Tag Archives: seasons
When everything is perfect
“Every summer there are a number of nights, not many, but a number, when everything is perfect. The light, the warmth, the smells, the mist, the birdsong – the moths. Who can sleep? Who wants to?” ― Fredrik Sjöberg During summer, my tendency to be a night owl kicks into overdrive. The longer daylight hours …
Flowers that fly
“But these are flowers that fly and all but sing…” — Robert Frost Of all the symbols of summer, perhaps butterflies come the closest to capturing the season. The brevity of their time here, coupled with their freedom of movement and dazzling visual appeal, seem well matched to the warmer months when we tend to …
Always June
“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June…I feel that it would take me a long time to get tired of it, if it were all as charming as today.” — L. M. Montgomery There’s a good reason Anne’s sunny personality has won the hearts of …
No way to say no
And it’s going to be a day There is really no way to say no to the morning Yes it’s going to be a day There is really nothing left to say But come on morning — Dan Fogelberg This verse is from “To the Morning,” the first Dan Fogelberg song I ever loved, recorded …
Amid the trials
“How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existence.” — Benjamin Disraeli We’ve now owned our York home nearly ten years, longer than we have ever owned any property. Among the many features of the home I’ve treasured, the azalea garden in our back yard is a favorite. Countless times that little …
The earth laughs
“The earth laughs in flowers.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson If Emerson is right, this spring ought to be a riot of hilarity, the kind that comes as a huge relief after sustained tension. Last week, the cherry blossoms “brought down the house” with the earth’s mirth in the DC area. I hope you too are …
You know how it is
“The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day. When the sun is out and the wind is still, You’re one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, a cloud comes over the sunlit arch, And wind …
A curious paradox
“There is a curious paradox that no one can explain. Who understands the secret of the reaping of the grain? Who understands why Spring is born out of Winter’s laboring pain, or why we must all die a bit before we grow again.” — Tom Jones (playwright) from The Fantasticks Today I send virtual flowers …
The singing of birds
“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come…” — Song of Solomon 2:11-12 Let’s hope the winter is mostly past by now, and the rain, while not over and gone, will surely give way to more …
The first spring day
“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.” — Henry Van Dyke On March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, we returned to Alexandria to find six inches of snow on the ground. Really! I had just left behind …
Under the giving snow
“Under the giving snow blossoms a daring spring.” — Terri Guillemets I find it hard to believe that as I’m writing this (on March 7, two weeks before publication) I STILL see snow on the ground outside! It’s melting in places, but most of the grass is still covered with it, and those nasty-dirty drifts …
The best of now
“No longer forward nor behind I look in hope or fear; But, grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here.” ― John Greenleaf Whittier No matter what is going on in your life right now, this day holds many hidden gifts. Which ones will you discover? One year ago today: Not …
One of those March days
“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” — Charles Dickens Today (two weeks before this is published) Michael commented that spring had been flirting with us. That’s a perfect description of the past …
Fling off thy sadness
Awake, thou wintry earth – Fling off thy sadness! Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth Your ancient gladness! — Thomas Blackburn As I write this, I keep glancing out my glass doors, and I see there is still snow on the ground. But the sun is shining brightly, and the snow is melting, slowly but surely. …
Made for kids
“Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up.” — Bob Lemon Those of us who admire the complexity of baseball — or maybe only imagine that we do — might think Lemon has oversimplified things with this statement. But he has far more authority on the subject than I do, and in …
It takes courage
“It takes courage to be crocus-minded…Highly irregular. Knifing through hard-frozen ground and snow, sticking their necks out, because they believe in Spring and have something personal and emphatic to say about it.” — Jo Sorley Deciding to have faith and hope isn’t always easy, but it is a decision, and one that comes more naturally …
The sun a spark
“The days are short The sun a spark Hung thin between The dark and dark.” — John Updike One thing I like about this time of year is the gradual lengthening of daylight hours. It still turns dark far too early, several weeks away from the onset of Daylight Savings Time. But I know that …
Repainting the landscape
“Nature has many scenes to exhibit, and constantly draws a curtain over this part or that. She is constantly repainting the landscape and all surfaces, dressing up some scene for our entertainment. Lately we had a leafy wilderness; now bare twigs begin to prevail, and soon she will surprise us with a mantle of snow. …
To be commanded
“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” — Francis Bacon This seeming paradox is one that every gardener knows well. We can exert a strong influence over our gardens, if… If we observe the individual traits of our plants, our local soil, and our weather. If we are regular and disciplined in tending them. If …
Pretty, yes pretty!
“To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them.” ― Pierre-Auguste Renoir With that view of art, no wonder Renoir left us so many gorgeous works to enjoy. I realize there is a …
Divine pleasures
“Surely everyone is aware of the divine pleasures which attend a wintry fireside; candles at four o’clock, warm hearthrugs, tea, a fair tea-maker, shutters closed, curtains flowing in ample draperies to the floor, whilst the wind and rain are raging audibly without.” ― Thomas De Quincey Before Jeff’s surgery in November, when he was disappointed …
Renewed day by day
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16, NIV The barren winter landscape, even when accented with snow, is a stark and sometimes sad contrast to the lush flowering of just six months prior. Yet underground, much is going …
Remembering: Something in the autumn
There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood — Touch of manner, hint of mood; And my heart is like a rhyme, With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time. — Bliss Carman Autumn reminds us of the brevity of life as the lush blossoms of summer fade …
Defeat Despair 