The Lilacs, Forget me Nots and Lily of the Valley bless us with their presence, their beauty and their Heavenly fragrence, while the Bleeding Heart nods with approval.

Spring has arrived at Windsong Woods at last! After such a long, cold, snowy Winter, I relish a walk in the woods with my 6 year old neighbor and the dogs.
The mosquitoes and blackflies were still in the early stages of sucking blood and fertilizing their eggs, so we were left alone as long as we kept walking.
The Lily of the Valley has begun to bloom and the Lilac just popped open a flower this morning too. The Dandelions and Violets are just going by and the beautiful Lady's Slipper are now starting to show their beauty.
I wish I could let you smell the Lily of the Valley, for I am sure that Heaven must carry this scent on the breeze. The birdsong fills the air with joy and the plentiful rains have left the gardens lush and green, with flowers and leaves as green and vibrant as ever I have seen.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The Full Moon has brought us a solid week of cold, wet, drizzly days that only Maine in May can produce. It's cold enough to light the woodstove every day and wet enough to add inches to the new rain gauge.

The garden loves this rain of course. The weeds grow thick and lush and full and laugh at my feeble attempts to pull them from the ground. There is a prolific weed that smells of garlic and has a prett whirl of white flowers, that literally takes over at this time. I somehow can't find the name, though I know I have it in one of my books. I should know it, but I call it the garlic weed.

The rain has dampened not only my enthusiasm, but really put some of the blossoms at risk of not being pollinated. Bees can't fly in the rain. My pretty Pear tree is trying to bloom too.

Here is a rainbow to brighten your day... I'm off to dig some Dandelion roots. Or light the woodstove.

Spring Has Hope

May is the month of hope, of Life, of plans. When all our dreams can be realized and all things are still possible. We have survived the cold death of Winter and are reborn into a new day.

It's a time when I know all the gardens will be weeded and planted and all my dreams will come true. I can taste the sweetness of the tomatoes to come and feel the weight of the damp, cool carrots that will leap from the ground into my hand in late September...

I smile because I know that the truth will never be close to my fantasy garden. The Tomato Hornworms are due to hit again this year and a cool wet Summer will mold even the nicest Pepper.

It doesn't matter to me now. For today I will sow seeds and pull endless weeds. I won't know or care that the seeds will dry out and die or that the weeds will only pop up faster after the sun and rain hit them a few times. Selfsown plants may flourish instead and some weeds are delisious as well as beautiful.

By July this urge to create the garden will be gone. I'll hide from the hot sun, yet long for the breeze at Pemaquid Beach. I'll water and caress the flowers as they arrive in their colors and artful dresses. But I'll realize the futility of it all and finally let the garden have it's way. The Beets may surprise me this year and the selfsown lettuce will be the best of the season.

Yes for all my sins and inadequacies, the garden shall thrive, and grow and be the best that it will be and I'll be happy just the same.

May your Spring bring you out to play in the garden too. It's fun out here! Come on... Join me!!!

Mothers Day

This Mothers Day I am grateful for my children and conscious of the fact that their births caused me to become a Mother. This is a shared experience of existance. Every one of us has a Mother. Each of us begins Life with Mother being the center of the Universe. Yet the feeling was mutual for me.

I love being a Mother and all that goes with it. The good and the bad. The diapers and the giggles, the skinned knees and lost teeth, were all wonderful and special shared moments.

I realize that my children no longer see me as the center of their Universe, but they will always be at the center of mine.

My Life is made complete with them. A bit of me lives on in lifes that I do not control. I am connected to the World in sacred ways and secret parts of subtleness. My Life becomes an echo and mirror to their own.

My Mother is part of her Mother and back and back until we are all the children of the One Mother.

So from the Mother in me to the child in you, may our Lives touch and Love live on, everafter.

April Fools

My Life has been consumed with health and financial issues, so I apologize to my faithful readers for my lack of attention and obvious neglect.

My husband has undergone 2 surgeries in the last couple of months and I've dealt with my own injuries from a slip on ice. I was helping a neighbor and retrieving her newspaper, when I lost my footing and saved myself from falling by grabbing the truck door. I pulled chest muscles and a twisted my knee. 'Derangement of the knee' has made my Life a delicate ballet of movemnet to avoid snapping my knee cap and grunting in pain.

The Winter dragged on and on as the snow covered the ground all season. I thought the worst was over, when Aprils Fools day brought us more than half a foot of heavy wet and gorgeous snow! It quickly melted and left blooming crocus in it's wake.

Welcome Spring!

Winter Blues

Winter has come with a vengence and we are enjoying lots of cold and storm after storm. We struggle for warmth from the woodstove, which is our only source for heat. I love the warmth that it provides, yet the work involved is more that turning on a switch.

I like the feel of the wood though and the smell as it is carried in. Then the wiff of smoke that fills the house brings warmth to my soul as well.

When it is cold here, like in the single digits, the stove is going all the time. Last night the temp reached 10 below, but we stayed warm and cozy.

The chickens seem to weather the cold just fine, but eat and eat and peck my knees if I'm not quick enough with breakfast.

Yesterday the Winter got much colder too, as Jeff was laid off from his 12 year fishing job. He's actually fished for 30 years, but has stayed on this boat for 12 years. The Capt. is from a long term fishing family and puts quickness over experience at this time in his career.

It wasn't just the swiftness of the dismissal, but rather the hurt that seemed like a slap for the lack of concern for Jeff's future or injury.

There is no unemployment, workman's comp or disability that will pay our bills. The SS disability can drag on for years and will not cover next months mortgage payment... or any mortgage payment for that matter. It will be less than our monthly house payment.

Just when I thought we could make it thru shrimp season... now there will be NO shrimp season. Ahh, Life in all it's glory!

I'd like to think that this will be a time of healing for Jeff, tho I know there is no medicine to bring back his Love to him. I mean he loves me and all, and the kids, and our home... But the Sea is his true Love and the fishing is what matters to him . It was the air, the water, the sights and the sounds, that drew him to work the briny deep. Each sunrise was new with different colors and each sunset merely brought rest for another day of fishing.

Now that is no more. No more jumping out of bed at 3:15 am, and no more watching what the weather will do... The price of lobster makes no difference now and shrimp has lost it's appeal and taste.

I would like to say we still have each other, tho I know that is not what matters.

No - what matters is work that makes a man feel worthwhile, and whole. What matters is keeping our home that he built and designed with his own hands. This is a place for family and friends, both tame and wild, and bigger than just us. The history of our lives is in jeopardy now and our future as well.

I will close at this time and ask for prayers and blessings from those who know and love us. For indeed we will survive. We have suffered loss before and lived to tell the tale. We've been thru death, severe injury and financial disaster before... so we will try again.

This is not what we had wanted or expected, but Life will go on whether we are here or not. Life has a plan that I cannot always see, but I know it is a good one and better that anything I could have dreamed up!

So count your blessings, faithful readers, and watch that handwriting on the wall... And thanks for listening.