Winter Blooms

When I woke up this morning, the ground was covered with a fresh coat of snow again. And, the snow keeps coming down slowly and quietly. I can see big fluffy flakes falling down from the window. It's a peaceful Sunday.

I like to look at snow flakes on dark objects. I find beautiful snow flakes on them. They are so tiny, yet have pretty complex and delicate forms. They tangle each other and create a big flake. Why they don't break when they touch each other? I can still recognize individual flakes in the big one. It's a magic in the air. They can exist together without hurting others. One of the beautiful things the nature shows us.

We had popovers for breakfast. They were fresh from the oven. The kitchen smelled fresh bread. Popovers with butter and coffee, such simple things made me happy. Fresh bake goods bring you a good start of a day.

The breakfast room has been filled with a sweet fragrance for a week or so. Whenever I come to this room, I feel so refreshed. Not sure where it was coming from first, but now I am... little flowers on my meyer lemon tree. It's very subtle gentle smell.

These flowers look tired. They past their prime. But more buds are ready to bloom. I think we can enjoy the fragrance a little longer.

The tree started showing its buds in December. Three weeks ago, they seemed to be ready to bloom any moment.

I thought the tree was confused by the heated air in the house. But, it is not fooled. Meyer lemon actually blooms in winter. It's a delighting gift for us. In the long New England winter, finding blooms is reminding us a warm weather, and lighting up our hearts.

Meyer lemon is a low maintenance plant. I don't do anything but water it once a week during winter. You don't need a green thumb to grow it. You can just let it be. It shows beautiful dark green leaves all year long.

It will be even more exciting to find tiny green lemons after the blooms. Then, they take over a year to turn yellow. What I would do with them? Fresh lemonade? Lemon bread? Dressing? ... The tree might know I'm thinking about this. In fact, it has big strong thorns on its branches as if it says "Hey, they are my babies!"