Here it is the second week of March already. I am back after finishing my seasonal work at the university last week and regrouping. I survived the tough winter, although it isn't finished with us yet. We are getting snow and bitter cold tomorrow, but temperatures are now fluctuating and beginning to rise well above freezing on occasion, too.
Today, for example, was gorgeous. Everyone was out with the sun, including the chipmunks, who provided Freddy with hours of entertainment on the other side of the patio doors. Numerous fallen branches magically appeared as the snow melted. I even saw a bee out and about as I did a bit of cleanup in one of the back beds. So, I joined in the revelry, no jacket required, and went out to prune NOLD's beloved pear tree as well as a couple of rhododendron I had missed last fall.
I was able to check off one small task from an unbelievably long to do list I made last week. Winter and work stunned me into silence and relative inaction this time around. One moment I felt like hibernating and the next like sprinting to the finish to get work and the essentials of our family life completed. So, I am getting my feet back under me in this time of year, which is in various ways the month of March. Yet, the words still flow and cheer the soul with the passing of the days as well as the Ides.
Today, for example, was gorgeous. Everyone was out with the sun, including the chipmunks, who provided Freddy with hours of entertainment on the other side of the patio doors. Numerous fallen branches magically appeared as the snow melted. I even saw a bee out and about as I did a bit of cleanup in one of the back beds. So, I joined in the revelry, no jacket required, and went out to prune NOLD's beloved pear tree as well as a couple of rhododendron I had missed last fall.
I was able to check off one small task from an unbelievably long to do list I made last week. Winter and work stunned me into silence and relative inaction this time around. One moment I felt like hibernating and the next like sprinting to the finish to get work and the essentials of our family life completed. So, I am getting my feet back under me in this time of year, which is in various ways the month of March. Yet, the words still flow and cheer the soul with the passing of the days as well as the Ides.
March On
Voices lost in snow
Bodies wrapped in down
Lungs filled with cold
Steps slowed with care
March on, march on
Arctic air drops down South uninvited
Flakes fall frenzied and unappreciated
White no longer speaks to the soul
Deep slumber eludes the long nights
March on, march on
Sun stops mid-day, radiant at the window
Soil awakens to a slow drip from the eves
Stream trips and falls, calling for attention
Spirit thaws in anticipation and takes flight
March on, march on
Green once unseen springs forth eternal
Tulips shout in chorus below the mailbox
Nests wait empty but certain in thick branches
Day stretches and sends moon for cloudy cover
March on, march on
Voices raised in song
Bodies freed to breathe
Lungs filled with scent
Steps danced in time
March on, march on
