Mrs. Thelma Howard's Garden

 

At age 98, my neighbor, Mrs. Thelma Howard, plants a vegetable garden each year.  I wrote a poem about her inspiring everyone on Swaims Road.  When I brought the framed poem to her house, she was hanging laundry on the line.  Each morning when she gets up, Mrs. Thelma takes a shower, puts on her work clothes and keeps busy with gardening and housework.  She said with a laugh, "Age is just a number, and mine is unlisted."  She's a great person and motivates our community to "keep on keeping on."

THELMA HOWARD

Even to your old age I am He, I will sustain you.

               --Isaiah 46:4 (NIV)

She's the Viking

of Swaims Road

shaming the slothful.

One more year,

the warrior tackles

hardening soil with vengeance.

The 98-year-old woman

pushes past comfort

to plant her garden.

At her home church,

she invites me to sit

on her favorite pew.

There's nothing you can catch

from me but old age, she says

with a laugh and her eyes sparkle.

Using her spiritual gifts,

Mrs. Thelma Howard

makes a unique mark on life.

             --Brenda Kay Ledford 

Celebrate Easter

 CELEBRATE EASTER

Beside Lake Chatuge,

the Easter bunny hides

eggs in the verdant grass,

a hollow oak, and daffodils

popping up like lemon drops.

Children wear pastel, ruffled dresses

and race about with their baskets

to find the prized egg.

Fluffy chicks cheep and peep

in a cardboard box.

A parade of tulips

bursting forth from earth's tomb,

the bluebirds perform a spring concert.

Redbud trees don purple robes,

as the dogwoods wash mountaintops

with thousands of petals.

            --Brenda Kay Ledford

I wish my blogger friends a Blessed Easter!

Celebrate Spring

 

Oh, to see the wonder of God's beautiful world through the eyes of an innocent child!

On the first day of March,

my great-niece drew

chalk art on the driveway.

Hearts and flowers

dazzled in purple and red,

she jumped on a hopscotch.

The precious two-year-old

laughed as she plucked

the first jonquils of spring.

They sparkled like sunrays

as she gave me a bouquet.

A flock of robins cut

through the azure skies

and spread an orange quilt

across the greening field.

The thrill of spring

yielded a joyful face,

she did not waste a moment.

                 --Brenda Kay Ledford

It's beginning to look a lot like spring here in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The little jonquils have popped up, the maples swell with red buds, the forsythia bush is bursting forth like yellow bells, the grass is greening, and the birds are singing their little hearts out with joyful tunes.  I love spring.

Wishing all my blogger friends an awesome springtime!

Randy Wright Passes Away

 My brother-in-law, Randolph (Randy) Wright passed away last Friday.  He was a wonderful man and we all miss him very much.  He married my sister, Barbara.  They had 50 very happy years of marriage.  Randy was a music professor at Gardner-Webb College, sang in the church choir, and played the chimes after church.  His hobby was miniature trains and he loved to read his Bible.  He was a man of faith and a very kind, and generous person.  His sense of humor kept our family laughing when we got together.  I have written two poems in memory of him.  I am glad we have the blessed assurance of that "Grand Reunion Day" in heaven.

Memory of Randy Wright

In mid-winter,

a bluebird fluttered

outside my window.

Snowflakes twirled

like handfuls of confetti

over the mountaintops.

Like skimmed milk,

the clouds parted

playing the keys

on a piano

in an ocean

of sapphire skies.

Angel clouds floated

and flowed to the beat

of the music,

as the concert pianist

performed his grand recital

at the gates of pearl.

           --Brenda Kay Ledford 

The Concert Pianist

Descended from farmers,

bankers, and Methodist ministers,

Randy had a remarkable gift

for playing the piano.

Devoting his life to teaching music,

his favorite composers were:

Frederic Chopin

and Vladimir Horowitz.

An avid chorist,

he served many years

playing the church bells

and singing in the church choir.

Such was his love for the Lord,

Randy's life touched many people.

                      --Brenda Kay Ledford 

Happy Valentine's Day

 Each morning He paints

the skies with red-hot hearts,

and splashes pink lemonade

across the mountaintops.

Each morning He sends

the cardinals to perch

in the poplar trees

and sing love songs to me.

Each morning a doe

and her polka-dotted fawn

skip across my front lawn

filling my heart with joy.

Each spring He brings

boquets of roses to show

the greatest love of all:

God sent His only Son.

              --Brenda Kay Ledford

Wishing my blogger friends a beautiful Valentine's Day!

Happy New Year

 Another year is calling.

Open the door

to hope as light

breaks through the night.

Mix the batter

to fix 2026,

peace and love

are the ingredients

to rise above gloom.

The doom of last year,

trouble and fear, lurking

nearby, cannot cause

a cheerful heart to fall.

Bring out the bells,

light the fireworks and have

a Happy New Year!

         --Brenda Kay Ledford

I wish my blogger friends a happy, healthy, and blessed New Year!

Christmas Wreath

 I took a class on making a Christmas wreath at the Clay County Extension Office.  Kimberly Terrell, Clay County Extension Director and Macon County Extension Agent of Family and Consumer Sciences, taught the class.

It was a lot of fun and just put me into the Christmas spirit.  Everyone in my class made beautiful and creative Christmas wreaths.  It was the first time I had ever made a wreath and I enjoyed creating my wreath very much.

Here's a photo of my wreath:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to my blogger friends.