Wherever you go, the birch wood has been resounding to a drrrrrrrrp! of woodpeckers. The Jackdaws have been flocking around the village in huge numbers for much of the night with their chatter-jack-jack. The low-ground snow went into meltdown this week, and a few wretched-looking plants are starting so show through. I hope I have some bulbs under there somewhere – the crocuses will probably be very long and spindly from the effort of trying to come through the snow. It’ll just be lovely to see them… Yes, spring is on its way!
One effect of the snowy winter has been to magnify the amount of light. I’m really noticing the increased sunlight now, as we race towards the equinox. The light has been absolutely blinding, reflecting off the snow.
“Have you learned lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not learned the great lessons of those who braced themselves against you, or disputed the passage with you?”
– Walt Whitman
And, in view of the changing seasons:
“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.”
– Anais Nin