For as long as I can remember, the autumnal shortening of days has felt very much like a slowly thickening cocoon that makes me dull and lethargic, while that magical moment when the light continues past 7 pm is when I burst from the dingy and dreary confines of the cramped indoors of winter and spread my wings to dry in the light.We've had some spectacular days in the past few weeks. It has been unseasonably warm all through the winter, but the past month has been peppered with 60 degree days.
At this time, we herbies are seeing through different eyes. In a few short months we will be all but taking for granted the extreme beauty that nature will set upon our tables, but right now we are seeing every tiny bit of it fully.
The barely visible yard weeds are now putting forth an effort that we reward with oohs and aahs, as their minute pink, blue, and yellow blooms catch our eyes amidst the pale hay colors and the bright young grasses.
We brush aside the leaves and debris of fall and winter to invite the shoots of new growth to come forward and delight us with their scents and flavors.
The smallest hint of what is to come fills us with hope and dreams and anticipation.
We see it all, and we fall into that helpless love that overtakes us as one in this swooping, grand, luscious blush of springtime. We believe that this is the year that we will be able to stay ahead of our garden work. We are still far from the realization of insect stings, plant induced rashes, sweat stains, and strained muscles. This is the honeymoon for herbies.
And so we should enjoy it with every breath we take. Smell the freshly turned earth and feel it in your hands. Turn over a rock or 10 to see who lives there. We'll watch the horses pulling buggies - enjoying their work in this fine weather that is neither too hot nor too cold, and watch for the birth of adorable farm animals. We'll marvel anew as each of the flowers that we await each year appears again, as if we'd never seen it before. There is nothing in the world as full of promise as springtime.
I gladly sacrifice an hour from last night to welcome this with open arms and heart!
And yes, it is still possible that we'll have a snowfall - but I'm choosing to ignore that today.
