It doesn’t matter how many springs I have lived through, each one feels like my first. I love the wonderful feeling of anticipation and possibility that spring brings. My heart does a little dance when I see puddles on the streets and dirt appearing as if by magic in my garden. Every bit of green is a delight to me. I want to take great gulps of air and dance my way down the garden path.

I’ve rediscovered my camera and spent a contented afternoon taking photos of the tulips currently residing on my dining room table. It was a challenge keeping my cat, Finn, from knocking over the tulip vase.

Happy spring to you all!

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55 responses to “A spring in my step”

  1. The Garden Ms. S Avatar

    Happy spring to you, Kate! I hope you won out over Finn 🙂
    Beautiful photos of the tulip, one of my very favourite cut flowers.

    Like

  2. Noelle (azplantlady) Avatar

    Your tulips are just lovely. I love the delicate shade of pink. I think spring is the best time of year, don’t you?

    Like

  3. Greenthumb Avatar

    Happy Spring to you dear Kate. And may your heart never cease to dance, be it spring or winter, and may we continue to see the beautiful world around you through your camera for all the seasons to come.

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  4. Judith Avatar

    I share that bounding optimism spring brings, Kate. Long may it continue. Tulips are so welcome after the winter-their colours seem to herald the brightness like no other flowers.

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  5. bloominrs Avatar

    You have captured the essence of spring with the tulips and your words. I too love the fresh spring greens and the smell in the air.

    Like

  6. Entangled Tangledbranches Avatar

    So happy to see spring coursing northward! And your tulip photo is beautiful – I want to learn the art of the beautiful background – you do it so well.

    Like

  7. Monica the Garden Faerie Avatar

    We’ve had an incredibly sunny spring so far, normally it is rainy (not that I complain, as a gardener). When I first saw the photo, I thought, do you really have open tulips already?! Aren’t you supposed to be in a colder climate than me, LOL! Then I saw thewy are on your dining room table, and all is right with the world, LOL!

    Like

  8. Suzi Q Avatar

    I love tulips! I have a peach colour on my table right now! I planted some bulbs in the fall and was worried they may not come up but last week I saw the little reddish green tips poking through the nearly frozen dirt! I can’t wait to see them bloom!

    Like

  9. melanie Avatar

    Happy Spring Kate ! what a lovely delicate pink the tulips are.

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  10. Aiyana Avatar

    Beautiful photo. Your love of photography is evident!
    Aiyana

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  11. Sarah Laurence Avatar

    You capture the lovely joy of spring so well. I needed to read this today as we had snow in Maine, sigh. We only have flowers inside too. Happy Spring! It shall happen.

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  12. joey Avatar

    Your soft pink tulips remind me of you, dear Kate … beautiful! I’m still shooting inside too but it won’t be long before we are both outside, enjoying the gift of spring! Until then, keep that camera close … your photos are delightful!

    Like

  13. Marion Pullen Avatar

    Hello Kate…..
    I’ve only just discovered the comment you left for me way back last month about our sea defences. My apologies for not responding. I’ve been working on my blog this afternoon after deleting by error, something I wanted to retain…. and then I came across a few unmoderated comments, yours being one of them…. so here’s how I’ve found my way to your place.
    I have to say, I do admire your photographic skills, you must have a great camera. Kate, I shall return and spend some time reading your posts.
    Marion

    Like

  14. tina Avatar

    What a lovely soft pink and a true color of spring. So glad Finn did not get the best of these tulips. They are beautiful.

    Like

  15. Selma Avatar

    I’m so glad spring has finally sprung for you after your long, cold winter. The tulips are exquisite!

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  16. Esther Montgomery Avatar

    Very lovely.
    Esther

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  17. Gail Avatar

    happiest of Springs to you Kate! The tulip shot is so lovely~the epitome of spring, it captures the gentle green that we only see with new growth! I love pink flowers…tulips are so often hot colors here in the south, but the pink is perfection. Finn and the tulips…now there’s a spring dance with a cat…They do like to see what’s in the vase, maybe something for them to nibble on….Coal is like that…so no whispy grasses get added. gail

    Like

  18. Chigiy Binell Avatar

    Happy spring Kate.
    I get so excited about spring that sometimes I think winter is my favorite season just for the anticipation of spring.
    Beautiful photo.

    Like

  19. Kerri Avatar

    My heart is dancing today with our temperature at 80ºF (26.6C) and brilliant sunlight delighting my senses!
    It feels like heaven after the dreary weather week just past.
    That tulip is pink perfection! Such a soft, delicate shade. Kitties like to be right there in the thick of things, don’t they? Sometimes it’s hard to snap a clear photo with a kitty rubbing against me 🙂
    Wishing you a bright happy Easter and a very happy spring, Kate!

    Like

  20. kate/high altitude gardening Avatar

    Happy Spring and Happy Easter, Kate. That’s a lovely shade of pink. Tulips always make me smile.

    Like

  21. Pam Avatar

    Happy Spring to you too Kate – and I hope this finds you back out in your garden, camera (or trowel!) in hand.

    Like

  22. wench costume Avatar

    Happy spring too! I hope all of us will have a happy one. 🙂

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  23. Wildlife Gardener Avatar

    I really enjoyed your post, dear Kate, as I resonated with your feelings. I was born at this time of year, and each year I feel reborn with the Spring. It’s a glorious feeling 🙂
    Happy Easter to you 🙂

    Like

  24. Dirty Girl Gardening Avatar

    What a great attitude about spring… Happy Spring to you!

    Like

  25. Shady Gardener Avatar

    Kate, I know exactly how you feel! What a lovely photo of your tulips. Just as thoughtfully done as your essay. Happy Spring to you, blogging friend! 🙂

    Like

  26. Annie in Austin Avatar

    Perfect flower and color to celebrate spring tiptoeing in, Kate! The texture of the petals is so silky.
    Oooh – just noticed the font for our comments! It’s making all our words look just a little more elegant ;-]
    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    Like

  27. Dee/reddirtramblings Avatar

    Kate, I feel exactly the same way.~~Dee

    Like

  28. flower Philippine Avatar

    What a cute flower is that? I like it. Thanks for sharing this one but can you add more information about this. Just quite interested. keep posting!
    -pia-

    Like

  29. Jacqueline Avatar

    Your tulips are so lovely and i really adore your photos lots! 🙂 So happy to have found you today! Happy spring! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend and love to you!

    Like

  30. Miriam Avatar

    Hi I’m just stopping by from Kelly Rae’s Flying Lessons class. Looking forward to getting started!
    take care,
    Miriam xoxo
    (Australia)
    Blog – http://miriamkaye.typepad.com

    Like

  31. Rhonda Avatar

    Hi Kate,
    Your flower photography is wonderful. I’m a classmate from Kelly Rae Roberts’ class and just wanted to say, Hi!

    Like

  32. Window On The Prairie Avatar

    Hello,
    Beautiful tulip! My husband and I went to a tulip festival in Topeka, Kansas several weeks ago. So many lovely tulips, I just had to do a post about them on my blog. Come take a look. http://windowontheprairie.com/2010/04/12/tulip-time/

    Like

  33. Tyra Avatar

    Dear Kate I feel exactly the same, each spring is a wonder. Lovely picture in it’s simplicity and great words.

    Like

  34. chigiy Avatar

    sping comes too slow and leaves too fast. Happy spring to you. xxoo

    Like

  35. our friend Ben Avatar

    As spring moves inexorably towards summer, I think we can all appreciate the cool green days (and those tulips) even more, Kate! We still have a few bleeding heart blooms, and I’m cherishing every one. And, oh the joy, peony season is just beginning here. How I love those three great late-spring plants, peonies, iris, and baptisias, with their perfect combination of form and flower. (Well, almost perfect: If only baptisias smalled like sweet peas… )

    Like

  36. MrBrownThumb Avatar

    Thanks for posting this because it sums up exactly how I’ve felt this spring in the garden.

    Like

  37. Ilona Avatar

    Glad you are taking photos – you are one of the best. I love your sense of color, space, and form.

    Like

  38. Andrea Avatar

    Hi Kate, though it’s been a while since you’ve created this post, I wanted to stop by and say hallo. The photo is absolutely great! Hope you are not drowning in rain as we are over here. Andrea

    Like

  39. Lucy Corrander Avatar

    And I’ve got a new camera . . . and, in relation to your last post . . . find photographing white very difficult (especially white flowers). That’s a lovely, gentle pink in those tulips.
    Hope you are ok.
    Lucy

    Like

  40. Wildlife Gardener Avatar

    Hope you are well, dear Kate…just popping by to say hello…happy August 🙂

    Like

  41. Chloe M. Avatar

    Kate,
    So glad you’ve rediscovered your camera – your pictures are always so very beautiful!
    Just stopping by to say “Hello” – since your post was several months ago!
    Chloe M.

    Like

  42. Cooking for Diabetes Avatar

    That is a great photo. It is a beautiful reminder of what spring is all about. 🙂

    Like

  43. Chigiy Binell Avatar

    Hi Kate,
    Spring has come and gone.
    I hope everything is going well for you
    and that you are O.K.
    xo

    Like

  44. Annie in Austin Avatar

    What Chigiy said – hope all is well
    Annie

    Like

  45. Janie Avatar

    uuh…looking at that picture makes me miss so much spring and all the lovely flowers… just thinking now the horrible weather that awaits us…makes me want to skip 3 months !!

    Like

  46. Wildlife Gardener Avatar

    http://ourlittlecornerofparadise.blogspot.com/
    Thank you for visiting Our Little Corner Of Paradise this year, Kate 🙂
    Just popped by during the run up to Christmas to wish you all the best, and happy blogging/twittering in 2011…WG 🙂

    Like

  47. Esther Montgomery Avatar

    Hope things are going ok at present. Have a very happy Christmas.
    Esther

    Like

  48. sandy Avatar

    waving hello, i miss your beautiful photos.

    Like

  49. Allie Avatar
    Allie

    Ha I also have a nearly 2 year old fuzzy cat named Finn..Huckleberry Finn… He’s a terror and loves loves to dig in house plants, vases, etc. There’s a lot to be said for taking such a pretty pic while there’s a fuzzy Finn on the loose. 🙂

    Like

  50. VP Avatar

    And here we are on the brink of another spring.
    I hope you, Finn and everyone else at Kate Smudges are happy and well.

    Like

  51. Shady Gardener Avatar

    Hi Kate, Just stopping by to see how you are. It’s March again… are you anticipating Spring over your way?

    Like

  52. ejenne Avatar

    And happy spring to you Kate (as I move into Autumn).

    Like

  53. Flowering Trees Tennessee Avatar

    WOW! What a beautiful tulip! I really enjoyed your post. So pretty flower!!
    Thanks for sharing with us..

    Like

  54. mm Avatar
    mm

    Lovely photo, and true true words– I feel the same about spring (:

    Like

  55. Flowering Pear Avatar

    WOW! That is a great photo. It is a beautiful reminder of what spring is all about..
    Thanks for sharing with us..

    Like

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