The house is quiet as the men have left and Brit lies catching up on reading. Something she has put to the side for months while studying for school. Summer is just around the corner and break is almost here, so she has spent time stocking up on poetry books, etc. to begin diving into during break. This leaves for me a quiet moment with coffee, birds singing, and my computer. I write in spurts as you all know by now and morning seems to be the best time for me to get any thinking, written down. Once again we have passed through winter and with this one, we spent many days wondering if the rain would ever cease. As they continued to report yet another week of rain, my mood sank and dreams of the market were squelched. This has all passed finally and is just a memory now as the fruit surrounds us and the smells of the orchards permeate the air! My trip to the market this week was a blessing and the gifts abounded as I stocked up on prickly cactus to add to our eggs, snap peas that are sweet as honey, plump, sweet tomatoes, green spinach, and cilantro as well as bunches of fresh asparagus. What I live for and love!!! The freshness of living in the valley and having produce abound! This also brings with it the scents of spring which I love and cherish. I usually cannot get enough of the smell of blossoms this time of year. Driving out of the mountains this week with students, however, I was taken back by the overpowering fragrance of the orange orchards on the edge of town. Something I love in small amounts but as you drive by this time of year it is as though you cannot wait for that fresh breath of clean air. You know how it is when you have seated yourself on the crowded subway or in a closed office right next to that one person who decided to bathe themselves in a bottle of sweet powdery fragrance before running out into the world? Well this is how it can be at moments when driving past the orange orchards in spring. Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore the orchards, the blossoms, the bees, and the scent of sweetness all around. However, as in all things, too much of a good thing is not always so good and this is how it is at times for me with the orange trees in full bloom. I am happy to say however, that they are but a mile from my home and so I can enjoy these blessings at all stages of the seasons and so I plan to wait a bit before I venture out that direction again. For now, I will keep it subtle and enjoy the orange blossoms gracing my backyard. The lemon tree is in full blossom as well and the jasmine just finished its parade of blossoms. Before that we were honored with the scent of freesias in all their glorious fragrance. So, you see as I walk my gardens, the smells change as do the many blossoms filling our gardens. I am happy to say among the current blossoms we have sporting their colors are the passion vine, the kangaroo paws, and the bird of paradise. These are some of my very favorites along with the bottle brush tree that joined us last season and is now three times the size it was when it arrived! Wayne and I spend much of our at home time among the flowers and trees that we have added to our home since arriving. We also spend an insane amount of time watching over each new batch of Morning Doves that arrive over our patio. Mama Dove is on batch three already this season and the other two nest fulls wander the gardens daily. These are the quiet moments I cherish in a life that is filled too full with end of school activities, children’s events, prom and graduation planning, social outings, business engagements, and the soon to be and greatly awaited arrival of grandparents. Perhaps this is the balance my life finds between the busy daily organizing and meeting of expectations of others and the quiet still giving my gardens provide. In this intense mixture, is the calmness I find to enjoy and cherish each moment from one extreme to the other.