Spring, Where Are You?

Winter weary. Frost fatigued. Ice impatient. It's interesting how the very people who look forward to winter's first magical snowfall can be the same ones who don't want to see one more single snowflake at the season's end. Count me in. I am tired of wearing boots, hats and mittens. I don't want to scrape ice off the car's windshield one more time or shovel the front steps. I'm finding it hard seeing photos of blossoming trees and plants in others' blogs and Instagram feeds. I am aching to see my garden.

Although the calendar says spring arrived here about a week ago, this is still very much winter weather.

And yet, once temperatures rise, Meeko and I will no longer be able to take our daily forest walks. The little forest at our street's end will be too wet and swampy in a matter of days or weeks to walk in. So, I realized that instead of hating the last few days of this long, long winter, I should be cherishing its final moments. So I shifted my focus and my mood followed. Interesting. A recipe perhaps for other areas of my life?

I took these photos near the end of the day two days ago while trying to drink in the beauty of the snow, shadows and light. I thought about the freedom and joy that these forest walks give Meeko several months a year. I thought about the times I laugh out loud at Meeko's crazy antics in the snow or his goofy expression as he runs back to my side on the path. I thought about the welcome break these walks give me in my day and the peacefulness they provide to my spirit.

Oh spring, I can't wait for you to come but do you know what winter, I'm actually going to miss you.

The sun goes down and one season slowly concedes to another.

“It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want—oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” 
― Mark Twain

When Anyone Talks About Trees

I haven't posted for quite a few days. Chloé had her March break last week. Emma has hers this week. The normal routine of my days has been interrupted not rudely but sweetly by the presence of my daughters in the house.  But it means I haven't painted as much or visited blogs as much or looked after my Etsy shop as much or any number of things as much. It's an adjustment but it's not a bad thing. Maybe it's a reminder to pay attention to the important things.

• I haven't been idle though.
• I've painted a little.
• I worked on a big print of my Lilacs image that a customer is potentially interested in.
• I've walked daily with Meeko (of course).
• I've watched the snow melt the past two days and heard the birds sing and know that spring is on its way.
• I spent a lot of time in the backyard today poo-gathering (one of the "joys" of the spring thaw for dog owners) and got to visit all corners of my garden. There are signs of life despite the fact that everything was covered by snow and ice two days ago. I am always amazed.
• I shopped downtown with Chloé last week, walked daily with her and Meeko, and enjoyed several days of one-on-one time.
• Emma went away for five days to visit friends (the longest she's ever been away) and I was happy for her yet also happy to see her again.
• I did some housecleaning (grumpily) to prepare for the visit of my sister Nancy and her family (not grumpy about that!). They won't be here long but we always love their company.
• I treated myself and bought some gouache paints for a painting I would like to do of a lovely tree with a heart shape on it. It's not the one in the photo above. That is another heart-marked tree I discovered on the same path I take with Meeko every day in the winter. I thought of posting the other photo but it's too special to me so I want to keep it hidden for now and let my painting be the reveal. Now the pressure is on for me to do it. 
• I am reading "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" by Muriel Barberry. I have 50 books (not an exaggeration) beside my night table waiting to be read. I was an English major in university and love books so much. With my slow reading pace these days, that 50-book stack might be a little unreasonable, more like impossible (but I remain optimistic). It took me a long time to get into "The Elegance of the Hedgehog"--maybe even one-third of the book. I am a stubborn reader and am glad for that as I am now loving the book. This passage jumped out at me the other evening and I reread it more than once for the sheer pleasure of it. I love when that happens. And now you know why I chose the photo at the top.

After I'd had a chance to think about it for a while I began to understand why I felt this sudden joy when Kakuro was talking about the birch trees. I get the same feeling when anyone talks about trees, any trees: the linden tree in the farmyard, the oak behind the old barn, the stately elms that have all disappeared now, the pine trees along wind-swept coasts, etc. There's so much humanity in a love of trees, so much nostalgia for our first sense of wonder, so much power in just feeling our own insignificance when we are surrounded by nature...yes, that's it: just thinking about trees and their indifferent majesty and our love for them teaches us how ridiculous we are--vile parasites squirming on the surface of the earth--and at the same time how deserving of life we can be, when we can honor this beauty that owes us nothing.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

Muriel Barberry

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