i am distracted by a frog jumping from the water and onto the rocks beside me. i stand up to follow him to the holly tree that has its roots set in the rock bed by the pond. the shade of the tree is a nice reprieve from the sunlight and i begin to walk under it more. i am not alone here. hanging from several branches are bird feeders filled with seeds or cherry red kool-aid. birds and squirrels spend all day here, eating and drinking by the pond. i feel like i am friends with all of them.<\/p>\n
my grandmother has planted flowers everywhere. planters with brightly colored annuals and perennials cover the rock bed and porch. bushes and vines grow right up to the water’s edge. i sit on the swing underneath the holly tree for a moment, admiring my grandmother\u2019s green thumb (she could bring any plant back to life).<\/p>\n
the warm wind starts to blow, and with it comes little white specks floating in from behind me. i turn around to get a better look and time stops \u2014 it is one of the most beautiful things that i have ever seen. the specks are blossoms from the bradford pear trees. we have our own phrase for this, my favorite weather phenomenon: \u2018spring snow\u2019. <\/p>\n
in late fall, i watch the leaves turn yellow and detach from the branches, floating down, sometimes onto the pond which is starting to freeze over. georgia winters are not long and come spring, the ice melts and the trees start getting their leaves back. soon enough, the trees are back in full bloom<\/p>\n
this cycle of seasons in this one small space has been a constant in my life. its magic has never worn off. every time i go back to my grandmother\u2019s house, i feel like i am seeing her yard for the first time. i immediately feel at peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
napping in grandmother’s garden. connecting to nature. join me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4900],"tags":[4832,4796,4833,4834],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-green-living","tag-bradford-pear","tag-georgia","tag-nature-writing","tag-pond"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n