Oh Spring, Where Art Thou?

It appears Spring has been hijacked by Winter,

and is refusing to leave.

Fresh snow continues to fall

discouraging the tulips that have optimistically

poked their heads out of the cold, hard ground.

The forest remains bare-branched and empty.

The only things out to greet me on my walks

are last year's weathered flowers

And the joyous sound of birdsong welcoming

a Spring that has yet to arrive.

The sun assures us it is doing it's best

to move things along,

Casting the most lovely glow on anything

brave or hardy enough to make it through the winter.

And so I admire what fall has left behind;

A gift given once but appreciated twice.

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yes, patience...

And so I will continue to admire

the longer days and (slightly) warmer temperatures.

While I wait for Spring to truly arrive.

Gone To Seed

Seeds are marvellous mini-miracles.

To look at them, one would never suspect

that inside each tiny package,

a seed,

dry and wrinkled,

some no bigger than a grain of sand,

Could contain the power of

Transformation!

If you didn't witness it with your own eyes

would you believe it at all?

To begin this transformation

the plant must first come

completely undone.

It drops this gift-wrapped,

blueprint of itself

to the ground

Where it must remain

buried deep

in the dark

earth

Until the light

calls it back

to life

Miracles occur in the most unlikely places.

~

There are more miracles

in a square yard

of earth

than in all the fables

of the world.

Lit From Within

The sun intensifies.

It's yellow light

makes everything glow

as if lit from within.

Cicadas and crickets buzz and click

filling the air with their non-stop, jazzy tempo

and sweat trickles down the small of my back

with the smallest of movements

...or no movement at all.

Garden chores have to wait

as I sip drinks stacked full of ice cubes,

And watch everything around me grow

and ripen,

knowing that fall is but a step away.

Faux-Sun

Deep in the middle of a February freeze,

with temperatures averaging -15 Celsius/5 Fahrenheit

for the next two weeks,

I've decided to create some faux sunshine

of my own

to chase away the cold.

Fool's Gold

The setting sun

paints the sky with gold

bathing everything

in a delicious

golden glow.

Fool's gold,

but I'll take it.

Helps me forget

it's still

winter.