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| How Lovely are the Dogwood Tree's |
This morning is my first of the season, of what we like to call in the Lane family of porch 'Sittin'. I have my coffee and I am sitting listening and watching the birds as they tweet a merry chorus of joy as they welcome in the day. One of the reasons, I am writing about this topic is for my brother Jim and his family. He recently sent me a note on a card that pictured a porch, with comfortable rockers and such. In the note he mentioned that it reminded him of our porch and the times we had shared there together! Talk about a feel good moment.
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| Lane Front Porch 2011 |
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It is a beautiful day indeed.
I would really be hard pressed to describe the awe inspiring beauty of spring in East Tennessee. This time of the year our yard is like a glorious fairy land of flowers.We have 10 white Dogwoods that are amazing to behold as they turn from a pale green into a brilliant white. There are several reasons I am partial to Dogwoods, but these are special because we dug them up in the woods in Norris and planted them in our yard. Our house is surrounded by their beauty. For many years during Easter and prom season our Dogwoods have been the background for family photo's. Therefore, they also bring with their delicate blooms, many cherished memories of happy family times in the front yard and on the porch.
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| my all time favorite Dogwood photo Curt n'Amy 1995 Curt had just been released from the hospital, we were so very blessed to have him with us for 10 more years | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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| Curt n' Linda |
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| Our Beautiful children Amy Noel n' Christopher Todd n' The Easter Bunny too! |
Tradition once established, can carry on for generations. I have already seen it in Chris and Amy and their families as they share their porches with family and friends. Sharing the Lane front porch means talking, and laughing, while watching the children, and the dogs trample your carefully planted plants and bushes,or perhaps listening to the melodious sounds of a guitar or a haunting tune of a dulcimer fresh out of the shop. It could mean, depending on the time of day, sharing a glass of sweet tea with lemon, a cup of coffee, a glass of wine or one of Curt's favorites 'Yellow Birds'. I am grateful beyond words that the old southern ways are still around as is 'The Lane's Front Porch' and hopefully it will add a few more memories to it during this year of 2011. I invite you to stop by, sit awhile, and enjoy a little peace and serenity on the front porch. It may even give you something to talk about someday in the future.
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| Papa Johnson, Hunter, Big Daddy Lane 1997 |
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| Hunter n' Memommie looking cool 1999 |
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| Dad n' Mom...Happy Day |
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| Barbara, Granny Johnson, Chris, Papa Johnson, Big Daddy n' Hunter |
As I sit here writing I can smell the sweet scent of my pink lilac bush, which stands to right side of the porch.
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| Porch view with pink Lilac to the right |
I will share a small story about the Lilac bush. I have always loved Lilac's. When I was a young girl we would visit Grandma and Grandpa Johnson in Clinton, Tennessee. My Grandma who's green thumb was renowned, had a Lilac bush in her back yard. I spent many moments just sniffing it's lovely aroma and looking at it's tiny purple flowers all gathered together to form a mass on the end of a stem with bright green leaves surrounding it. I also admired her Pussy Willow bush, I always found it interesting to observe.
Curt knew I wanted a Lilac bush.Probably because I told him so many times after we moved into our house! I wanted it to be planted right outside our bedroom window, so in the late spring I could open the window and the delicate sweet scent could permeate the bedroom. He was always ordering plants, trees, and seeds from various catalogs. I truly hoped one day a Lilac would miraculously appear! Well we had Apple trees for the back yard, we had 3 Rose of Sharon bushes planted along side the bedrooms windows, we had Camellia's by the barn, a large garden filled with all varieties of vegetables, but alas no Lilac's. (What I later found out he was trying to get Lilac's for years but they kept sending other plant's, that weren't Lilacs. Regardless he just kept on planting whatever came) (He was a farmer at heart). One spring I was out in the yard around back by the fence and I saw this little stick with bright green leaves and a heavy bloom laden branch falling to the ground. "I said Curt what is that"? He said" I don't know it was in with some stuff they sent so I planted it last year back in the back so I could see what it is" You guessed it, it was a tiny pink Lilac.
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| Pink Lilac |
The moral to this story is. Sometimes it takes awhile for your dreams to come to fruition and maybe it won't be exactly the way you had planned. We spend plenty of time 'Sittin' on the front porch. Everyone can enjoy the scent of the Lilac, as well as the beauty of the now tall gangly bush. In the summer when it no longer blooms, it is filled with lovely green leaves that helps to hide the water hose and the plain brick wall. It has a much more useful purpose where it is now planted then it would have ever had underneath the bedroom window. As the old English proverb says
"all good things come to those who wait". Waiting is not always easy, it is a learning experience, which sometimes challenges and tests your patience, but I guess that is what the lesson is all about.
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| Hunter boy 1998, front porch Sittin' and drinking his morning joe |
In the words of another thespian I admired greatly, Paul Harvey,
"Here is the rest of the story" "
Good Day"
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Post script: there are many other photo's of porch Sittin' but some of these are old pictures that I found in a box...so maybe they won't last but hopefully now they will.
LSJL
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