Guest blog by Julie Rivera, Julie Rivera Photography
My head has been in an fog. Despite my own advice to live in the present, I could not stop thinking about our future life in El Paso and I was on a singular mission to find the perfect rental house for my family. My husband and I spent Spring Break visiting El Paso, driving around and around to familiarize ourselves with the city that will become our home for three years. Then I spent the next three weeks looking at real estate websites five, six, seven times a day. I was obsessed with the hunt. And I barely managed to look up and see the here and now.
Unlike folks who are lucky enough to call this area home, I had no expectations for spring here in Columbus. I had no idea what flowers bloomed here and honestly, I gave it very little thought. Until I started to notice the wisteria. Everywhere. High in the trees along 185. Dangling from an archway of trees near the Riverwalk trails. Gently swaying in an afternoon breeze. The deep purple and light violet perfectly complimented the young bright green leaves bursting forth at the same time. I discovered a new favorite flower and I almost missed it.
I discovered a pair of Kwanzan Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom along Victory Boulevard and thankfully stopped to enjoy their beauty. Two days later, wind and rain stripped the frilly petals from the branches, but I had stopped long enough to savor their beauty and relish their feminine beauty. My girls made sweet bouquets from tiny blossoms that I might not have noticed had we not gone out for a walk together in the mild weather.
In between dragging the trash can to the street and collecting stray scooters and sidewalk chalk leftover from girls soaking up the delightful spring weather, I glanced across the street and noticed my neighbor’s garden. Unusual purple flowers arched over the walkway, eagerly reaching towards the warming sun.
Then I saw large patches of low growing blood red flowers, which reminded me of the iconic Texas bluebonnets. When I traveled home in the evening, I looked forward to seeing one particular patch illuminated by the setting sun, knowing they wouldn’t last forever and I might never see them again.
For all the unexpected points of beauty I drank in during this April in Georgia, there is none I relished more than the Spanish moss in the trees. Maybe this isn’t specifically a spring time treat, but the way the light plays through the moss and highlights each curly strand is unmatched this time of year.
Columbus surprised me this month. She offered up her greatest beauty, selflessly and flamboyantly, for anyone alert enough to notice. Even through my haze of distraction, I could not help but see all the majesty of this season in this place. Spring surprised me. And surprises like this are the best.
Julie Rivera has lived within the military her entire life. First as a dependent of a Navy Supply Corps Officer, next as an active duty Navy Supply Corps Officer, and now as the wife of an Army Artilleryman. She has over seven years experience as a mother and over five years experience as the owner of Julie Rivera Photography. Her children might be among the most chronicled on the planet and she absolutely loves when she has the chance to turn her lens on new families and children. See more of her work on her website at http://www.julieriveraphotography.com.
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