Three Things Thursday

Three Things Thursday: My Clothesline, Emerging Ferns, My Backyard

29 Comments

A couple of the blogs I follow have a lovely tradition called “Three Things Thursday,” where the writers list three things each week they are particularly grateful for. For a while, I’ve been wanting to do this on my blog each Thursday, and now that glorious spring is here, it seemed like the perfect time to get started.

A quick aside: With all the busyness of life, with the worry and the various stresses—especially with the political situation—taking the time to be grateful for what I have seems almost like a form of prayer. Or a meditation, if you will. While I certainly don’t want to look away from all that is happening in the world, I do think that spreading a bit of gratitude, near and far, is a very good thing.

So here is what I’m grateful for this week:

First—My Clothesline: I know, I know. I go on like a silly person about hanging laundry outside. But I do so love it.  To me, laundry flapping on the line is a lovely sight. The sun and the wind are drying my clothes, with no gas or electricity required. Just a bit of energy on my part, which, for some reason, I never mind expending on this chore.  Then there is the smell when the laundry comes in—fresh, almost intoxicating, sheer bliss.

Second—The Emerging Ferns: That curl of green, the gradual unfurling. With ferns, there are no buds or blossoms, but what a sweet sight when each spring they push their way through the brown leaves.

Third—My Backyard: Tucked in the woods, my backyard is a second living room when the weather is warm. Birds come to the feeders, and the yard is full of birdsong. Our patio is a place where Clif and I relax during the summer. Family and friends come over for Clif’s legendary grilled bread, and we eat, talk, and laugh. I’ll serve simple salads or grilled chicken to go with the bread. Homemade ice cream for dessert. Or we’ll just have appetizers and bread. Whatever. When we are on the patio, life is good.

And, as a bonus, for sheer geeky fun on this Thursday, May the Fourth be with you!

29 thoughts on “Three Things Thursday: My Clothesline, Emerging Ferns, My Backyard”

  1. Who knew you’d still need a pretty warm jacket to enjoy that lovely patio? But, I’ve been known to sit outside in a jacket, hat and gloves. 🙂 There is nothing like a fern unfurling in the spring – pure magic.

    1. Yes, it’s been a chilly May. Keeps the blackflies down 😉 We, too, have been known to sit outside with jackets and gloves. After all, we’re in northern New England 😉

  2. Oooh welcome to the TTT club! I too love the smell of washing that has been outside on the line, and I love unfurling ferns, especially because they are called croziers, which is a fabulous word. Maybe one day too, we’ll get to taste Clif’s grilled bread – it sounds delicious.

    1. Thanks for the welcome to the TTT club! Croziers is a great word. If you ever come to Maine in the summer, Clif’s grilled bread will be on the menu.

  3. I’ve missed your lovely posts whilst we’ve been away hiking! 🙂 My neighbour just gave me some ferns, so I’m growing them now for the first time. Your garden looks as idyllic as ever. -beck

    1. Thanks so much for kind words! Hope you had a great time on your hike. The nice thing about blog posts is that they are there whenever you are ready. Good luck with the ferns.

      1. Thank you! All of the ferns just sprang to life this morning, I’ll have to grab a photo of them 🙂 Hope you’re having a lovely week x

  6. Just stay away from the Dark Side of the Fourth. Your backyard patio looks very idyllic. I also love the new fern fiddleheads that come up in spring.

    1. Alas, in DC in the House of Reprehensibles, there certainly was a dark side. But, the patio is grand as are all the green and growing things. I try to stay focused on that.

  7. I’m another washing-on-the-line fanatic! I could stare at it for hours, it gives me such pleasure. Sadly, it was too cold and cloudy this week and even though the wind blew the washing stayed damp 😦 We have discovered a fern growing in our garden this spring which gives us great pleasure.

    1. Yes, rainy days are trail for those of us who love to hang out our laundry. Clif and I scan the weather reports, and on sunny days, we make sure to do a couple of loads of laundry. Love ferns. I’ve let them grow all around our house. They add elegance to a shady yard where many flowers simply don’t thrive.

  8. I am a laundry line fan, as well. The bicyclists that go by every weekend call me “the laundry lady”, so I guess there aren’t that many of us around. I love when I can take the time to put my clothes out on the line. It’s a nerdy little thing I do, but I feel like I am making the world a better place every time I do it.

    1. Too funny! I hope you start a trend. As Eliza pointed out, so much energy is saved when laundry is hung on the line.

  9. Much to be grateful for – once you start looking around, you can find quite a lot! 🙂
    Dryers suck up A LOT of energy, so we can pat ourselves on the back for air-drying our laundry, while we having fun outside hanging it. 😉

    1. Yes, pats on the back to all who hang their laundry on the line! In some places, clotheslines are not allowed. Can you imagine that? Especially when, as you pointed out, they save so much energy?

  11. A fine list for spring! Is it raining a lot where you are, though? I guess we’ll be thankful for all the growth it brings . . .

    1. Wonderful smell here in the woods. The birds do, ahem, leave a little something on the clothes from time to time. Never mind! We love those birds, and it doesn’t happen very often.

  13. A little rainy? We’ve had downpours here! Not much good weather for drying laundry on the line. Although yesterday was glorious.

    1. Not as much rain here in central Maine. Still lots of drizzle and cloudy weather. Still, I’ve been able to keep up with hanging laundry on the line. The week might be a challenge though. Onto the racks the clothes will go!

Comments are closed.