first lines of All That's Past

Very old are the woods;
     And the buds that break
Out of the briar's boughs,
     When the March winds wake,
So old with their beauty are
     Oh, no man knows
Through what wild centuries
     Roves back the rose.

--Walter de la Mare

equal night

Well, it is spring.  And it is very beautiful.  I listened to a chickadee calling this morning, reminding me of lying in bed in the early morning at home.  I took a walk and saw the brightness of some tulips and the dark green leaves of black-eyed susans.  Now, later in the day, the sun is warm and there is a light chill on your bare arms.

I was back home a couple weeks ago and there was quite a snowstorm.  The snow was wet and heavy, and several limbs broke from trees in the yard.  The Russian olive, silver maple, and juniper all had branches break.  The day before the storm, I was playing outside with my daughter in a short-sleeve shirt.  I guess it’s that time of year.