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“F” that, indeed! I never fail to amaze myself with unexpected optimism; for example, hoping that the water hose will work during a cold snap. With this hope, however, comes the very real possibility that it’ll be dashed…and I’ll end up soggy and behind schedule.
Continue reading “Farm Follies: Frost-Facilitated Foibles”
Sometimes, it feels like an individual’s efforts don’t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. In the face of rapidly-escalating climate crisis, the evolving pandemic, and social and political unrest, the future (and present) can seem pretty bleak.
Continue reading “Haiku: A Healing Heart”
The volunteer sunflower has bloomed, and it is a glorious sight. In these troubling times, I find the continuity of the natural world – admittedly disrupted by humans’ actions and inactions – soothing.
This bloom is new to the world – fresh and hopeful. May it one day become a head heavily laden with seeds, each eager to germinate, grow, and greet the morning sun.
A few days ago, it felt as if spring might never come…that the cold, wet, and gloom were here to stay, seeping into the very soul. The dour gray sky seemed to press downward with indifference for human discomfort.
With the return of the sun, however, the pall has lifted, and the atmosphere is celebratory: birds are singing and making nests, the grass is greening up, chickens and ducks are laying eggs, and Nature seems (like me) to be smiling today. Though it’s technically still winter, just the suggestion of brighter days is enough to encourage hope to rise like the sap in the silver maple tree. Think spring!
I recently had the fortune of noticing this incredible chrysalis hanging from a thread wrapped several times around a tulip poplar sapling’s branch. Whatever’s inside is safely ensconced in its protective, papery wrapper…hopefully, to emerge soon in its full glory. Dare I hope to witness its emergence? I hope that something beautiful and utterly wondrous comes forth. I really do.