The Nature of Angels ~ On Being Aware

Euryops pectinatus 'Viridis'- a reliable wave of yellow daisy like flowers

"Angels are spirits, but it is not because they are spirits that they are angels. They become angels when they are sent. For the name angel refers to their office, not their nature. You ask the name of this nature, it is spirit; you ask its office, it is that of an Angel, which is a messenger. "~ St. Augustine

oxalis escaped into the lawn

"Every blade of grass has an angel that bends over it and whispers, 'grow! grow!'

~ Talmud



Goldfinch hide by the hundreds in the pine boughs



It is the nature of angels to surround us. To protect us: even from ourselves.

 
Their only requirement is that we remain aware. And that when we see someone in trouble, we sprout whatever we can in the way of wings.
 
The fingertips ripped from pruning gloves, green waste bins full of thorned branches, a watering can full of a bouquet of rose hips- the winter rose hard pruning is mostly finished. Tomorrow, whilst the morning air is still, old leaves will be raked to expose ankles to fresh air and the branches will be inoculated. An ounce of prevention. 
 
This hurdle in the gardening calendar and I take notice of what I have been hurrying by- like oxalis pumping up through the lawn- where these escaped shamrocks will never bloom above the height of the mower. But the bulbs can be lifted and replanted nearby, to kiss the feet of the azaleas.