Spring

The first sign of spring for me isn’t the weather man telling me so, or even a date on the calender.  It’s when you walk outside and see the first little white buds on the orange and grapefruit trees in my backyard.  

White dots are followed closely with the faintest aroma of orange blossom.  You can just barely sense it in the early morning and late in the evening.  And then as they bloom, the smell takes over everything.  The smell is just of pure heaven for me, even when it is so strong that my nose fights the urge to sneeze at the same time as it inhales all the beauty of spring.

I tend for the trees like my children, I guess because they are like my children, I have to clean up after them!   But they take care of me in turn when they give me a bountiful harvest of oranges and grapefruits every winter.  

I have tried talking my husband into chopping these trees down every year and every year he fights and wins because they do provide shade from the hot afternoon soon by the pool.  Probably the only reason why I don’t push harder for a treeless backyard is because I know that every March I will be treated to beautiful blossoms and the heavenly scent of orange blossom.