Weekend Edition: Signs of Spring

Look what we found on our walk yesterday:


It was the first rose of the year for Carl and me. And while it’s a little disconcerting to see a rose out in early April, it feels like a gift of hope right now. This particular rose tree is a highly fragrant one. I always stop to smell these roses at the top of a hill near the end of my walk. It’s encouraging to know that I will be able to inhale that fragrance again soon.

It’s the rhythm of spring, the reliability of it, that brings me hope and encouragement in these days. Here’s a poem by Mary Oliver that speaks of all these things. I hope that it brings you hope and encouragement today, and that, wherever you are, you are able to enjoy the signs of spring around you.

Spring

In the north country now it is spring and there
Is a certain celebration. The thrush
Has come home. He is shy and likes the
Evening best, also the hour just before
Morning; in that blue and gritty light he
Climbs to his branch, or smoothly
Sails there. It is okay to know only
One song if it is this one. Hear it
Rise and fall; the very elements of you should
Shiver nicely. What would spring be
Without it? Mostly frogs. But don’t worry, he
Arrives, year after year, humble and obedient
And gorgeous. You listen and you know
You could live a better life than you do, be
Softer, kinder. And maybe this year you will
Be able to do it. Hear how his voice
Rises and falls. There is no way to be
Sufficiently grateful for the gifts we are
Given, no way to speak the Lord’s name
Often enough, though we do try, and
Especially now, as that dappled breast
Breathes in the pines and heaven’s
Windows in the north country,
Now spring has come,
Are opened wide.
~ Mary Oliver 

Until tomorrow, be safe, be well. Be open to the signs of spring, big and small, that reassure you that life goes on and that transformation is always possible.

Love,
Nancie/Mom/Mimi/Grandma


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