Holy Tuesday

In the afternoons
I stand knee deep
in the sacrament of poetry
washed clean by the words
of those of the past century.
Wendell Berry, William Stafford,
Richard Hass, filling me with wonder
and awe of their holy language;
astounded by the perspicacity,
the spaciousness, and the spirit.

Winterbloom

One of our first signs of spring, witch hazel.

Sunday morning

Up with the orange dawn on a frosty morning to the tune of birdsong.  Amazing fresh strawberries and frozen blueberries to go into oat, flax, quinoa, ginger, almond waffles. 

Uh-oh

25 and snow, brrr, just doesn't seem quite right, oh well. Tomorrow will bring something new.

Witch hazel and weeping willow

The witch hazel is in bloom and smells oh so wonderful and its red and gold spider blooms are some of the first of the season.  Looking across the yards the weeping willows are bright yellow green to brighten our moods.

Putting away the hats and scarves

Pulling boots and heavy winter coats out of the closet to take to the attic, getting out the plant, bird, and butterfly guides.  Sorting and clearing and paring down from the clutter of winter to the lightness of spring.

Late March

The mornings are still oh so chilly, but the robins' songs warm our hearts.

Early spring

So close to the edge of winter, hovering around freezing all day on a cloudy day.  Back to hibernation.

Only the 30's but nice and bright

Still not many flowers except in the stores, but they are coming...  Got the car's oil changed, fluids topped off, vacuumed out, ready for the new season.  The winter quilts have come down and the spring ones are on the walls, definitely feeling like a season of renewal after a hard winter.

Cool spring

Most of the snow is gone, bright sun, not too warm, but not so cold.  Doves calling in the morning, hawks hunting in the afternoon.

And today

Bright sun, upper 40's, yesterday's snow quickly disappearing.  Lots of fat saucy robins in the yards, lots of bird song in the mornings, spring!

Snowy equinox

Fat, wet flakes drifting down, catching in my hair, melting on my tongue. Back to a monotone world right before it bursts forth into technicolor, we must be in Oz. 

Raspberry and purple sunrise

Red in the morning, snow due in tonight.  But this morning the crows woke everyone up and then the robins sweetly sang, the cardinal called and then the sweetest of all the warbler joined in.  The early crocus and witch hazel blooms will see a blanket of snow by tomorrow but for today they will have their time in the sun.

To and fro

I stitched a little, wrote a little, read a little, listened a little, watched a little, ate a little, talked a little.
The birds kept calling, the v of geese flew overhead, people came and went, slept and rose, the cat came in and out. 

Squirrely

Last evening the squirrels were up and down and all around among the birds in the great seed pool and surprise, green grass where the snow receded.

Struggling into the 40's

The sun is trying to dispel the chill, but so far the cool dampness is winning.  Starting off the beginning of the week worn out a bit and a bit dispirited, it must be March, such a changeable time.

The Ides of March

Remembrance of ones gone on before.  A chill day, low forties and windy about what is expected for this time of year.  The birds are singing all morning despite the snow still on the ground. 

Signs of spring

I saw my first robin hopping about in the neighbor's yard.  On a walk yesterday we say purple crocus in the neighbor's garden and gold ones further down the street.  The maple and lilac buds seems to be coloring and swelling. And through the night into today a good soaking rain. Joy, joy!

Lovely sunrise

The day is dawning bright and fresh.  The melting breeze is lifting the snow away.  The doves call as the sun rises. 

Ahhh

The rain and fog are passing giving way to a warm sunny day, so odd after the long cold winter to have such a mild day.  Good day to get out and get groceries.  Lots of reading and writing but hard to settle down to the visual art these days.  Last night my creation was a salad with a kale and lettuce bed, topped with chopped red beets, apples and celery, with halved hard-boiled eggs and bacon slices on the side. Today I am planning a meat loaf with many ingredients and seasonings, this seems to be where my creativity wishes to take me for now.

Lambient

The air is gentle and mild against my cheek this morning.  The bird song rises up through the dawn's air.  The cat is eager to get out after months of being cooped in.  The feeling of hope is curling above the melting snow and a faint feeling of rightness arising from the thawing ground.

Hooray, hooray it is laundry day

55 degrees, the laundry is washed and dried.  A new painting begun, the house set to rights.  A brief outing may be upcoming before the spring rains set in.  Glorious, glorious spring!

All right!

47 degrees, heaven!  The huge snow mounds are shrinking.  The sun is so warm the car is warm without the heater.  What a blessed relief after a very long, very cold winter. 

Okay

okay, I admit, the snow is "pretty."
At least in the bright sunshine of mid-March,
when we know it will soon give way,
when the colors are returning to the sky and shadows
when the frost flowers bloom upon the glass
when the sled trails carve down the banks
showing  that children still play outdoors
when the icicles long teeth grin from the gutters
and the tree limbs are all outlined in white
then, yes, it is kind of pretty, maybe even kind of beautiful.

Fire and ice

Icicles hang above my front door
 encased in the flame,
 of the bright sun
shimmering inside them
so that they begin to drip
even in the 10 degree weather.
The street is quiet under the
deep mantle of snow
with high banks piled all along it.
The bright blue jay flashes down to the seeds,
while the slatey junco hops among them,
even that raucous fellow oddly silent.

And more snow

Here we go again, but as I was out shoveling I was accompanied by the sweetest of bird song which lets me know spring is creeping closer and closer so no need to be down-hearted even though it is yet again a study in white and gray out the window and the snow is starting to lie thickly on the ground.

malaise

A bit of a bug hit in the night and laid me a tad low for the day.  A cold rainy day, now filled with silvery fog, before the snow returns early in the morning, and then maybe spring will be coming.

Cold rain

Rainy day, on the edge of ice, very cold and damp and gray.  A good day to hide out in bed with a good book.  Put on your woolies and snuggle under the covers, doze off a bit.

Crystal trees

Everything is iced over and when the sun comes out of the clouds the trees sparkle bright white against the slate colored sky.  And the ice falls in great rainbow-filled drops from the wires and gutters.  The hedge looks like pickets of glass rattling in the breeze.  Soon all will be returned to winter bareness as the day warms.

March First

Though it has been snowing and blowing since dawn, the day is brighter with the sun closer, even if we are barely into the 20's, there is an air of hope, as the birds sing early on fighting for the seed thrown out.  A repeat of last Sunday's storm that lies in our yards and streets, now sculpted into frozen waves upon our domestic shores.  19 days until the equinox now and the days are stretching perceptibly longer and later to raise winter weary spirits a bit, to hope for release to warmth once again.