Saturday, March 10, 2012

Tea With Spring...and a Broom

I am so delighted to report Spring has graced me with a few lovely visits over the past few days.

My broom defying gravity...
Waking to the sound of dripping Water...not the silence a Snow Storm brings...but the sound of Water...at four o'clock in the morning is incredible, after such a long time spent in a frozen landscape. The gurgle and drip of Water running through the gutters and downspouts was wonderfully soothing

Later, that afternoon, it doesn't seem to matter to me that I can't see the garden beds, still under a two foot blanket of Snow. There are only a few Birds around, all busily feeding at the Bird feeder. The Squirrels who have dodged the resident Hawk all Winter are beginning to make themselves known by their chittering scoldings, but their number is still small.



And it doesn't matter at all.


A photo from an old garden...here, it is yet Snow-covered
Spring has dropped by. We share a lazy afternoon on the front porch, she and I, drinking copious amounts of Tea. This is a time of great transition for me, yet again. I ask her advice on what to focus on, on which item to give my complete attention.


She does not seem surprised, as she listens, contentedly and at peace. Each time she moves her hand to drink from the Tea cup, a warm breeze caresses my cheek. It gives me soft comfort.


I listen to the gurgle of the melting Ice and Snow, mesmerized by a Beetle of some kind, making his way drowsily and slowly, along a Sun-washed board.


Spring whispers to me...she tells me there are forever changes, always...that is the way of it. And never more than in the Springtime, when blood warms, bodies move and waken and Mother Earth re-blooms. She tells me I am prepared, as much as anyone can be, for the changes in my life I am currently facing.


Foxgloves...again, a former garden
She tells me this year Humanity's discontent with the way things work in this World will bring about huge change, an enormous transition, from where we began. Along with my own personal adjustments, I must practice balance throughout the swirling emotional revisions all of Humanity faces.


I tell her I was once interested in what this year will bring, it being 2012 and all. And I am still...yet my own personal life has superseded the World's situation. It is beginning to overwhelm me...


The Rose Hedge from my last garden
She laughs...a musical, tinkling sound, which makes Water, now flowing strongly from the eaves of the house, splash even more happily into the large puddle forming at the base. I notice nothing bothers her...not anything at all.


And I wish, rather futilely, I think to myself, for that enormous balance and peace Spring shows so definitively within herself, during our Tea drinking marathon. I can easily pick up on her joyous outlook.


Spring hones in on my thought, just as soon as the wish disappears into the ether...and quite suddenly, I do feel grounded and balanced and yes...at peace with it all.


She giggles, delightful, musical notes which inexplicably remind me of Lilacs. She tells me...Yes. It is just that easy. It does not take longing and wishing and wondering...if you want balance and peace, take it. It's yours.

Hmm. Another reminder to keep it simple.

An early double Tulip, grown on the Coast.
We sat in complete and utter harmony, Spring and I, that afternoon, until North Wind nudged my legs and Winter once again crept in.

And she began to fade...

Spring assured me she would be back, of course, as she is each and every year, never mind the swirling scenarios around 2012.


And she whispered to me, just as I was convinced she had never arrived, just as North Wind began to voice his loud opinion...she told me...The Deer will leave your Tulips alone again this year...


I laughed. I had been convinced I would not see many Tulips, with the Deer herd in residence.


As I entered the house, I thought to myself how wonderful it was I would be able to see, once more, all the hundreds of Tulips I had planted throughout my time here. With Spring overseeing the whole operation, I was assured of a lovely show.

I will practice balance by keeping everything a little more simple, I think. With the true arrival of Spring, changes will be quick, some of them harsh and strange.

An example...does your broom stand up on its own? Mine does...here's a link about the story.

Brooms defy gravity


My broom doesn't even have a straight bottom...and it's been standing there on its own for awhile now. It seems to have no problem balancing...


I shall be dancing with it next...
Just another thing to grow accustomed to...brooms taking on a life of their own. What better thing to happen to a self-proclaimed hedge Witch?


I tell myself to remember Spring's advice...if I want to be balanced and peaceful, take it.


Just take it.

35 comments:

  1. Just take it, indeed... Smart gal, that Spring :-)

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    1. heh, heh...of course, it's easier said than done! xx

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  2. Spring isn't sure of itself out here on the coast. One sunny warm day followed by a cool rain. But the spring birds have returned and are enjoying the feeder. But our recent snow came and went in a day. Not too bad. Interesting broom. - Margy

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    1. Mmmm, I've been following the coastal weather. My daughter tells me there has been lots of rain on the west side of the Island. The birds will return here soon; they travel through in great numbers on their way further north. It is not unusual for me to fill the feeder twice a day, during those times.

      Well. That broom. I found the link to the newspaper article after I had written most of this post. So I thought I'd try it, never expecting the broom to stand up on its own! But it did! And it's been standing there for 24 hours now.

      It's quite freaking poor Lucky out. I have no idea why this broom is doing this, but I'm waiting for it to start sweeping on its own...xx

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  3. Marion, I've been enjoying your porch-side musings and your conversations with nature. I was glad to see that the drip, drip, drip of the water was outside and not in. I thought for a moment there would a mess to clean up and repairs to contemplate. Happy ending emerged as I read on though and I look forward to this year's flower show.

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    1. Annie,

      Last year, I tried really hard to have a colourful garden and I did, but because we are in semi-arid climate, on a well system, watering was a problem and they did not last long. But it was lovely while in bloom...this year, I'm going to try grasses. xx

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  4. Now that IS one beautifully balanced broom, Marion! I enjoyed reading this post and marvel at how well you are able to wrap the environment around you as if it were a warm cozy shawl. I like how everything came to life under the spell of your prose and I was glad to read the season is thawing in your part of the world. :)

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    1. That broom...I have no words. I felt a kind of energy pull as I placed it on the floor. I didn't have to do any balancing at all...it did it just like that! As easy as anything.

      I love the synchronicity of the whole thing...the broom was certainly not planned as the ending of this post, haha!

      I visit your blog, Maria, to re-visit the many parts of the mainland I am so familiar with. Your lovely walks through what feels so much like my old neighbourhood makes me feel as if I am right there with you. Thank you for your beautiful photography...xx

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  5. Seeing your broom reminded me of an old joke....I've had this broom for 30 years its had 5 new heads and 3 new handles!!!
    We too had a beautiful spring day yesterday, really sunny and warm , well for March. Luckily I was out cycling and it was a day where you could just have kept going and going.

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    1. Ah, Dave, I've thought of you in Wales out there cycling and I've imagined the gardens popping out with crocus and snowdrops amid the moss.

      I look forward hugely to those days when I have that feeling of wanting to just keep going...right now, it is too cold! But soon.

      Did your broom stand up, even if it is not technically your original broom? heh,heh! xx

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  6. glad to hear that despite two feet of snow!!!! spring is smiling on you and guiding you. Hope you do get to see all those tulips. Wow.

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    1. Tulips do really well here. They last a long time, with no rain to brown their petals. But as soon as hot weather arrives, their beauty soon fades.

      Deer love the buds and squirrels love the bulbs...we'll see how many tulips actually make it, heh! xx

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  7. that broom story and your proof has me laughing in awe!!!

    "Yes. It is just that easy. It does not take longing and wishing and wondering...if you want balance and peace, take it. It's yours."

    marion, i wonder why i struggle at all. my daughter tells her kids, "okay now, put your tears away' and that is what i've begun to do. i love spring and i am excited about my yard and garden. but i am restless, lost even. i know what it's like to be centered and i am not.

    there. i 've just made a public reveal on your blog. :^)

    i'm lucky i have good friends, starting right here ♥

    love
    kj

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    1. It's good to put your tears away if the problem has been resolved and all parties have forgiven themselves and the other and acceptance has been found. For me, forgiveness of myself has always been the most difficult, but until I do, I find myself going over and over an event that caused the difficulty and the tears in the first place.

      I think kids' problems, while they seem small to the adult mind, is just as big as any problem an adult might have. It is all relative. But children bounce back quicker, more easily forgive...maybe not forget, but accept...and your daughter very wisely knows when that has happened for her child.

      When you really want to be centred, when you have reached that inner space subconsciously, at least, you will find it. I feel restless, as well, even more than restless, I feel sometimes if I am hampered by this Ice one more day...

      I am sorry you feel lost...there are days like that, even longer. Sometimes, it seems to be necessary, just the thing you need to find the light. I hope it's working better by now. xx

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  8. You seem so cautious on your surroundings. Which is good.

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    1. Cautious, but not frightened, I think. I certainly am aware of happenings in my surroundings, pretty much at all times.

      Thank you for visiting!

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  9. Amen! Just take it!
    Love the broom.
    Wonderful post as always Marion.
    xoxo

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    1. Thanks, Annie...I left that broom standing by itself for four days, even with the washing machine next to it vibrating everything...it didn't budge.

      I moved it when I began to hold one-sided conversations with it...ha,ha! xx

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  10. Marion, your words always leave me feeling connected to Mother Earth and quite happy about it. Thank you for that. As for the broom, I haven't tried to see if mine would stand on its own, but I'm quite sure it's capable of falling over on its side and whacking Levi's tennis balls out from under the coffee table without any help from me.

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    1. Ha,ha! I can visualize the whole thing, right down to Levi wondering what happened!

      Poor old Lucky was not enamoured of that broom standing there on its own. He gave me every indication he could that this whole scenario could only end in disaster, haha...he was very relieved when I took the broom down and put it in its rightful place..xx

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  11. Hmmmm....do I even have a broom?

    lovely post Marion - calming as usual, and thought provoking as always.

    xo

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    1. All witches have brooms...not all brooms have witches!

      Have the happiest of days today, Mim! xx

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  12. Beautiful flowers, beautiful cleaning... love it. :)

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  13. Both of my brooms lie down - wonder what that's indicative of?

    Love the simplicity of "just take it." And so I shall :)

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  14. My Angel cards told me several times today, to look for signs, and then I came across your brooms. The beginning of 2012 has been a major cleanse for me. It began with clutter clearing of my home, and last week it was vomiting and sitting on the toilet for days as Mother Nature apparently decided my insides also needed a broom lol. Somehow your beautiful article hit exactly the same note in my soul. Thank you :)

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  15. We seem to be well into summer here now; skipped spring altogether.
    I hate cutting grass but the only alternatives are to pave it over or grow cactus like they do in Arizona.
    I am doing fine , so far, and hope you and Graham are keeping well.

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  16. I know someone else whose broom stood, as well ... but never could convince my dad of it, even after reading a newspaper article about it to him! So I tried to stand HIS broom up (I was visiting him in Kelowna a while ago) ... but no go, it wasn't having any of it.

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  17. Foxglove grows wild down here, and since it likes disturbed areas, it makes many a roadside beautiful.

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  18. Beautiful post!

    Change is definately happening all the time, and it is when we are able to relax, like outside drinking tea, taking it all in, and take control of our own change is when the miracles happen!

    -Ben

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  19. Gee, it looked a bit like the ocean beyond those glass doors--until I enlarged the picture that is.

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  20. woww..its a beautiful flower

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  21. Ah, ha! I think I see why I haven't found any new posts by you lately--you're too busy enjoying all the beautiful plants.

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  22. Ah Marion, it's been too long since I've visited. I'm glad I did today!
    I loved reading about Spring's visit to you and her promise that the tulips would go uneaten by the herd. I hope you'll take pictures when they all bloom to greet you!

    I'm reading between the lines as well and hoping all is okay with you and Graham. The winters are long and harsh there, I know from reading other posts.

    I hope you find balance. I like the advice that all we have to do is "take it." It's been there all along, no?

    Easier said than done ;)

    be well, dear one.

    xo
    Lo♥

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  23. I always enjoy reading your musing on life, Marian. They are always provide a moment to slow life down (even for one such as myself and my slow paced life). The broom standing thing is pretty amazing. I tinder if mine will stand on its own? Hmmm.

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  24. All your blogs shares a big knowledge for everyone. Keep it up!

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