If this time of year is rich in anything, it's rich in expectancy. Everything in nature seems ready to stir, and yet the only thing visibly stirring so far is daylight itself, which is steadily undoing winter. Cold weather has kept the lid on the garden, and the few ambitious shoots that have shown to date seem to be thinking better of it..... Some people plan for the winter, and some people plan for the spring. (34-35)
The Rural Life ~ Verlyn Klinkenborg
My mind is as frozen as the earth this year. My writing and creativity and energy all evade me at a time of year when I usually feel I am bursting with inventiveness and activity. I know that I am not alone; almost everyone I know feels the same way. I am working my way through disappointment in myself to acceptance to celebration: I am starting slow but gathering speed.
Here is what I have accomplished:
As I work away in the kitchen, I get a good view of our back yard through the glass patio doors. The birds are returning: the songbirds, including two sets of cardinals, the geese, the robins, the hawks. I spotted a small one perched in a Japanese maple on the front side of the house, silencing the rest of the inhabitants of NOLD.
And, the red-tailed hawks have returned to their campus nest, laying three beautiful eggs which the Lab of Ornithology allows us to view in real time for a different sort of expectancy. Check it out -- a bird cam gem.
Here is what I have accomplished:
- Spring Cleaning: I am beginning by decluttering and rearranging all the chaos that seems to seep into the house in the winter. Then, I will move onto some deep spring cleaning, including changing linens, washing windows, and exchanging wardrobes.
- House Projects: Spring cleaning is setting the stage for a few house projects on deck. I am beginning with recaulking several bathrooms and hope to get some painting done this spring again as we continue to make NOLD our own. I am also choosing paint colors which is never an easy process for me.
- Yard Work: I have just begun to clear debris, leaves, and dead foliage, a never ending process. And, my professor husband helped me prune our dear Asian pear tree as well as a few rhododendron neglected last fall.
- Exercise: If the weather and my schedule provide an opening, I am committed to getting outside for yard work or exercise.
- Writing: I have returned to my writing group as well as this blog and the darn cookbook with limited success -- plodding but working at it.
- Kitchen: I have been enjoying my time in the kitchen immensely. I am moving beyond yogurt and hoping to return to bread making of the yeasted variety. I am also trying a handful of new chicken recipes, healthy and straightforward dishes to add to the dinner repertoire. And, I have been trying to prepare a few staples and sweet treats to have around the house regularly.
As I work away in the kitchen, I get a good view of our back yard through the glass patio doors. The birds are returning: the songbirds, including two sets of cardinals, the geese, the robins, the hawks. I spotted a small one perched in a Japanese maple on the front side of the house, silencing the rest of the inhabitants of NOLD.
And, the red-tailed hawks have returned to their campus nest, laying three beautiful eggs which the Lab of Ornithology allows us to view in real time for a different sort of expectancy. Check it out -- a bird cam gem.
