Pause & See ~~~ April Ice

You know that old saying..."If you don't like the weather just wait a minute"?  Well, that is the story of our lives here in Maine.   Plenty, of variety and surprises, like April ice!  Do not believe I have ever seen ice this late into April!  Glad to see the sun this morning and hope the rest of the snow will melt away before the day ends.  But a first, for me, is an icicle on April 17th!

Ice in my garden paths!

This is a very brave garlic emerging from my hard scrabble soil and the spring ice!

Tonight will be the first OUTside aired Clean Sheet Night! 

(Sheet look a little stiff? Yes, they are frozen!)

morning field view

first I heard your name

bringing my mind back to spring

thaw recall, Phoebe

orah

This is a regular feature on my blog.  I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  But by creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moment of childlike wonder!  

"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"             ~~~Buddha

2 ~ Walk Day

Winter is finally waning.  I celebrated with two walks today.  I am just in from my evening stroll.  It has been a long time since I have gone on an after dinner walk.  It felt absolutely wonderful and relaxing!  I am back to walking on our land so Runa is off leash again.  She enjoyed a romp this morning that included giving chase to the flocks of robins that have returned.  Harder for me to get to the computer these days, just want to soak the sun and above freezing temperatures.  Here is a little photo journal of my close to home journeys...

Ice will be out soon I think!

Water flowing into the pond.

One of my newer gardens heavy on the clay side but will produce amazingly well.
Here is where my garlic is waiting to emerge!

GREEN! I'll take what I can get!

Things to come!

Evening walk...even more snow has melted since morning!

Thaw

Over the land freckled with snow half-thawed
The speculating rooks at their nests cawed
And saw from elm-tops, delicate as flowers of grass,
What we below could not see, Winter pass. 

Edward Thomas

happy walkers
brown preferable to white
my heart is off leash

orah

Thaw

Thaw~~~ to be freed from the physical effect of frost.

I have been a bit frozen lately, but not by the winter winds.  I have been in a sort of creation freeze. I haven't made anything in a while.  The holiday hoopla usually hampers my production flow.  I am full of ideas but, I have trouble getting beyond the in my head and out my hands stage.  I am so easily distracted by the day to day this and that...so before I know it the sun has set and I am pooped.  (bet this sounds familiar)  To over come these slumps I give my self a "Creation Day".  Today was one.  On Creation Day only the bare minimum of chores are allowed.  And I make something, anything, just make myself make.

So today I woke up from a night of insomnia.  I was super tired.  But I was committed to getting unstuck so I started the day with a nap!  I napped from 8:00 am to 8:45 am.  Perfection!  I was good to go.  I zipped through the duck chores, a snow shoe with Runa, a few Etsy emails.  I warmed up by finishing the threading (warping) of my little loom.  Then into the sewing room to make......a mess!  A happy mess.  I love to have fabric and thread flying.  My process is not neat or tidy, it is creative chaos!  In that pandemonium an inner calm arises.  I feel my pent up ideas releasing and "becoming".  I worked on some love ideas with Valentines Day in mind.  But found more inspiration from the book I just started to listen too today, No Man is an Island by Thomas Merton (9 hour unabridged read by Jonathan Montaldo)  

I have had more "productive" days but I feel I have turned the corner.  I have got my rhythm back.  Loosened, melted, rekindled, coalesced....ok I will step away from the thesaurus....   Here is some of the proof of the pudding...

Finished Warping and Even Spun a Bit!

My Mirthful Mess...and it is going to get messier!

It really is a January Thaw....Enjoying my Lunch Break Outside in the Winter Sun!!

Sending You Some