Thursday, November 3, 2011

A memory of Apple blossoms...


The old apple trees above the weathered barn had been there a long time.

I had first seen the trees when we bought the farm in the fall. I was enchanted with their leaves, dusty with remnants of summer drought, and the wormy apples polka-dotting the ground with inedible fruit.

I was charmed by their gnarled branches and the cidery smell of those fallen apples, but much less captivated by the drunken yellow jackets filling the air with chronic buzzing.

Over the long, dark winter months the apple trees were mostly forgotten. Occasionally I would notice them, silhouetted against the fire and ice of a northern Ohio winter sunset.

Busy with plowing new gardens and trimming away years of overgrowth, the apple trees waited quietly on their little hill above the barn. Somehow their tender green leaves and blush pink flower buds went almost totally unnoticed.

Until the spring morning when the buds opened.

Oh.

My.

I stepped off the rickety porch and walked across the damp lawn toward their vision of beauty.

Oh.

My.

The trees seemed to glow in the gentle light of a breezy spring morning.

I stood beneath them under the robin egg sky…under clouds so pure and white they looked like heaven.

Tiny snowy petals drifted from the trees and from the clouds.

Drifted around my outstretched arms in an extravagant celebration.

The memory of those apple blossoms is as clear to me now as the feel of this keyboard under my fingers.

If I care to look through my office window I can see a different sky now. Different clouds. Different trees.

But if I care to look into my heart I see those petals…drifting down from heaven…reminding me that beauty experienced will never be truly gone.



This post is linked to Alphabe-Thursday in honor of the letter 'A'. To read other posts, just click here.

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30 comments:

Lola said...

Such a reflective post!

XOXO Lola:)

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Beautiful Jenny. I love how you made me feel like I was there with you.

Susan Anderson said...

Oh, yes. And isn't that the best smell ever??

=D

To the Toy Box and Beyond said...

what a wonderful post Truely well written. When we were kids, my dad's friend had an apple orchard. I can still remember picking apples and how the air smelled Thanks for the memory

that apple orchard isnt there anymore It was replaced by a strip mall

ellen b. said...

There's something about the delicate beauty of apple blossoms that blow me away! The smell of orange blossoms are an amazing experience, too. Wow here we go again through the alphabet....

Unknown said...

Sigh...so lovely a write. For me it is the vision of wild sunflowers and the sweet scent of prairie grass that stirs my soul.

Ms. A said...

Some of my fondest memories are of the apple trees in the yard at my grandparents house. Gathering them, eating them and having apple fights. Some idiot cut those trees down, without my permission, after my grandmother died.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful picture you painted!

Allie said...

Warm and cozy on this rainy fall day ... thank you for the memory.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Awwwww, I can almost smell the apple blossoms!!!! My so The Geek and his wife, The Latin Lovin' Hillbilly have a boatload of apple trees in their backyard. It's a sight to behold in both spring and fall.

God bless and have yourself an extraordinary day!!!! :o)

Slamdunk said...

Thanks for letting us share in that lovely memory Jenny.

There was a tree in the backyard of the home I grew up and I still remember the change of seasons based on the colors, leaves, and growth of that old tree.

Pat said...

Your written word is so wonderful...I can smell the blossoms.

A beautiful post for the letter A.

Brenda said...

That was lovely Jenny. I just have to go out each spring when our apple trees bloom and take the same pictures I took the spring before. Apples? I have to go to the orchards and buy them.

Busy Bee Suz said...

This is so beautiful; pure magic. I don't know that I have ever seen an apple tree before, but you make me wish I grew up near one. Beautifully written my friend.
xoxo

Stef said...

I love it! I remember growing up with apple trees in our yard. They are the reason I love Spring.

Vicki/Jake said...

Oh My...Oh My.... I could swear I smelt apple blossoms! Astonishing Jenny!!!

siggiofmaine said...

This so made my evening wonderful...

I am awestruck by the words:
"But if I care to look into my heart I see those petals…drifting down from heaven…reminding me that beauty experienced will never be truly gone."

Thank you so very much,
Peace and love,
Siggi in Downeast Maine

H said...

I look forward to seeing my apple tree in blossom again. Go away winter and dark chilly mornings.

anitamombanita said...

Loved this. My neighbor has an apple tree...as I pass by it on my morning runs I can smell the fermenting apples on the ground. :)

Theresa said...

Beautiful apple blossoms, nothing more gorgeous! Have a blessed day dear Jenny, you are "A" sweet friend... HUGS!

Gattina said...

Blooming apple trees are real beautiful !
I am with beautiful flower at the Red sea in Egypt !

Julie Kwiatkowski Schuler said...

Reminds me of our neighbors that had two apple tress. The apples were tiny, wormy things, but the flowers were very pretty.

Betty said...

What a wonderful memory...or was it fiction? I wasn't sure. Either way I loved the sentiment.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful memory. You now have me wishing for spring.

Teresa

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

beautifully written. I could feel the joy of the petals falling, and you're right - true beauty is never forgotten. I always lovve what you write. laurie

The Poet said...

Hello.
There's beauty all around us, if we just take the time to see it.

Lovely post.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Jenny.

Autumn

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

This is an enchanting post! I could smell apple blossoms, and I could see how beautiful this tree was..Fantastic memory, Jenny!

Splendid Little Stars said...

aaahhh....Spring! such beautiful imagery!
"...beauty experienced will never be truly gone."

Unknown said...

Oh Jenny! This is just beautiful :) I can imagine myself there with you, seeing the beautiful buds open and just smelling the fresh air :)

Steph said...

So sweet. I think this post states the theme of this whole series... "beauty experienced will never truly be gone." I wish could remember things as vividly and as tangibly as you have expressed here. Lovely.