Never mind that warm weather remains elusive …
The plants are coming out .. one by one …
Waiting for the Weather to Catch Up with Spring
Tag Archives: nature
Still Waiting for Spring
There are snatches of spring weather here these days. The weather is warmer, the sun is out. Then the cold winds start up and we’re bundled up in three and four layers of clothes again. I don’t know why our minds insist that because the calendar says it should be spring that the weather outside should comply.
The pathways still look cold and trees are still dried up, brown and leafless. A few wrinkled leaves cling to branches.
And yet, there’s signs that the plants are slowly waking up. Fooled, no doubt, by these snatches of warm weather that passes through.
I just hope we don’t get hit with an unexpected blast of frost after the plants bloom. They’ve been fooled enough times by Mother Nature.
Tangled Limbs
As I walked along the pathway, I glanced towards the river … and stopped at the sight of this.
Branches? Vines? Another tree? Wrapped around a bigger trunk.
For some reason, I thought of snakes, maybe a boa constrictor, wrapping itself around the trunk, and slowly squeezing ….
I was a little fascinated, but repulsed at the same time. Maybe because I thought of snakes …
I wanted to take more pictures, from different angles, trying to capture something different. But I decided against staying, and hurried on, slightly perturbed, I don’t know why.
Does this evoke anything in you?
There Is A Legend Told ...
... of the Dogwood Tree.
At the time of Crucifixion the dogwood had been the size of the oak and other forest trees. So firm and strong was the tree that it was chosen as the timber for the cross. To be used thus for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the tree, and Jesus, nailed upon it, sensed this.
Winter in March
According to the dates on the calendar, spring arrives sometime this week.
According to Mother Nature, winter isn’t done with us yet.
Driving through the country roads, I gazed out the window.
On the one hand, I wanted to stop the car and take a few snapshots of the wintry landscape, with the freshly fallen snow on the leaves and branches, making stenciled patterns on the ground.
On the one hand, I just wanted to get home, take off the wet shoes and thaw out my frozen toes. But we were far from home yet.
There were times when it seemed that we were the only ones out on the road, nobody else out in this weather.
All the sane people were inside their warm house, sitting in front of their fireplace – I saw smoke coming out of a chimney in one house, so yes, I know they were sitting by the fireplace!
And we knew that we were really deep in the country when we came upon a one-lane bridge. No, the boys had not seen something like this before.
The frozen ice didn’t seem to bother these sheep – I suppose they were warm enough underneath all that wooly coat!
We crossed the Delaware River – not much to see there, except more frozen mist and ice. And no, I didn’t know where we were, after all that driving. We were just following the GPS directions!
It was a nice drive, anyway … frozen, but nice.
102 Water Beads
Today is one of those days when you knew exactly where you were, what you were doing, what you were thinking, with astonishing clarity, years after the event.
It’s three years after the massive earthquake in Haiti. We’ve moved on from the pain of losing dear friends and colleagues on that day. And at the same time there’s still that feeling that we’ll be seeing them, just around the corner of the hallway, come Monday morning.
Each of us has remembered Jerome in our own way today. From the postings on Facebook to visiting his bench in Central Park to the quiet prayers, tears and dedications.
I walked out of the house today and saw water beads on the branches of the Japanese maple tree in the front yard. And as I looked on, it flashes through my mind. The beads represent the 102 personnel lost from our organization.
And I’m sure Jerome is looking down and laughing with us still.
