In the garden...

We moved the duck house. Underneath it there were all sorts of insects, worms and this lovely creature. Turns out it is a Blue Spotted Salamander. From what I read they are rarely found above ground except in the spring during mating season. I hope he or she finds a love! I scooped it up so the chickens wouldn't turn it into a snack, and moved it to a safe spot in the herb garden.

Above ground the apple blossoms are near the end of their too-short lives. The air has been heavy with their incredible scent, the bees humming in each tree. As they fade the lilacs are beginning to bloom. When I was a kid we had a whole lilac hedge, and we were allowed to pick armfuls of the blossoms. It was a fragrant richness that I treasured.We would carry bouquets of them to the house, and take more to the local cemetery where we'd decorate the graves that were very, very old. We figured those old stones had few if any visitors and we should grace them with flowers. When we bought this house there were two well established lilac bushes; one traditional purple and one white. I adore them. One is right by the main entrance,and it is such a treat to breath the perfumed air as I come and go about my work here. Spring is unfolding, one tree or salamander or duckling or flower at a time.