half of May. But first -- breakfast. And yes, today it's the two of us. On the porch.







Now, swing the screen door open -- never mind the squeak, it's part of the charm! -- and step outside.

There is the shade garden by the brick path. In it, the ever dainty yet hardy as anything aquilegia (columbine) is now coming into its peak blooming time.






And in the front border -- one that I wold call sunny, even though it has its hours of partial shade -- the coreopsis is starting its season (some people call it tickseed). I have many many variations on the coreopsis theme in various parts of the yard. This one happened to be the first to bloom.






Okay, that's fine and pretty, but can the most intensely aromatic flower please take a bow? Come on lilac -- you know you're the star right now!






We're saying good bye to the daffodils. Most are spent already, but occasionally, a hidden gem shows her face -- this one, among the ferns.






Back to my shade garden: not blooming yet, but still, I would say at their most beautiful form are the emerging hostas.






And yes, they're wet because we had quite the stormy downpour this afternoon. But before I get to that, I have to give a nod to the flowers in the pots, because surely, right now -- the pansies need a quick admiring glance.






So back to the weather details: first, it snowed a May snow. (Of petals, silly reader. We are done with the cold stuff!)  This may well be my favorite canvas depicting the sheep shed path, so do stare at it for a while, okay?





I took maybe a dozen shots of this very same spot today and truly, there isn't much difference between any of the photos -- a reassuring confirmation that I wanted to depict just this small little piece of heaven, nothing else.


What did we work on today, Ed and I? We trenched the hose, leading it toward the orchard. I would have pressed us to finish the whole task this afternoon, because the young fruit trees, the tomatoes, the grape vines -- they all needed water, but then the storms came and we stopped trenching and I thought -- isn't it great when nature intervenes and does the job for us every once in a while...

Other tasks? I graded. 'Nuf said.


In the evening, my older girl and her husband came over for supper...


 


... and it was our first supper outdoors on the porch and it was about as perfect as you could have it, what with the fading sunlight, the heady lilacs and all those other elements of the good month, the kind month, the month of promise.






Promise... of what?  -- you could ask. Of good and kind moments. Of beauty during periods of unexpected drama. Of pleasure -- sensual pleasure. That's a May promise. She always, without failure, delivers. It's what we look forward to every year. It's what keeps us going.