march

3/1/2016

march

the sun is nervous
as a kite
that can't quite keep
   its own string tight.

some days are fair,
   and some are raw.
the timid earth
   decides to thaw.

shy budlets peep
   from twigs on trees,
and robins join
   the chickadees.

pale crocuses
   poke through the ground
like noses come
   to sniff around.

the mud smells happy
   on our shoes.
we still wear mittens,
   which we lose.

~john updike

4 Comments

3/1/2016 04:17:19 pm

Hello Jane
I discovered your blog last week after following the link from a comment that you left on Erin's Tea Leaves blog. So glad that I did because I just love your little spot on the internet. Some later-than- normal nights have been had recently so that I could read back through your archives.
Your 2016 calendar is much nicer than anything I've ever seen in the shops and you're so clever to be using the back pages of last year's! Have you made the pages for the entire year or are you doing them on a month-by-month basis?
I was intrigued to read that you lived in London. Do you mind sharing which area you were in? I'm in Surrey, on the outskirts of London.
Best wishes
Jo

jane link

3/2/2016 08:09:02 am

oh, i'm thrilled to have you here! thank you so much for your encouragement! i'm having fun with the calendar and have been making the pages one by one. i like that it stretches out the project and prompts me to get out my paints and carving tools on a regular basis. and i am smiling wide right now, because we lived in surrey as well! we were walking yesterday and saw crocuses and julia said they reminded her of walks there...except that it was the snowdrops we looked for first in the spring! such amazing memories! :) thanks again for your cheerful words! :)

3/2/2016 05:02:43 pm

The snowdrops and crocuses in my garden are up! I'm from a sub-tropical part of Australia and winter bulbs were a bit of a novelty when I moved here.
Surrey, how funny! We're a bit further out from Kingston in a tucked away surburban village. The woods are 5 minutes from our front door but it's only 35 minutes on the train to Waterloo. It's a good spot even though there are no bulk foods shops anywhere nearby & that it's a bit of journey to the big Whole Foods shop in town.

jane link

3/3/2016 09:16:06 am

oh, lovely! we loved richmond and kingston! i hear you about bulk. i couldn't believe it when we stumbled upon that whole foods though!

i do think london has quite a lot going for it in other ways though. the rubbish bins are half the size of the ones i just lugged out to the curb- so the expectation is that you will not produce so much waste. the recycling is great, so looking for paper and glass containers helps. there were more eco and vegetarian options than i was used to at the time...we finally went vegetarian while we lived there (+ fish, because fish + chips). :) people don't have such large wardrobes. public transportation is totally adequate, so the car stays parked and walking is a part of daily life. on demand heat and water heaters- way less energy consumed. clotheslines (even if one must be vigilant with the rain). and the thing that i miss so...my weekly abel & cole delivery. that right there is a lesson in eating with the seasons, local, organic and package free. they even took the cardboard box back.

just a bit of encouragement on the eco journey! i bet you are taking advantage of so much! :)

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march

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