Dreaming of Spring

There is a long and cold lull between the Christmas holidays and the first of spring. There is, in-fact, 64 days, 14 hours, and 19 minutes before spring officially arrives. Now, I love the seasons and appreciate each one and their own uniqueness. There is a harmony in the way Mother Earth orchestrates the phenomenon of the seasons and, oh how I love Mother Earth. However, this "lull" is hard for me to get through. It seems to drag on forever and there are days and weeks of cold and gray that seep into my heart and leave me in a mucky mire of cabin fever and seasonal depression. Yet, there is a twinkle of light in this interlude, for this is when the seed catalogs start coming in the mail. I honestly don't think I would live through the season if it weren't for those glorious catalogs greeting me at my mailbox.  

Kyle is the only other member of the family that shares the joy with me. He will carefully look through each page, as I will, and look up at me and say, "Hey, mom. Did you know these Dahlia blooms get up to 12 inches across?!" or , "We should try to grow apricots." and on and on. We always tease and say we are going to order one of everything. 

Just looking at the tomatoes makes me want to start digging in the dirt right now. I can almost smell the vines and feel the warm sun on my back. 

I think I'll order one of everything on this page because most of them are butterfly and hummingbird attractors. They are kind-of pretty too. 

I don't know how many of you know this book but it was my favorite when I was a little girl. This is the same copy my mother used to read to me over and over. It's got to be almost as old as I am and it looks it. Anyway, it is a book about a bunny named Nicholas. He lives in a hollow tree. Nicholas is a fast friend of mine and he also loves the Earth and the seasons. In the book he shares his love for summer, fall, spring and, yes, even winter. But this is my favorite part. 

After he watches the snow falling from the sky, he curls up in his hollow tree and dreams about spring. See, even sweet little Nicholas must wait for the beloved spring time to return. Now, I'm not saying that winter should be something that we have to merely "get through". We can embrace it and know that there is a reason for winter just as there is a reason for spring. I remember staring at this picture for long periods of time, going over every detail. The clothes hanging on the wall, the footprints in the snow, even the way he is curled up so tightly under his blue blanket. I am going to attempt to cuddle on up to winter but believe this, I will be dreaming of spring.