This morning came in with rain and a curtain of clouds hanging low over the Worcester Mountain range.
Snow is finally melting on this hillside, giving way to brown grass in the field, terraced beds of winter rye in the garden. The forecast for the next few days is one of transition: rain, sun, a blip of snow, clouds, more rain, and the temperatures slowly zig-zagging between the 20s and 40s F.
Internally, I’m feeling the need to pause.
To let the rain come and wash away the snow. To be patient, though the greenhouse may already look like June. To sit quietly and let a cup of tea melt the tension that always seems to come with transition.
I don’t know about you, but the external environment always affects my internal environment. As we move from winter to spring, I alternate between the rush of planting and the slow reflection that comes with snow.
Some days are blue skies and bird song, while others pull me back to tea and an extra log in the wood stove. And then there are the days, like this one, of not quite being sure which direction I’m going.
Is it rain or snow? Melt or freeze? Movement or stillness?
Do ever feel this tension, too?
Just yesterday, we noticed the red buds of a maple tree, plump and vibrant. It will be a while yet before they open, but in this back and forth of winter and spring, those buds remind me what to do in the in-between:
Pause.
Growth doesn’t happen on cruise-control. It speeds and slows, bursts and pauses.
I’m taking a lesson from maple trees today, and allowing myself to pause. To sit and listen to the rain dabble and dance on the roof. To trust the energy that flows inside me like sap, even as I sit here quietly as the morning stretches out.
Are you feeling the pause, too? Linger a little longer, and get ready for spring with these blog posts:
Spring Garden Prep: When & How To Work The Soil
For The Garden Or For The Birds: How To Know If Last Year’s Seeds Are Viable
Dear Gardener, You Don’t Have To Do It All
Checking in on our own needs as we do with our gardens, our friends and our children is easier said than done. Why is it we expect so much more from ourselves than others?! Yet, self kindness and care are so important as we move through all the seasons of life. So glad you’re taking time to pause and reflect today!
Yes to self kindness! I’ve never heard it put just like that, and I love it ❤️ Thank you so much for being here. Hope you take some beautiful moments of pause and self care this season, too!
Oh I am so glad I am reading this this week, I am feeling anxious that spring seems to be here, but yet we still have some time to rest. thanks for the reminder and your beautiful insight