Sometimes when faith is running low

And I cannot fathom why things are so…

I walk alone among the flowers I grow

And learn the “answers” to all I would know!

For among my flowers I have come to see

Life’s miracle and its mystery…

And standing in silence and reverie

My faith comes flooding back to me!

~ Helen Steiner Rice, Sunshine of Joy, from my grandmother’s bookshelf

I’ve been away from my blog for a while.

Beautiful Spring weather and a very long list of yard and garden “must-dos” & “desperately want-to-dos” have turned my thoughts elsewhere. Toiling away in the fresh air and sunshine, with birdsong as my cadence – oh, such heavenly work it is! – makes for sweet deep sleep at day’s end. (In other words, I’ve been too tuckered to type by nightfall!)

Last week, while conducting Spring plant and pollinator “reconnaissance”, it occurred to me that purple seemed to be the color of the week.  And some purples appeared to be popular with the pollinators (say that 3 times fast!).

Look at the beautiful translucent wings on this honey bee gathering nectar from the tiny lavender flowers of Ground Ivy, known to many as “Creeping Charlie”.

Wild Violets. Perfection – with their delicate flowers and heart shaped leaves!

More Wild Violets, Ground Ivy, and Moss cascading down the stream bank.

Honesty Plant, I like the latin name better – Lunaria annua, self seeds in the leaf litter under the Cedar, Oak, and Tulip trees.

Creeping Phlox – a blanket of lavender over a thick cushion of evergreen foliage.

Pansies – blooming since late November in my window box.  What a wonderful way to greet the morning during the winter months!