I am a gardener…
I grow, I notice every little change in my garden, I smile a different kind of smile when I see the first shoots emerging in January and February. Yet today…. a beautiful sunny day two thirds of the way through the month of March I was surprised to see rows of Daffodils with their yellow heads still firmly enclosed in their green coats.
All the while the daffs in my garden have been showing themselves off for weeks.
The reason is, the daffodils I saw this morning were facing North. On a tree lined lane, they have barely felt the heat from the sun and their time is not yet here to emerge.
The delicate daffodils in my garden holding onto the rain
A beautiful but unidentified bug on my kitchen window
We found this ladybird sleeping in a Beech nut shell
What is it they say?… ‘To every thing there is a season’. I wonder how many of us are still not quite emerging from the strangeness of the last two years. Not quite ready to stick our heads out fully into the heat of the sun.
Not quite ready..
This spring for the first time in my life I had the strange sensation of wanting to cling on to the winter. To hold on to the comfort which comes from closing the door on the cold, retreating to the warmth and security of my home and the familiar rituals which relax and ground my busy brain.
I didn’t feel quite ready mentally or physically (I’m still wearing too many layers) for the warmth of Spring and all the newness it brings, along with which, more tasks and social commitments. With all the tragedies unfolding in Ukraine, I felt more than ever the pull to the sanctuary of my home and more than ever thankful for it.
I love this Almanac by Lia Leendertz
Hot tea before work listening to Spring birdsong
Sowing seeds is the most optimistic thing I do in Spring
But… I am a gardener, I grow, I notice and in a few days those daffodils will be out - their heads dancing in the breeze… and I feel finally, so will I.
And if you’re wondering where that saying comes from, I looked it up and it is of Christian origin, from the book of Ecclesiastes. Here it is in full:
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
Footnote: Firstly, apologies for not posting this at the time of writing, hopefully it still resonates. And secondly, I am not of any religious persuasion but this text had an effect on me and made sense so I wanted to share it with you too.