Sweet Spring

Ahh, sweet spring. It reminds me of a favorite poem by Robert Frost:

A Prayer in Spring

OH, give us pleasure in the flowers today;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,

Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;

And make us happy in the happy bees,

The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird

That suddenly above the bees is heard,

The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,

And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,

To which it is reserved for God above

To sanctify to what far ends he will,

But which it only needs that we fulfill.

The roses are in bloom, the sun is shining sweetly, which is extra special because the summer sun here in Las Vegas burns so intensely. The birds and bees are busy, the roly poly's have awakened from their winter nap. The scents of Jasmine, Alyssum, fresh cut grass and rose petals fill the air. I gently removed the petals of two large roses for my bath last night, and thanked the bush for it's gift. I try and wait until just before the petals would naturally fall, before I remove them. It may sound strange, but I do not want to take them until they are ready to go. This time of year, our Heavenly Father, nature and the earth give back to us in such a beautiful way. Please take the time to appreciate it.

Considering it takes 3000 + pds. of rose petals to make one pound of essential oil, rose oil is treat, an indulgence and sometimes a necessity. Opening a bottle is like opening spring and letting the sweet freshness escape and float like visible music notes to a fertile ground where they can blossom and grow forever. Roses are the queens of the flowers. They are fragile, yet unbelievably hearty and possess a deeper strength than just paper thin petals. They have attitude, which is apparent in the fusion of the delicate flower and sharp, strong thorns. Their varieties are vast, and even I, a rose lover since birth, have a hard time choosing which color or variety is most beautiful. The pomaceous fruit of the rose, the rose hips are higher in vitamin C, than any other flower. Even after the beauty of the bloomed rose is gone, the rose is still functional and giving with the remaining rose hip, which can be eaten, ground up and dried and steeped as an herbal infusion. The rose to me, is a gift that keeps on giving. Upon the sadness of a beautiful bloom losing it's petals, the bush quickly has other blooming for our viewing pleasure. Whoever said to "stop and smell the roses, " sure knew what they were talking about.