spring

Quintessential Spring Day – Day #109

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
After the sleet – Photo: L. Weikel

Quintessential Spring Day

Today was a quintessential Spring day. When I first awoke, there was a weather warning on my phone letting me know that storms were expected and winds and precipitation could whip up unexpectedly. The possibility of this haphazard weather was expected to last until 9:00 p.m. So when I couldn’t fit a walk in before heading out to do some errands, I thought I’d missed the window of walking possibilities.

When I opened my eyes this morning, sunshine was shining in our bedroom windows. But as I permitted myself a languid start to my day, by the time I had dressed both myself and our bed, the sky was decidedly overcast. This day was dreary.

True to predictions, however, I drove north for about 25 minutes and suddenly saw blue sky open up before me, while massive – truly gargantuan – Cloud Beings meandered across the sky like Macy’s Day Parade balloons on steroids.

It was nevertheless a surprise to me when, heading south again, the slate gray clouds on the southern horizon suddenly started spitting countless slush balls at me. The slushy-sleet was coming down so fast and furious at one point that, had I pulled over, I probably could’ve made a snowman.

Spring Magic – Photo: L. Weikel

Two Hours Later

Two hours later, I arrived back home. The sleet had subsided for the moment and sunshine actually started beaming out from behind another set of impressive clouds traveling east. The wind was still whipping and the temperature was on the cold side, but the call was for even colder temperatures later. So we put the pups’ coats on and set out.

We rounded the first corner and didn’t it start to sleet again? This time it wasn’t slush-sleet; it was tiny pricks of ice sleet and buffeting winds. We hesitated. The pups shivered. Since we weren’t getting soaked, we kept on. Massive clouds pushed through and within just a few minutes we were glad we’d persisted and resisted the temptation to turn back.

About two thirds of the way around our circuit, we suddenly realized how utterly delightful it was out. Sunlight brilliantly glittered off pop-up roadside streams. We loosened our jackets and reveled in what I mentioned earlier was a quintessential Spring day. Mother Nature’s moods were mercurial and each facet held an element of wildness and passion.

Finally, an hour or so after our walk, I had to run another errand. What a gift it was to be out again, because otherwise I would’ve missed a spectacular sunset. Rays, reflections, and indescribably vibrant colors bombarded my senses one after another.

This day turned out wildly different than I expected in a myriad of ways – and I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed so much of it.

Striated Sunset – Photo: L. Weikel

(T+109)

Everything – ND #104

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Brutus Discovers Daffodils – Photo: L. Weikel

Everything

In the midst of everything (and I will leave it up to you to imagine what ‘everything’ might mean to me), I managed to experience some exquisite beauty today. And since it’s probably a safe bet that my definition of everything and your definition of everything probably share a great deal in common, I want to offer you a glimpse of what I saw today.

Remember when these little ones first came into our life back in October? They’ve grown so much, it’s hard to believe they’ve never experienced Spring before. All these intriguing flowers springing forth from the ground definitely have them flummoxed. This is especially true because both Pacha and Brutus (but especially Pacha) are seriously into eating sticks.

That means, of course, that when they start noticing delicacies poking their heads through the soil where they’ve never seen such plants before, they literally act as though they’re hallucinating. Their stubborn refusal to leave the plants alone and keep moving brought home to me the fact that they haven’t ever experienced the bonanza of sights and smells that Spring brings. I forgot! This is all new to them!

“Mmm. Smells good.” – Photo: L. Weikel

I’ve Given Up

There is no point in me saying, “Drop it!” anymore, especially after the warmth of this past weekend. Wow. Even I was taken by surprise by the transformation of our landscape. There is simply so much available now for puppies to put in their mouths! And who wouldn’t want to taste the rainbow?

But then I have a moment when I see Brutus really take in his first experience of daffodils and crocuses and I know why so many of us fall for newbies of every kind (kittens, puppies, babies…). It’s the innocence. It’s the pure delight in discovering something totally new that bends our senses.

“Mommy, I need to get just – a – little – closer!” Photo: L. Weikel

I Haven’t Forgotten

I’m still paying attention. The ‘everything’ I mentioned in my first paragraph continues to unfold all around us. But I’m taking a moment.

We are able to relish the circumstances Ukrainians are fighting to the death over at this very moment. War is not my personal experience in this moment. But beauty and joy are. Optimism and second chances and new horizons are, too.

I feel the suffering of others, but I also want to celebrate the relative peace I’m experiencing in this moment. It’s incumbent upon us to savor this. All of it.

Take a moment. Look around. Let your heart feel the hope that’s reflected in the daffodils and jonquils. Crocuses and wild violets.

(T+104)

Setting of Tone – Day 859

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Hawk – 19 March 2021 – Photo: L. Weikel

Setting of Tone

Today turned out to be a much more delightful day, weather-wise, than what I was expecting. While it was still chillier than last week, I was grateful that yesterday’s dreary pall of rain didn’t carry over into today. As we took a walk late this afternoon the lingering breath of winter felt exhilarating. And encountering this messenger, surely one of our horny hawks from last week’s extravaganza of mid-sky mating rituals and raucous attention-getting, felt like a seasonal setting of tone.

What tone might this hawk be setting?

First and foremost, Hawk (as an archetype, hence the capitalization) is a messenger. And this one perched not on a pole or at the apex of a tree, as is their usual preferred observatory, but rather smack in the middle of a telephone wire, perfectly balanced above the center of a roadway. And s/he watched us approach for a good quarter of a mile before taking flight again.

It strikes me that for a bird as hefty as a hawk, balancing on a wire takes more skill and focus than might be demanded of a sparrow or bluebird. This fact gave more credence to the deliberate intention of the act itself. This hawk was not trying to hide itself from us or observe us from afar. In fact, I swear it maintained eye contact with me the entire time I walked toward it with the hope of getting as clear a photo as possible.

I’m not suggesting that it showed up just for us, but surely a higher and more stable point would have been preferable as a hunting perch. And part of its message could therefore be that we need to bring an extra dose of skill and focus to achieve our goals this spring.

Communication, Creativity, New Life

Sitting on a telephone wire above the middle of a road. Being obvious and direct in its work as a messenger, possibly using new means of communication. Patiently awaiting the arrival of the new growth/life that so much effort was put into creating last week during the very public and unmistakable mid-air mating dances and rituals.

The energy I felt from this hawk was that it almost wanted to whack me upside the head with its wing. Perching there on a wire overhead it just felt like it was deliberately making itself obvious to us. It was pretty much demanding that we pay attention to it and heed its message – which at least partially was conveyed last week when she and her suitors made such a ruckus as they created new life.

Confirmation

Just as I started writing this post, I decided to choose a card from the Naked Heart Tarot deck, asking for a message on setting of tone for the spring season. I chose the Three of Wands.

To me, this card says yes, create a sacred space in which to focus your creative energy. Allow the rising sun that signifies the burgeoning energy of springtime to fill and illuminate your life. Give yourself a protected space in which to give this new life, this nascent creativity, room and space to grow.

Three of Wands – Naked Heart Tarot deck

(T-252)

Anticipation – Day 848

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Two short weeks ago – Spartacus – Photo: L. Weikel

Anticipation

I, for one, have thoroughly delighted in all the snow we received this winter. Yeah baby – storm after storm – barely having time to catch our breath. The snowstorms have been so relentless that, here we are, the 9th of March, and there remain piles of snow on the ground beneath the eaves of our garage where blankets of snow, some 18” deep, slumped off. Yet here I am, brimming with anticipation over the change in weather this week.

Exactly two weeks ago, we were reveling in yet another ‘snow event.’ The township didn’t even bother to plow, cinder, or salt for several hours – quite probably because they have little product left and who knows how unpredictable March will be?! The best part about the lack of plowing was the chance to take a walk in the snow silence that only comes when everything is covered in a downy comforter of white stuff.

And yes, I used the word reveling. My only regret has been that I didn’t go sleigh riding even once. (I know, I know. Most people call it sledding. But it’s always been sleigh riding to me.) While I’m sure having to trudge back up the hill would’ve dissuaded me from taking more than one pass down, even a singlet would’ve been fun.

Snow Blanket – Photo: L. Weikel

Here We Are

But here we are, looking forward to at least three days of temperatures soaring into the 60s, with the chance of actually reaching 70 by Thursday. Nothing volatile at all about March weather, amiright?

And I have to say: I’m feelin’ it. Just this morning, with temperatures still briskly hovering in the low 30s, I filled the bird feeders and noticed yellow green shoots just starting to pierce the surface of the garden. Daffodils are on their way!

I’m excited to document the progress of these sprouts over the next few days. When I close my eyes and imagine the life force in these bulbs, I feel a powerful buzz, a pent-up sense of desire wanting to burst forth toward the sun.

Let springtime commence.

Hungry Hawk – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-263)

A Taste – Day 843

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Snowmelt Cataract – Photo: L. Weikel

A Taste

If you’re a person who pays even the slightest attention to weather predictions, you couldn’t escape the exhortations to get outside and enjoy today’s balmy temperatures. Spartacus was especially eager to supervise the filling of the birdfeeders if it meant he could sit on the porch and bask in the sun. Aaah, a taste of the season when we shift our ‘office’ outside.

Spart was ready to make the move today. And I can’t say I was far behind. The opportunity to lift my face to the sun and actually feel warmth was delicious.

I made a point of getting outside today because the temperatures are supposed to drop again for the next several days. Not that it’ll be ultra frigid or anything. But it’ll go back to 30s and 40s.

The yearning for spring is growing in all of us, I suspect. It’s as if we’re all a bunch of maple trees with our sap rising or daffodil bulbs defiantly poking our heads out of the still snow-covered ground.

Photo: L. Weikel

Walkabout

In celebration of this first whiff of spring, Karl and I did our first ‘walkabout’ in what feels like many – too many – months. A walkabout is what I call our four mile trek, leading us past wolfhounds and through horse farms, to name a few of the highlights.

It almost felt like a homecoming, it’s been so long since we took that route.

Snowmelt Waterfalls

The gradual way spring has been poking her toe in on us has made the melting of this winter’s copious snows less of a flooding nightmare than in other years. Nevertheless, the roadside streams and field runoffs were flowing copiously this afternoon – and the cacophony of their voices almost as much a harbinger of spring as my beloved peepers.

Next week the temperatures are supposed to reach into the low 60s. I’m ready.

Photo: L. Weikel

(T-268)

Gilded Sentinels – Day 835

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 2 Comments
Facing east – Photo: L. Weikel

Gilded sentinels

The sunshine illuminating the massive cedar trees at the edge of the field seemed to turn them into gilded sentinels. They didn’t care that dark clouds lurked behind them, whispering threats of last minute snow squalls. They could feel the urge to awaken and sprout new growth being lured to the surface of their needles by the sunshine peeking its head out of hibernation.

I have to smile when I look at what I’m using as my inspiration this evening and positioning as the top photo on this post. It wouldn’t surprise me if you look at it and find it bland and entirely uninspiring. That reaction could be attributed at least partially to me simply finding it difficult to find the right angle on that stand of trees to capture the essence of the joy they brought me when I first caught sight of them.

Another reason, though, just might be that the photo itself is rather, well, bland. But I’ll tell you what. When Karl and I set off on our walk late this afternoon, I found myself reveling in the mild air. It was one thing to know from the Weather Channel app on my phone that the temperature outside was going to climb today – and go even higher tomorrow. But it was quite another to feel it on my face.

So what’s with the boring photo of the trees? Simple. My heart cracked open when sunlight pierced the clouds lingering in the west and bathed the entire swath of cedars in its warm glow.

Looking toward the west – Photo: L. Weikel

Taste of Spring

It’s only February 23rd. I’m under no illusions. There will almost certainly be more snow before spring arrives – and even that is no barrier to at least one good final wallop. And that’s true for just any old year. This year, though, is just spectacular for snow; so no, while it may be tempting to believe the sweet nothings being whispered in our ears by the sunshine coaxing slumbering seeds to start stirring, rest assured – it’s engaging in a little teasing trickery.

My prediction? This is only a taste. But I’ll take it; and I’ll savor it.

Which I guess is why I took the photo. Seeing the sunshine on those trees and feeling the almost balmy air on my cheeks made me hopeful.

The rest of the walk yielded some more classically lovely shots, which of course I’ll also share. But I didn’t want to upstage the joy I sensed from those first trees and their gilded – or was it bronzed? – delight.

Brilliant Beams – Photo: L. Weikel

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