Posted on by Donna

Wishing for …

On the wind in February
Snowflakes float still,
Half-inclined to turn to rain,
Nipping, dripping, chill.
~Christina Rossetti

 

These days as winter starts to give way to some semblance of spring days, I think of time.  Time marching on…the clock ticking.  The sun shines, the earth thaws and warms and I think finally it is time….spring is here early.  I can finally see new growth, early flowers from bulbs beneath the earth.  Then suddenly the wind blows cold, the snow flies and piles up on the earth once more.  Time seems to stand still once again.  And I wait patiently for the cycle to happen all over again.

That has been my winter.  The wishing , the hoping for a miracle yet knowing with every cold snowy day, the miracle will not happen.  The pond has been thick with ice.  Sometimes it is translucent, other times it is opaque.  Some days it looks as though it is thawing and will release the life trapped below it.  And while I sit and watch time march on thinking my garden is standing still refusing to yield, I find it is doing no such thing.

Beneath the cold frozen earth, life still stirs.  And with each unusually warm day, it has fast forwarded time to today.  My first crocus has bloomed.  A full 3 weeks before it has most years.  Bulbs are quickly pushing up refusing to believe that there will be anything to impede its time to shine, to bloom.  Yet I know this weekend we will have snow again, we will have cold winds and the bulbs who bravely refuse to let time stand still will succumb to an early demise.  But no matter they move bravely on to their destiny.

And so it goes as in life nothing can slow the clock and stop time from pushing in whether we want it to or not.  I try not to wish days to hurry by since I do not know how many days I may still have on this earth.  But when we want something to happen so badly, we tend to wish time to speed forward.  I still struggle with living each day fully, in the moment.  It seems foreign to me with my To Do lists.  Marking time by weekends, accomplishments, holidays and seasons.  But there is something in me that is strong these days telling me to try and slow time, try to savor it. I am trying to yield to this sense of time now marked by the sunrise and sunset that I cherish each day.

Do you remember the days when you wished upon a falling star or the first star of the evening?  How about wishes with birthday candles or born on the wind with dandelion seeds scattered with a soft whisper?  Have you ever thrown a coin into a fountain with a wish from your lips to the watery depths below?  I think about these days of wishes.  Of cares thrown to the wind, when time was the furthest thing from my mind.  Just a girlish wish not desperate, but instead innocence, magic.

They say that when we wish for something we are actually opening ourselves to receive it.  I believe that.  I have been wishing for an early spring and perhaps it is here.  But my mother always warned me about wishes, “Be careful what you wish for.”  And how true it seems.  Are we ever satisfied with what we have.  If spring comes early, then the work begins early.  Maybe a good thing, maybe my back and shoulder would not agree.  Oh well I will take what each day brings me.  I will try to fully embrace it good or bad.  After all I still have time.

I want to thank Donna@Garden Walk, Garden Talk for her monthly meme Word 4 Wednesday.  It is a wonderful meme built around a word.  This months word has been time.  It seems appropriate in so many ways.  Helen@The Patient Gardener has her End of Month Review, Bumble Lush has the meme Best and Worst and Veg Plotting has The 52 Week Salad Challenge.  They ask us to mark time in our gardens monthly.  If you love crocus, join Stacy@Microcosm for her Thirteen (or Fewer) Ways of Looking at a Crocus (or Some Equivalent) Challenge.  Most Fridays I also flaunt my flower blooms with Tootsie for her Fertilizer Friday (her badge is on my sidebar).

 

 

 

 

So what is going on?  Well you can see above snowdrops and snow crocus are braving the cold.  The pond is melting.  I consider these the Best. Below the meadow is still sleeping.

 

 

Then there is all the wet, soggy, spongy vegetation that needs trimming and cutting back.  It won’t take too long but it is too wet to even consider starting this chore-the Worst.

 

 

And the salad.  Well that is going strong with the herbs in the basement.  There really is nothing like fresh greens and herbs you grow yourself.

 

 

 

 

We do not remember days, we remember moments.  The richness of life lies in memories we have forgotten. ~Cesare Pavese

first crocus 2/23/12

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 Special Big Announcement

As promised, I am launching a new meme called Seasonal Celebrations.  I really wanted to have a way to mark the changing of each season around the world, and learn how everyone celebrates this change of seasons.  Do you have a special plant you look forward to seeing; is there a special holiday or regional celebration; what is your dream for the upcoming season?

Beth@PlantPostings and I have been working on collaborating on our seasonal memes.  If you didn’t know, Beth has a wonderful meme every season called Lessons Learned.  We thought we would join together each season and promote our own meme as well as each others.  Beth and I will post on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1 calling for Seasonal Celebrations and Lessons Learned.  You can join in to both with one post or post separately to each meme or only join in to one of the memes.  Then on the the equinox or solstice we will do a summary post of the Celebrations and Lessons on our respective blogs.  We’ll keep the posts archived on our blogs.

So I hope you join us this Thursday, March 1st, as you think about how you celebrate the seasons and what lessons you have learned as this season comes to a close.

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Next up on the blog:    Gardens Eye Verse is the first Monday in March and I will be joining in to several memes around this time.  I will have the last 2 color posts in March in time for GBBD, yellow, and Wildflower Wednesday, green.  Of course I will highlight another favorite native plant in March as part of my Simply The Best series with Diana@ Elephant’s Eye.  And don’t forget to join Beth@PlantPostings for Lessons Learned and me for Seasonal Celebrations.

Please  join me for my weekly posts, every Tuesday, at Beautiful Wildlife Garden.  Currently I am highlighting my favorite wildflowers.

Please remember, to comment click on the title of the post and the page will reload with the comments section.

All content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Gardens Eye View.  Any reprints or use of content or photos is by permission only.

 

 

 


43 Replies to “Wishing for …”

  1. Hi Donna – my snowdrops are in full pelt here in the UK, I love them at this time of the year.

    I’m intrigued by your growing salads in your basement. It must have quite a lot of light in there for them to grow successfully? Over here basements (if a house has one) tend to be rather gloomy!

    Thanks for joining the Salad Challenge 🙂

    1. So glad you enjoyed the post. Sorry for not elaborating on the basement growing. I have a shelf with heat mats and grow lights. There is not enough sun here in winter even at the windows to grow lettuces and herbs so I use wonderful grow lights…looking forward to getting out and planting lettuces out in the veg beds soon….

  2. Spring has arrived to my neck of the woods already. Looking at your landscape with a dusting of snow and ice looks so chilly. I love that you are growing herbs and lettuce in your basement. Seasonal Celebrations sounds like a fun meme. I will definitely try to join in!

    1. Thx Karin. I tried to make the meme open and easy to do and make personal…We are slowly moving into spring which is fine with me…I have so much to do still in prep for spring and working in the garden…

  3. tick tock, tick tock, take time to smell the roses,

    interesting post Donna, I never think of to-do lists as marking time but just reminders like shopping lists, nice to see you have some blooms pushing through, wet soggy vegetation we have too,
    keep warm, Frances

    1. I am a bit too compulsive with my lists Frances which I think prevents me from living in the moment…glad you found it interesting….you also keep warm and spring will soon be here…

  4. Always a waiting game when winter comes to an end, with time taking prisoners along the way. Hope your waiting comes to an end soon, your garden yields and wishes come true. Thanks for the wonderful look at time and waiting.

    My post on Naked Trees should fit into your Seasonal Celebrations meme nicely, because it is about appreciation of the trees in winter. I always struggle with lessons learned though, as the use of trees for winter interest is more a lesson shared. Oh well, close I guess.

    1. Winter will end soon Donna….I am glad you will join in the meme…Beth will post about Lessons Learned this winter and I think your trees as lesson shared is perfect….my post will be about celebrating spring…can’t wait to have you join in…

  5. I love that Pavese quote. As I age I really begin to appreciate time. Especially when I look at my children and grandchildren. The garden here simply helps me to mark it joyfully-all seasons. I think winter cannot be around too much longer with all your flowering plants coming up.

    1. Tina how wonderfully put…the seasons mark time for me too and remembering what happened during the seasons and how I celebrate those seasons is why I created the meme and also why Beth and I decided to collaborate on our memes…spring will be here faster than we can imagine!!

  6. Ah Donna, with the passing of time, how I now cherish each day so very much more. Oh, and what is it they say over here, (ne’er cast a clout til May be out)

    1. I love that little saying Alistair. Mother nature reminds us well into May we best be wary since that cold snow can return at anytime….

  7. I see your snowdrops, and crocus, and sigh. It ws -13 C last night…still white here, but I suppose spring will happen eventually. It’s just hard for a gardener to wait.

    Love the shots that you shared.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

    1. Oh Jen don’t be fooled…those are planted right up against my front porch..elsewhere there is cold, some snow and lots of frozen water puddles….it may take a long while to lossen the grip of this crazy winter…

  8. I’ve never thought that wishing for spring is effectively wishing your life away, but I suppose it is. May winter last a bit longer!

    1. I never realized it either until I caught myself saying too often, “I wish spring would come soon” or “I can’t wait for the weekend, wish this week would fly”. So now I too will allow winter to last as long as it must 🙂

  9. I identify with your recognition that something in you is calling you to slow down, to appreciate the moment. It is so tempting to hurry spring! (and most other things we anticipate)

    1. Thx Sheila…I cannot possibly live in the moment or cultivate the habit of living in the moment until I slow down and not wish time away!! So no more hurrying spring..I am enjoying these winter days.

  10. What a great idea for a meme! So much can happen in the garden and I like the idea of recording things seasonally.

    Your pictures are beautiful. I can almost feel the dampness! I know we shouldn’t wish our lives away, but it’s difficult not to get excited for spring when you see blooms pushing their way out of the soil.

    1. So true…I am trying not to hurry it along too much…each day as winter wanes brings spring closer with signs to celebrate…hope you can join in the meme…

  11. I love the idea for your new meme – seasons and celebrations – two things I love! I’ll look forward to participating and to reading the other posts.

  12. Yes, I remember well those days when I wished time to pass when my children were young and busy…now as they’ve grown up, I’m willing time to slow down so I can savor these last couple of years…If only to be content where we find ourselves. I guess that is just not human nature.

  13. Donna,
    It’s hard not to be excited when we know that an explosion is about to happen. I’ts like a secret that only we gardeners share…pop, bang, sparkle, explode, boom, hiss, growwwww. Spring is our fireworks show! Thank you for the seeds which I just received from your contest. I am both excited and nervous, as big tomatoes are difficult to grow here…but I’m going to do whatever it takes…windowsill, mulch, cloche, cutting down trees…I will grow a beefsteak for you!
    Thanks,
    Elaine

    1. Elaine it is like fireworks…tomatoes are always tricky growing here so I start them indoors and hope for a good hot summer….we’ll see how we all do 🙂

  14. I always wished away winter in a haste to welcome the warmer, lighter times but have come to realise how Spring speeds into Summer which turns quickly to Fall. Time is a deception and life is never elsewhere!
    Appreciate all the memes here Donna, especially as I like to link up with others and need inspiration. Only problem is that often I miss the date/deadline…time runs away with me. Thank you for another thought filled musing post – with wise words and fresh new greens.

    1. Laura thank you and I am so glad you enjoyed the post. Time is indeed deceptive. Glad you might find a meme to your liking and schedule. I hope you might be able to join into at least my new meme…it would be an honor and the timeline is loose and you have all the time you need.

  15. Hi Donna, I’m never all that excited for Winter and yes am guilty of wishing it to hurry up so I can get to the rest of the year. I wish for time to speed by but THEN in summer I wish for time to slow down. So I am always pushing and pulling on time…that probably tells you I also have difficulty living in the moment! I try to keep it top of mind more often these days as I feel you miss so much that is right in front of you if you are wishing about a different “time.”

    I would like to participate in your new meme so I’ll give it some thought and see what happens…:)

    1. Andrea it is so hard not to want to push and pull on time but such are the lessons of life…I am so excited that you will participate in the meme…whatever you write will be wonderful…the sky is the limit as you think about the new season… 🙂

  16. Lovely post, and so true! How often we spend our lives wishing our lives away when we are only guaranteed the moment we are in. If we overlook the value of the moment, we leave many of life’s most precious blessings undiscovered.

  17. Oh, I loved your thoughts on time. I need to remember to take every day and delight in every moment. Perhaps it is just human nature to always want time to hurry up. But, like your mother warned, I know an early spring here probably means an early and *very* hot summer! I look forward to your meme!

  19. So true about time, Donna. I have a feeling my Crocuses are waking up under the Oak mulch, too, but I dare not look. With 50s forecast for next week, I just might take a peek! I am looking forward to collaborating with you on the memes! Cheers!

  20. I’m often guilty of wishing time away, wishing this, or that, was already done, anxious to move on to the next project. Sometimes I have to force myself to stand still and observe, and appreciate the simple joys of today, not tomorrow. I agree that it’s good to look forward, but not at the expense of missing what’s right in front of us now. I’m still working on that myself, although I was wishing time would slow down while we were working on the barn…that time flew by!

    1. So true Clare that it is important to slow down to look at what is in front of you….time is such a fickle thing.

  21. Donna, your two crocus photos sum up spring in a nutshell–the impatience of seeing a bud not quite open (hurry up, hurry up, you’re almost there, snow go away!) and that glorious moment of seeing a bud open in beautiful light that you wish could last forever. What a beautiful meditation on time. Thanks for participating/linking into my not-quite meme!

    1. You summed it up perfectly Stacy and they are still exactly like those pictures with new snow yesterday. I may be joining in to the unofficial meme with another flower if I can get it together. So glad you enjoyed the post.

  22. Thanks for joining in the end of month meme. I would hate to have your weather. I cope with a cold January and possibly December but by the end of January I am getting very grumpy indeed.

    1. Oh Helen I love your meme and wil be joining in with much more as the garden gets going…our weather is pretty depressing but i try to grow things in the house to compensate for not being able to garden for 3-4 months.

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