Lilacs & Countryside

A couple of weekends ago, my family  and I visited my parents.  It was a beautiful weekend to be staying with them, as the weather was warm and the lilacs were in full bloom.  One morning, I grabbed my camera and went around trying to capture the beautiful views.  I wanted to capture the moment of the quite morning. the sun shining and the impending heat of the day.  I really enjoy the moments in the early morning when everything is still quite and barely awake.  Looking back at these photos (even though they are a couple weeks old) brings me a sense of peace.  I can still smell the fragrant lilacs.

This beautiful tree was a Mother's Day gift to my mom, a million years ago.  I remember when we had chickens, the chickens loved to sit under this tree and sunbath and also dig up the dirt right at the base of the tree.  

This lilac bush is a light purple, almost a tinted white.  

Beautiful lilacs.   I wish they could last all summer.

This weathered building is the wood shed that holds all of the split and stacked wood for winter.  I love the rustic and weathered look of this building.  I love the contrast of the bright green leaves and grass against the weathered brown.  Right on the far corner of the building, where the wall meest the tin roof, sits a Yellow Bellied Sap Sucker woodpecker.  This gorgeous, yet very loud bird is the reason for this photo.  Every morning during our stay, this little guy (or girl) would tap on the tin of the roof.  I did not even need an alarm clock!  I tried to get a better photo, but sneaking up on this bird proved to be more difficult than I thought.  He would always fly away.  

I guess you could considered my parents agriculturalists, as they own a Christmas tree farm.  I remember planting the original saplings, 20 plus years ago.  I love looking out at the acres of trees.  It makes me happy to think of all the joy each tree will bring to the different families during the Christmas holiday.  Each spring, my parents plant new saplings to replace the trees that have been cut or did not make it, for whatever reason.  It takes about 8-10 years for a tree to mature and be the right size for a Christmas tree.  Throughout the summer my dad will mow the grass between the tree rows.  In August he will trim each tree by hand so they have that traditional "Christmas tree" shape.

I usually try to scope out our Christmas tree during the summer.

A few shots of my own lilacs and one of my blue hydrangeas.  So beautiful and colorful.