OPEN MY EYES!

Another surprising location of flowers is the slender tree growing alongside the newly paved sidewalk. This spring it has produced scads of pale green flowers, like the inner stalks of celery. What look like leaves and atop each cluster are really tiny green growths with tiny white flowers that must be a pollen source. With the other brush being cleared away, I notice the many bumble bees that seem to really enjoy these flowers as much as they do those on the holly bushes. This is the first year that I have actually SEEN the flowers on the holly bushes. Last month the fruit trees in the orchard once again blessed us with their blooms: white on the cherry and pear trees and a pale pink on the apple. I KNOW that these flowers are the precursors to fruit.

Tangled Oaks was a fairy land this spring. Everywhere I looked I saw flowering trees; the orchard was blooming in pastels; and all up the long driveway was an alternating pattern of white petals from the "mystery trees" and green seeds dropped from the new maples and oaks. Flowering ornamental trees did their best to compete with their fruit-bearing cousins. The daffodils and hyacinths planted by the previous owner were out in full until early May.

Since the pavers tore out all the overgrown bushes, I am left with an open area right under the picture window. This is a problem. Now I have to decide what I want to plant there that will look nice throughout all seasons and with whatever color I paint the replacement door. Back in New Jersey I had a cedar red color deck, and I repeated that color on the twin front doors. In the spring my white spirea filled the entire area and continued around with the cedar red fence. Here my color scheme has to be based on the slightly white washed red brick. The previous owner had painted over the same kind of cedar red color I had back home; I found this out when the decorative wooden trim fell off the doors! This adds another job to be done while the spring weather is still here: replacing the doors. It figures, we've had to replace nearly everything else since we moved in here. First the washer, then dryer, dishwasher, well pump, shower door, stove, microwave oven, and garage door had to be replaced. The roof was leaking and had to be replaced. When the previous rug was removed we could see that their dog made use of the floor, which meant new wall-to-wall carpet. Oh well.

May will also mean beginning the furniture refinishing project. There are 2 items in the house that have to be worked on: one child's chair and the piano bench. The chair has been mine from birth, and after making many moves with my mother over the years it has been scratched and worn. The piano bench became the favorite scratching post for a tabby cat that I had for 18 years. It was HER PLACE to hone her claws, and nothing else would do for her. As a result the bench's legs are "engraved". Some sandpaper and a stain to match the maple finish could do the job. Oh, I forgot the big rocker. This was part of my mother's household as long as I can remember, and at her death nearly 20 years ago, it became mine. It had been painted flat black over the mahogany finish, and the paint has been chipped over many moves. A good cleaning and then a paint touchup are in order. The "head rest" on the back is an ideal place for some artwork, like what I did on other chairs. I create my own designs to blend with the intended room of placement and do the painting over a period of time. The last item from within the house is a big hutch-topped dry sink that was also my mother's. Her many moves all over the country plus her cats have left it severely scratched. After refinishing I plan to do some artwork on the doors.