I Confess...

Western Redbud, Tub Level (Eeek! Don't Drop the Camera!!!!)

I have to confess that one of my greatest pleasures these past years is my morning rise-and-shine-ritual. I get up around 7:00am and wander into the kitchen, accompanied by my two cats Angie and Zeus, plaintively yowling about how late it is. I fix their breakfast (what a procedure, but I'll save you from that description) and a pot of Peet's coffee.
I take my husband his cup in bed where he reads the weekly book proposals, and I take my rainbow-colored harlequin mug (my favorite mug -- always the same) and step onto our backyard redwood deck. I slip into our two-person tub. Usually the birds haven't arrived yet, because the sun hasn't hit the backyard. When the first rays strike the back fence, they start to arrive -- usually a bold jay or mockingbird, sometimes a sparrow, chirping, squawking, making all those busy bird sounds. As the minutes go by more and more birds come to visit. Sometimes I sing to them (either "Bluebird smiling at me..." or "Mockingbird" or "Somewhere over the Rainbow"), and then even more show up, flitting about, curiously checking out the strange lady as they look for their morning grub.

Close Up -- Riotous Hot Pink Buds

Now here is my favorite part of the year -- our Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are blooming! They are my absolute favorite blooming ornamental. Kentucky is filled with them, they are the first tree to bloom in spring. As a child, we had one in the front yard by the mailbox. My brother and I were always pulled like magnets to this brilliant tree. We would even climb it, sometimes breaking its skinny branches -- risking being scolded or paddled by our mother. It felt like a fairy tree and it was a moment of happiness and joy for both of us.

Even Closer -- It Looks Like an Orchid or an Unfolding Heart

Up close the Redbud bloom resembles an unfolding heart or an orchid bloom. They cluster together on the branches like so many insects coming together to feed. In our backyard we have Western Redbuds that are native to California, a couple of Eastern Redbuds, and even an Oklahoma Redbud. They are so beautiful!