As owner and employee, I am declaring the First Day Of Spring an official Full Moon Fiber Art holiday.
Instead of spending my day in my studio, I’m outside raking my garden beds where small green plants are already struggling to pop through last year’s leaves.
Later I’ll go around the farm collecting fallen branches for our annual Vernal Equinox fire.
Yesterday I got this Mary Oliver poem in the mail from Hazel. Seems just right for today.
Now back to the gardens…..
Black Oaks by Mary Oliver
Okay, not one can write a symphony, or a dictionary,
or even a letter to an old friend, full of remembrance
and comfort.
Not one can manage a single sound though the blue jays
carp and whistle all day in the branches, without
the push of the wind.
But to tell the truth after a while I’m pale with longing
for their thick bodies ruckled with lichen
and you can’t keep me from the woods, from the tonnage
of their shoulders, and their shining green hair.
Today is a day like any other: twenty-four hours, a
little sunshine, a little rain.
Listen, says ambition, nervously shifting her weight from
one boot to another—why don’t you get going?
For there I am, in the mossy shadows, under the trees.
And to tell the truth I don’t want to let go of the wrists
of idleness, I don’t want to sell my life for money,
I don’t even want to come in out of the rain.
The greatest thing is that Spring doesn’t arrive until 11:50 p.m. tonight. This means tomorrow you can celebrate again. Just call it the First _Full_ Day of Spring.
Yes, Dale I like the idea of celebrating it twice.
This has certainly turned out to be a good year to plant a Victory Garden. I just may do it.
That’s a nice idea Fran.
Oh Maria! Thank you so much for sharing Mary Oliver’s ‘Black Oaks’ that I sent you. Being a tree lover since forever, it’s one of my favourites.
And I just received your Twin Healing Trees magnet and postcard in the mailbox today! Perfect timing for spring.
Happy Spring to you and Jon!
THanks for sending it Hazel!
Gardening is so healing. Growing food is what this planet needs right now☀️
I’m thinking of what I want to grow Janet.
Daffodils are coming up by the south side of our home. I planted 40 tulips last fall, can hardly wait to see the blooms. I purchased the tulips at a festival last summer.
Wow that’s a lot of tulips Marsha! Good for you, I lose all gardening ambition by the time Fall comes and never plant bulbs. Enjoy your tulips!
Hi Maria, Don’t be too quick to rake up leaves. Many insects and spiders and pupa cases overwinter in leaf litter. If moved before the weather has warmed enough for them to “wake up” and begin life, they run the risk of dying. I know we are all itching to get out and clear things up for spring to begin, but we need patience for several more weeks. Plan your garden on paper for the time being, all things in good time.
Marianna
Too late Marianna. They’re all raked out. I asked a gardener friend if it was too early and she said it wasn’t. Hope I didn’t harm too many insects, but it has been unusually warm here. Not only that, I don’t plan my gardens. Like my quilts I just plant them.