|
Hovering here between two years, between two cold months of winter, is a joyous shout of spring. After a torrential rain last night, today has dawned bright and warm and breezy, the birds are singing farewells to the old year and welcomes to the new, and the scent of moss and green and growing things is in the air. Here at my thoughtful spot the little waterfall's peaceful splashing has been turned into a roaring cascade of white that seems to slice through the dark, leaf strewn rock. Even the determined mass of roots that normally diverts the water's path is wholly swallowed by these thunderous little falls. If winter comes, can spring be far behind? - Percy Bysshe Shelley, "Ode to the West Wind"  Drooping ferns and violas, still chilled from a week of frosts, are lifting up their heads to enjoy the unexpected warmth and sunshine. I feel like doing the same - uncurling and thawing out and rejoicing in this extraordinary day. At my feet a lush clump of chickweed seems to have sprung up overnight. This cooling, fresh springtime potherb will be growing prolifically in the wild in a few months. Its leaves are nutrient dense and make a wonderful, mild flavored addition to salads and pesto, and are so high in vitamin C that it is said sailors prized chickweed vinegar to prevent scurvy. When used topically, this tender but hardy little herb is soothing to burns and poison ivy rashes, and healing to minor cuts and scrapes. ...every day is the best day in the year. - Ralph Waldo Emerson  It is decidedly winter still, and the trees above me are skeleton bare though the skies I see through them are summer's blue. Yet on this brief, beautiful day, here at the close of one year and the opening of a new, my thoughtful spot is alive with the sounds and smells and sights of spring. It seems to me a marvelous gift of a day, filled with hope, joy, and new beginnings. The light shines in the darkness, |
