Tag Archives: springtime
Begin transforming
“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.” — Adrienne Cook That sounds good to me. Let the transformation begin! Help me brainstorm some ideas to get us started. How shall we prepare to welcome spring? Maybe we can visit a nursery or hardware store and pick …
The world is full
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” — W. B. Yeats Awhile back we had an interesting discussion with Boomdee in the comments after she mentioned the rabbits in her world changing colors with the seasons. Until then, I didn’t know about the Snowshoe Hare, which turns white …
My garden of thoughts and dreams
“In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful.” — Abram L. Urban This year, the Yorktown Garden Stroll was scheduled a month early, in April instead of May. …
Blooming most recklessly
“Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.” — Rainer Maria Rilke I probably say this every year, but I can’t remember when I was more eager for spring. Because I was expecting visitors in late March and early April, …
Questions of faith and love
“…although the historical arguments for Jesus’s bodily resurrection are truly strong, we must never suppose that they will do more than bring people to the questions faced by Thomas and Peter, the questions of faith and love. We cannot use a supposedly objective historical epistemology as the ultimate ground for the truth of Easter. To …
The most exciting play
“The triple is the most exciting play in baseball. Home runs win a lot of games, but I never understood why fans are so obsessed with them.” — Hank Aaron In typical fashion, Aaron turns the spotlight away from himself to voice an opinion I was relieved to read. I thought I was the only one …
Sweet remembrancers
…Thus in each flower and simple bell, That in our path untrodden lie, Are sweet remembrancers who tell How fast the winged moments fly. Time will steal on with ceaseless pace, Yet lose we not the fleeting hours, Who still their fairy footsteps trace, As light they dance among the flowers. — Charlotte Turner Smith …
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 light joyousness
Hats off to Matisse! I think he had a good attitude. Unfortunately, I sometimes want to make sure at least some people know just how hard I am working. I’m not sure whether that’s a tendency to play the martyr, or a subtle way of trying to make sure I don’t get buried any deeper …
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 …
Up and doing
Let us, then, be up and doing,With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing,Learn to labor and to wait. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow If a few short words could sum up the past 18 months of Jeff’s life, it would be hard to find any more appropriate than these. The photo above was …
On his darkest day
You have to believe in happiness, Or happiness never comes … Ah, that’s the reason a bird can sing – On his darkest day he believes in Spring. — Douglas Malloch I’ve done a lot of walking through snow and ice the past few days, and already there’s a part of me that is eager …
Other springs
When we began this endless trek, I feared I saw a darkened door, Through which a line of marching sick Were heading for some winter shore. But now the news the doctor brings Seems to promise other springs. — Jane Yolen One year ago today, Jeff went into the local emergency room with sudden, acute …
A full expression
“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” — Ansel Adams This photograph of my friend Kathy, taking photos of me taking photos of her, is not a …
Nature’s way
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” — Robin Williams Surely by now, warm spring weather has started to arrive in even the chilliest parts of the northern hemisphere. Better late than never! What can we do to celebrate springtime this week? Take a walk, plan a picnic, visit a park. Make some lemonade, bake some …
You should ramble
“To enjoy scenery you should ramble amidst it; let the feelings to which it gives rise mingle with other thoughts; look round upon it in intervals of reading; and not go to it as one goes to see the lions fed at a fair. The beautiful is not to be stared at, but to be …
A playful utopia
“Baseball is a harbor, a seclusion from failure that really matters, a playful utopia in which virtuosity can be savored to the third decimal place of a batting average.” — Mark Kramer “Baseball is reassuring. It makes me feel as if the world is not going to blow up.” — Sharon Olds To borrow the …
The fantastic show
“There are some shrubs that seem to scream, ‘Look at me!’ With their showy flowers…planting just one of these shrubs can light up the whole yard…azaleas are sure bets for a spectacular flower show…Their intensity makes one stop and take notice and perhaps feel compelled to give Mother Nature a round of applause for the fantastic …
Start again
The birds they sang at the break of day Start again I heard them say — Leonard Cohen I can’t recall a single time when hearing the birds singing did not lift my spirits. Sometimes they sound cheerful and perky, sometimes insistent, almost alarmed, but they never sound depressing. Birdsong goes perfectly with the other …
In the cherry blossom’s shade
“In the cherry blossom’s shade there’s no such thing as a stranger.” — Kobayashi Issa Have you ever noticed how often people share their excitement at a beautiful landmark or stunning view? Tourists who have never met offer to take photos for each other, handing expensive cameras to total strangers. Except, as Issa says, there’s no such thing …
Something is afoot
“It is a bright and chill early spring day. The air is crisp but the earth is insistent…The wind is stiff and needling. It still feels like winter, but spring itself is positive and determined. Something is afoot, and it is festive and uncontrollable and undeniable.” — Julia Cameron I’ve heard more than a little …
Represent civilization
“Be careful how you behave towards wild things – remember that, to them, you represent civilization.” — Ashleigh Brilliant One of my favorite memories about my husband’s late father is the way he loved wildlife. Many a summer’s evening I would be relaxing inside the Tennessee home where Jeff grew up, enjoying one of his …
How happily we listen
“What can Spring say that other Springs have not already told us? And yet each year, how happily we listen!” — Joan Walsh Anglund Familiar yet always new, springtime lures us outdoors with warming sunshine, budding trees and bright blooms. Whether your March weather has been more like a lion or a lamb thus far, I …
Defeat Despair 