The Heart of Hollyhill

Sweet aromas - do you have a favorite flower scent? We all know many roses smell delightful. And lilacs are heavenly. But what about locust tree blooms?

In Kentucky in the spring we usually have several cold snaps before spring finally comes to stay. So we call them winters. Redbud winter. Dogwood winter. Locust winter. Blackberry winter. The names come from what's blooming when the chilly air sweeps back into the area the way it did last week. We skipped redbud winter this year - it stayed warm, unseasonably warm all the time they were blooming. But the frosts came back last week while the dogwoods and locusts were in full and glorious bloom. Dogwood blooms don't have an odor, but ah, locusts. So sweet. 

The house where I grew up was surrounded by locust trees and in the spring we could breathe in the fragrance through our open windows. We also stepped on the thorns when we were running around barefoot and some think the trees draw lightning, but you have to take the bad with the good sometimes. As to the trees drawing lightning, I don't know if that's true or not, but I do know they got hit by lightning frequently. 

I liked the fragrance of the blooms so well that I used it in my novel, The Scent of Lilacs. Now you're frowning and saying, wasn't she talking about locust blooms? And I was. But lilacs are wonderfully fragrant too. So I used that in my book too. The locust bloom fragrance was Jocie's father's favorite scent and what he smelled when he received his unusual call to preach while in a submarine during World War II. Then later in the book, Jocie has her own unusual experience with the lilac fragrance. 

All this to get around to the exciting news I got this week that the Hollyhill books are going to be re-released. First Scent of Lilacs will make a re-appearance early in 2013 with Orchard of Hope and Summer of Joy to follow later in 2013 and 2014. The series title will be "The Heart of Hollyhill." What great timing - to get this great news while the locusts are blooming! I love the characters in these books and I'm looking forward to sharing their stories with new readers.

Have you read any of the Hollyhill books? If you have, which characters did you like?

Thanks for reading. I always enjoy your comments and appreciate you coming to visit here.

Mothers - Everybody has one

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there and to all the children who have or had good mothers! Is there any blessing to compare to a wonderful mother who loves you without reservation and yet knows you're not perfect so she's willing to invest some time and loving discipline on you? The greatest gift we can give our children is their independence, but sometimes it's hard watching them fly away from the nest where we've done our best to keep them safe and moderately happy. I don't think we should take upon our shoulders any other person's happiness. We can be happy together. We can be happy for them. We have to teach our kids how to find happiness on their own. They're not ever going to be satisfied with happiness we try to plant inside them. They have to grow their own.

And yet it is sometimes so hard to watch our babies try their wings and fly right into storms or take off following the wrong flight pattern. We know they need to veer to the left or right and if we were only with them, we could tell them that. But we can't follow them every day of their lives. We have to let them go and when we do, we see them making mistakes the same as they've done all their lives. The same as we've done all our lives. Mistakes and messing up are part of a human being's make-up. We wish they were something we could avoid. Something we could help our children avoid. But the obstacles of life trip all of us up at times. So what can we do when our children are old enough to be on their own? We can pray for them. We can share in their joys and their sorrows. We can keep on loving them just as much as we always have. We can hope they will grow strong in character and abilities. We can give them the benefit of our experience, but don't be surprised if they smile and pretend to listen while holding mental hands over their ears. We had to learn on our own, making some painful mistakes in the process and so do our children. But we always want to help them. That's what mamas do.

I did my speech at the Paul Sawyier Library. The place was nice. The library there is a great facility. I took prizes and trivia fun. The lady who invited me to come was super sweet and kind. Just one thing went wrong, everybody forgot to show up. The weather was lousy and I don't blame people for wanting to stay in where it was dry and warm. I did have a couple of friends show up, so they let me practice my speaking abilities on them. I guess I'd better wait until I'm more famous or have more friends before the next outing. Still we had fun and as with writing where every new story adds to our storytelling experience, every speaking opportunity adds to my speaking experience and maybe my speaking ability. I enjoy speaking to people, but I have remind myself that if the Lord wants me to do this along with my writing, He will open the doors. He's certainly been opening some doors for me with my writing.

It's wet and chilly here today. Yesterday was fantastic - warm and sunny. But today we're having locust winter. The locust trees are beautiful this year. In bloom big time. I have yet to catch a whiff of their sweet scent. I guess it's been too rainy. But I'm going to grab a bloom to smell before all the petals blow away on the wind.

Hope all of you have a great week. And thanks for being great mothers.

Quotes for Spring

I love Spring. I also love summer and fall and even winter. That narrows things down a little, doesn't it? But I wouldn't really want to live where there weren't seasons. Where it was always warm. Where the sun shone all summer and only made cameo appearances in the winter. I love the Spring sunshine and when the flowers burst into bloom and chase away the last of the winter blues. So here are some quotes to keep you springing through Spring.

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring. ...Bern Williams

What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. ...Joseph Addison

Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you stop pedaling. ...Claude Pepper

So hope all of you keep pedaling and have a good trip. Try to pedal past some lilac bushes and take a deep breath to get that great lilac scent all the way down to your toes. As those of you who have read my Hollyhill books know, that's Jocie's favorite scent. And then it won't be long till you can roll your car window down and drive by some locust trees in bloom. Ahh! We had locust trees all over our yard where I grew up. You sometimes stepped on the locust thorns, but Spring smelled good! I love that scent just like David does. Last there's this little green bush that grows wild out in the field. I have no idea what it is. You can't even see it bloom unless you look really close, but boy, does it smell deliciously sweet when it is in bloom. I haven't noticed its scent yet, but I'm always disappointed if I miss it in the Spring.

Happy lilac and locust bloom hunting. Enjoy Spring.