Sweet smelling blooms!  The hyacinths have the most intoxicating scent and greet us as we enter and leave our front door.

The cheery faces of the crocuses were the first to pop in my garden. I snapped this picture on Saturday, that "in-between" day between the crucifixion and the resurrection.  On that day over 2000 years ago, hopes had been dashed, fears realized, doubt and shame reigned, and life surely did not feel worth the living.  It was a long desperately sad day after the crucifixion.  I'm so thankful that today we know the rest of the story... we know now that HE arose and triumphed over death, hell and the grave forever more, yet I can't help but remember that on this day how things looked so hopeless for all believers then though they had been told it would happen.  An eternal lesson for us all to remember that even in the darkest hour, hope will spring eternally... and just as winter is long and cold, hope does spring anew again.  This little crocus was the first to pop its head out of the ground and lift its face to the sun after winter's long stay. It reminds me to be thankful for the hope that we have!

These trout lilies are the first wildflowers of the season, even Miss Riley was interested in their sweet little bloom!

My garden has finally been "unpacked" after the long winter's blanket of snow has melted. How wonderful it is to have my garden back in service for the season!

The sound of running water cycling through this fountain is so soothing as I work.  My plate glass flowers  I've made form the centerpiece on the table.

My succulents are thrilled about being brought back to the sunshine again. I had lots of new "babies" to plant as they multiplied over the winter, which I always find amazing!

Inside my greenhouse, the seedlings are growing wonderfully. We are all looking forward to the warm summer days!

I will have flowers, lots of flowers!  The above are zinnias, sunflowers, and bachelor buttons.

Happy happy happy mail came my way!  A dear sweet friend of mine, Marilyn from Pink Paper Cottage sent me a delightful package of goodies! She and I both share a love for paper crafting, and are inspiring each other by winging delights across the miles that we have crafted by hand for each other.  I can tell you this... Marilyn's skillfulness with paper is absolutely amazing!

Look at all the goodies she handcrafted for me!  Delight upon delight! She made me a gorgeous garden journal using special paper she tells me she had hoarded for years.  She and I both share a paper hoarding issue, ha! And she honored me by using up her special stash of paper to make me this gorgeous envelope album! She also made me a set of 4 little Easter chocolate holders, and the box had chocolate Easter eggs sprinkled in the green confetti... such a thoughtful beautifully packaged gift!

Each page is an "envelope" design which holds multiple tags and cards, on which I can journal thoughts and details from my season in the garden! Isn't this just such a lovely creation!

Also tucked in the pocket of the journal were these seed packets! Two of them needed to start as seedings, the Shasta daisies and the marigolds, and they immediately got a start out in my greenhouse! The other two will be sown directly into the soil.

She also made me this GORGEOUS paper rosette wand! It is soo amazing! And is perfect for me, as it says "Flowers" on it! Marilyn knows me well {smiles}

Marilyn has an Etsy store if you would like to shop with her. She makes the most amazing gifts, and truly puts a big part of her heart into every creation. If you would like to stop by and say hello and just browse her beautiful designs, her Etsy store can be found here.  Marilyn blogs at MyPinkPaperCottage, with a blog full of delightful creative designs that she has made!

Thank you again, Marilyn, for such a generous gift, and I will certainly be scratching my head trying to come up with something to send back your direction {smiles}

The hills were calling my husband and I! As the snow has melted enough for us to get the 4-wheelers out, we took a spin up into the mountains around our home and were amazed at the gorgeous views, despite the chilly winds up there!

On yonder mountains, snow caps still remain, a beautiful sight when spring is awakening the world below them.

It is magnificent to see the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and there was no snow around us when I took this picture.

But as we continued to wind our way up the mountains, eventually we had to turn around as we met the snow-line and decided to go no farther.

The trout lilies, one of the first wildflowers of the season here were out in grand number on the hillsides around us. Their delicate beauty is a delight to see amidst all the brown!

If only I could convey to you the delightful smell of these hyacinths! I can't get enough of their glorious scent, each time I walk through the door I have to stop and smell their fragrance.  Simple glorious delights!

The delights of spring are upon us and beautiful days with warming temperatures, abundant sunshine, and gentle rains.  It is that time of year when I'm merely in the house for absolute necessities, and the remainder of our time is spent outdoors. I love winter dearly, but I am embracing this season of spring with great abandon!

Today I will be tilling the garden in preparation for early spring planting of peas, spinach, lettuce and soon, potatoes.   The delights.... and chores... of spring are many, and they must be enjoyed and done now... time waits for no man! So I must don my hat and gloves and get back to business in the garden and our yard.  {smiles}

I hope that all of you are having a pleasant and lovely week, enjoying the pleasures of springtime :)

Early Spring is here in all its glory... rain, mud, and clouds.  But! The snow has melted, and little tiny green buds are appearing everywhere, and it won't be long until the world around us dances in color! 

There is a bit of color that just showed up in my garden! These sweet crocuses are lifting their faces to the sun!

I was so excited to see the warm sunshine, I hung clothes out on the line to dry. They didn't quite dry all the way and needed about another 10 minutes in the dryer... but it was a start! That picture was taken last week... all that snow has melted now :)

I spotted a bluebird on our morning walk! From a distance this picture was taken... not very clear, but quite exciting to see!

Thinking of my garden, and spending time in it, I decided to make a little garden handmade scrapbook using pictures from my garden last summer.

I used a fun Spring scrapbooking kit and made the mini-scrapbook quite quickly.

A closer look ...

Our morning walks have been quite foggy, and there is just something so special about the fog, it makes the ordinary somehow mysterious, shadowy and beautiful.

Here's a smile for your day! After days of rain, the sun came out.  I came back home after running some errands, and found these sweet girls along with Mr. Pepper all camped out on my porch sunbathing! Chickens sunbathe in the funniest positions, it makes me smile to watch them!

My oregano survived the long winter!  Soon I will be able to cut it and feed it to my chickens. Oregano is soo good for the girls :) I also dry it and use it in my kitchen.  Love that it returns every year!

Seeds are sprouting and growing rapidly!  This corn is doing great!  I plant three varieties since  corn needs at least two varieties to pollinate each other.

My sunflowers are coming right along too!

We had a rain storm roll through right at sunset and left behind this glorious rainbow!

I almost was able to capture the entire rainbow in the picture... almost :)  Do you see the faint second rainbow?

Our local herd of elk roaming the canyon hillside close to our home. I was sad that I didn't have my zoom lens with me to get a better picture!

A bluebird family has taken up residence in this box I placed last year!  The swallows ran them off last year. I hope they can claim it for their own this year!

Evening walks at sunset are glorious!

Walking is refreshing, not just for the body... but for the soul too! Seeing a sunrise/sunset a day keeps the doctor away, I do believe :)

Early morning walks now reveal green sprouting up everywhere!  Hooray!

Our neighbor's horse, Breeze was enjoying a late evening snack while the skies danced in colorful hues behind her.

Spring has definitely arrived, and for that, we are very grateful! We managed to escape the late spring snow that so many northern states received last week, and instead only received rain and wind.  I've been busy raking piles of pine needles and picking up the yard from the mess that winter winds leave behind. 

Tonight we had our first bonfire of the season. It felt wonderful to set out our chairs around the campfire and prepare for months of enjoying evening bonfires.

I'm thankful for all the joys that spring brings, and now we await the glorious blooms that will be coming any day.  Right now, I just have crocuses blooming in my garden, but the tulips and daffodils are growing quickly, and their color is greatly anticipated :)

How does spring look in your world?