Are You Ready for Spring?

marianbeaman

Today marks the end of February. In less than a month spring will have sprung, Still, you may be ready for spring now, not in three weeks. Here are the thoughts of Jane Kenyon, once New Hampshire’s poet laureate, anticipating the blooms of spring in her meditation “February Thinking of Spring”

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. . . or the appearance of blooms on dogwood

Dogwood

Before winter turned into spring, visits to the flower show in Philadelphia restored my Grandma Longenecker’s spirits. Or leafing through a Burpee Seed catalog.

In a letter to me during my sophomore year in college Grandma wrote about her May flowers that followed a harsh winter:

Lots of people have colds but daffodils are out “with their yellow frilled bonnets” (I have 5 kinds of them) were a joy to behold. Double tulips are at their best. Next the lilacs and valley lilies.

 

Yes, fickle February will soon melt into March madness. To herald the coming month, I shall make a poetic prediction. My good friend/muse Merril Smith has inspired me to try a new form, the shadorma, one of the many poetry challenges she has embraced on her website recently along with echo poems, triolets, and lantern shapes.

The shadorma must form 6 lines of 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllables and make sense.

Fickle month

Bye, February

St. Pat’s Day

Irish rule

Daylight Savings Time, Oh Dread

Celebrate: Easter!

 

Did you count the syllables?   🙂

What flowers populate your dreams of spring?

If you live in South Africa or Australia, your seasons are reversed so you may have a different vision. What in nature lifts your spirits right now?

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Coming next: How to Teach a Piano Lesson

55 thoughts on “Are You Ready for Spring?”

  1. My daffodils are opening up now, but first we had the crocuses a couple of weeks ago; that’s when I knew spring was just round the corner! The tulips and hyacinths will follow in April, hopefully! Enjoy your blooms! 💐💐💐

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      1. Yes it does..I have beautiful Orchids in my garden here but as you say the memories of flowers from your early years do stay and nothing like the bluebell woods and we had the most beautiful roundabout ( and it still does) which has narcissi which are a sea of white as you approach it. Thank you for your kind words on some of my recipes, I love Thai food and indeed any food really… and if I can pick up authentic recipes on my travels I do. 🙂 Have a lovely day 🙂

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  3. This post was a pleasant Monday surprise, Marian! Thank you for the mention. I’m glad I inspired you to try some poetry!

    I saw some of our crocuses had bloomed yesterday. It made my heart soar, but I saw some predictions for snow at the end of the week. Boo!

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    1. You’re welcome, Merril. Of all the poetic forms you illusratrated, the shadorma with its strict form seemed a natural beginning for a writer/poet who needs training wheels. 😉

      Crocuses can tolerate snow. When I was in PA last week, I saw masses of yellow aconite under melting blizzard snow.

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    1. Your comment led me to look up St. David’s Day where I discovered he is the patron saint of Wales. Now you have me wondering whether you will attend a parade or wear emblems. Huge hugs back to you, David. Who knew you were a saint!

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  6. I think tulips are my favorite for the breadth of their colors and how sometimes sunshine radiates through them as though on fire. When my husband is begging me to go take a photo of some he sees regularly on the way home from work, I know they’re something! We’ll hold on to our hopes for eventual spring, knowing faith does not disappoint …

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  7. Marian, you’re a poet. How exciting! Yes, hints of spring always raises my spirits. I saw a robin the other day and felt hopeful. But this has been a strange winter for us with little snow. Nature is confused. A few weeks ago, Wayne saw a snake slowly meandering through a pond then a few days later we had below zero weather. I will be very excited when the lilacs start to bloom.

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  8. Here in Canada. we are again in the throes of a deep freeze after a reprieve of some very extra ordinary mild weather for February. We had a family birthday dinner at our house yesterday, and while doing some last minute shopping, my husband and I stood in front of a display of gorgeous tulips, and our hearts leaped in one accord and said “yes”! After much searching for just the right colors, we chose orange and yellow cut tulips for the living room and some potted red tulips for the table. So spring is in our living room now, even though We look at drifts of snow outside!

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    1. Wordsworth’s heart leapt up for a rainbow in the sky, but rainbows are rare. Tulips last longer if just for a season. I can picture your orange, yellow and red potted tulips, a nice counterpoint to the snowy drifts outside the window.

      Spring will make its appearance. Genesis 8:22 is still true. Thank you, Elfrieda.

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  9. Here in Arizona many of the cactus’ in our yard are blooming, Marian. They put up long spikes with vibrant orange or red blossoms at the ends that the hummingbirds adore. Also the Rosemary is covered in brilliant indigo blossoms – and blissful bees. We have yellow, red and purple lantana, and waves of magenta bougainvillea. The citrus trees are covered in tiny white buds, and the smell is heavenly. Lots going on here this time of year. 🙂

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    1. I saw a Monet painting as I read your garden description. Somehow bougainvillea have never bloomed well for me even though Florida’s climate is perfect. Right now miniature azaleas are the brightest thing around my house.

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    1. When I googled daylight saving time (which I thought was strictly a north American idea) I saw that it’s observed in places all over the world, including Sweden where I think it may be called summer time. Thanks for the encouragement, Fiona.

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  12. Oh dear…this is the first time I’m not in agreement and amusement as I read your post and the comments. I’ve said before and I’ll say again, I’m a four season person.
    Poetry is a beautiful way of expressing oneself.

    February – the last of winter; sledding, snowmen, fresh cold air.
    March – the beginning of spring; snow melting, bulbs waking, fresh warm air.
    Seasons – ever changing with a fresh, delightful flair.

    My feeble attempt to give February it’s due credit. 🙂

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    1. I’m glad you feel free to express exactly how you feel here. I didn’t mind being a 4-season person growing up in PA. What I miss most living in Florida is the glorious fall foliage.

      Your poetic lines have a nice rhythm. Not at all feeble. Thank you, Anita.

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  13. Marian — You met the shadorma poetry challenge (6 lines of 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllables) with exquisite results! Your poem is like a restorative cuppa tea, thank you! Spring is gently unfolding here in Boise. Soon (very soon!) we’re going to walk out the door to discover that’s it’s sprung!

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  14. Ever hopeful, you have declared an expectation from Boise, soon to bloom. Thank you for reading and responding to my spontaneous post here, a burst on Monday that usually arrives on Wednesday. Kenyon’s February poem gave me impetus. It wouldn’t do to post it on March 1 – ha!

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  15. In Colorado, February was truly fickle, with 14″ of snow one week, then temps of 54-60 the next. Your shadorma’s 6 lines of 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllables is a breath of fresh March air, Marian.
    In 2007 I accepted a challenge to write one Tanka each night about the best thing that happened that day. It followed Japan’s first poetry Tanka (line 1, 5 or fewer syllables; line 2, 7 or fewer syllables; line 3, 5 or fewer syllables; line 4, 7 or fewer syllables; and line 5, 7 or fewer syllables.
    I did not miss a single day, and after a few months I found myself thinking Tankas. 😉

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    1. Marylin, it strikes me that the scaffolding for Tanka was so deeply imbedded into your consciousness that everything you experienced had a niche. Apparently, you have a pile of poems in this form somewhere. I wonder if you ever published them.

      Thank you for introducing us to a new form. I’m glad you enjoyed the shadorma too.

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    1. I love autumn too with its glorious foliage. Thank you for the reminder of what’s going on in a different hemisphere. In a few months, I’ll have to think of you cozying up to the hearth during out sweltering summer days here in Florida.

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  18. I’ve just acknowledged you on Linda’s blog Mariian …tee hee …it’s so much fun blogging …I really must get my own together .
    Aren’t you and the other ladies clever . I love that form of poetry , I will have a go myself later .
    My favourite flower Eva has to be the daffodil and here in Wales it’s St David’s day so there are daffodils everywhere … It’s a delight .
    I follow an amazing blog called Cauldens and Cupcakes , Australian lady Nicole . It fascinates me when she talks her seasons , which are completely different to mine .
    Autumn used to be my favourite time of year but now it’s spring …it must be an age thing .☺️
    Love your blog it’s always so uplifting .
    Cherryx

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    1. We meet again! I didn’t realize you “knew” Linda Hoye too. We like-minded people can congregate all over the globe. With your wit and humor I see you edging closer and closer to blogging yourself. Thanks for the encouragement, Cherry. I wonder if you know David Prosser, also Welsh, who commented on St David’s Day.

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      1. ☺️ I may have met her through you or maybe Laurie , I love her posts don’t you ? Especially the photography , I don’t offen make a comment though so maybe that’s why we haven’t met.
        I would love my own blog it’s the tech stuff that puts me off .
        I don’t know David Prosser no , I did search for his blog but I couldn’t find it .
        Have a lovely day Marian .
        Xx

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  19. With all the flowers and many springing forth from bulbs, it reminds me of a book I read (via audio CD) about the value of bulbs from Holland many years ago. Some of the tulip bulbs were worth more than gold at that time.

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    1. I must confess azaleas are beginning to bloom here. Still, we have gray days and need cheering up too. Just a thought: You or Sage could write a shadorma . . . maybe even compose one together.

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  21. I’ve never heard of a shadorma. If I didn’t have so much else on my plate today, I’d experiment, but perhaps later.
    Yesterday, I looked for early spring flowers in downtown Ithaca (which, because of elevation, is two temperature zones warmer than my hilltop home). I didn’t find flowers, but found a warmed fish pool where my mother-in-law lives with beautiful reflections of bare tree branches on the water with orange and yellow fish swimming underneath. Almost as good as flowers, but not quite. We have had almost no snow in the northeast and there is none on the ground now. This is not good for fruit growers and farmers, but it’s good for a woman who likes to walk in the forest. In my gardens, I see crocus and daffodil leaves shooting up, waiting for a warm day. This is the winter that never was…

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  24. Thanks, Miriam.
    Your post brought back memories of when I lived in Connecticut. Having no grown up in California, I was so eager to see the first hints of spring in New England (crocuses and daffodils too) that I’d take my second grade class on a very chilly walk whenever the weather allowed. We checked the bare branches each day to discover new spring buds which became, in time, bright green leaves. Eventually the daffodils appeared! I’ll never forget my childlike excitement!

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