The calendar says it is spring. The tree buds starting to emerge signal spring. Mama Moose are getting ready to calf. Baby chicks arrive in the post office. Our daylight hours let us awaken to more light, and our evening hours linger and lengthen, as we ignore the clock, forgetting the dinner ‘hour’:  a testament that spring is DEFINETELY here, or at least on its way. Hurray!

But what to my sleepy eyes doth appear?  Is this white fluffy stuff coming down from the sky? Somehow I don’t think it is fluff and stuff nor angel’s dandruff falling from the heavens! The last time I checked, SNOW falling meant ‘WINTER’, not SPRING!  Until this morning, the main roads were dry and daytime high temperatures hovered short sleeve comfort of high 20 degrees F. 

AUGH! We could even see patches of brown soil and weathered grass in spots around our home of respite and renewal.

Buds are waiting to open, with their love uncovered and cheers warming our hearts as we once more gaze in the wonder of the season. But alas, we must wait a bit, at least where the thermometer is concerned. Until then we will have to be content to display spring in our hearts, springs in our step,  offering a spring smile. As we prepare for the spring season, where the soil of our lives will be ready to till and plant new seeds of growth and fruit. As we go forth, our hearts will sing with an increased tempo, as we waver not.

Until the final snow piles melt, as with the fears and frustrations of a long winter season, we can be assured that ahead, even if not seen for the moment, rivers of life, rivers of joy, will be spanned with a bridge of hope, renewal and of new things to come. Trust and patience will be our garden tools, just as we have ‘waited’ in years gone by. The promise of spring is just that: a covenant, a promise of what is to come. Our job is to persevere and prepare.
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Catch you later – I’m going to go help Bill pick out which seeds we will be ordering!  

“You are called to the place where YOUR deep gladness and the WORLD’S great hunger meet.”    Frederick Buechner
 
I have long believed in the following anonymous saying given to me 46 years ago: 
“What you do, what you say and who you ARE,
Touches people in ways you may never ever know.
For you are like your shadow…..you extend to where you may never be.”
 
Our world is in a place that most of us have never experienced before. Opinions, actions/reactions and decisions made differ widely. Uncertainty fills the air. As I watch the events unfold each day, I can’t help but be convinced that each of us can make a difference for good, and make our world a place of unity vs. divide.
 
We make a difference by answering our call to the place where our attitude of “gladitude” touches another, right at the end of our hand:  by a word, by a deed,  by just ‘being’ for another  person. By your living life “at the end of your hand”, grasping the opportunities before you, the world will change,
 
Whose life will YOU touch today? 

“The Ides of March” yes, they bloweth through. From what we see on the Weather Channel, it is not just Alaska that has 60mph winds, but so does the East Coast. I’m sure they appreciate the snow we sent to go with the wind!

I am mesmerized watching the spruce, cottonwood and poplar trees bend and sway together in simplicity and in sync, as if they were one.  I find myself gazing a bit longer than planned, as the boughs are lifted hither and yon. Soon, a pair of eagles join in the sway, high overhead.

The whistling sound of the wind startles Bubba Grump, the dog.  He wanders from room to room, finally settling in front of the crackling woodstove. The sights and sounds are simple acts of nature, reminding us the wind, like the seasons, have marked the days since time began.

After watching the wind blow and eagles soar, I remind myself to walk in the simplicity Bill and I have chosen as our standard.  I will work unhurried, with soft instrumental music accompanying the sounds of the wind. As I dig deep it will be with purpose, embracing the quiet moments, humbled by all I have been blessed by.

I will remind myself to stop every so often, to look outside for the eagles as they soar high above the swaying trees, framed by the snow covered Talkeetna Mountains.

I have come to a place in my life where I am ever grateful that we have chosen simplicity in our lives and in our home the last 40+ years. We have worked hard to not succumb to the ‘busyness’ of the world. While some of our lifestyle has been dictated by circumstance, “Simplicity” and “Peace” have been and are a choice, even on our busiest of days. And for that, I am forever grateful.
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Blow on “Ides of March”!

Does minus 25 with clear blue skies and the sun shining brightly qualify for March Madness? (Go Gonzaga!)

This time of year, the ‘tweener’ months, remind me of the “Push-Me/Pull-Me” animal in the classic movie, Dr. Doolittle.

While we love the fact we finally have a ‘winter’ after 3 years with no snow,  the seed catalogs that are arriving taunt me, beckoning me to  “buy me NOW!” SERIOUSLY?!
It will be May before we can even think of planting seeds in the ground! (I won’t mention Bill succumbed to the taunts!  He has slowly been stocking up when he sees a seed display at the store, and finds his specialty seeds for this year’s delights!)

As I look out my office window, the skies are a brilliant blue and the sun is streaming so bright I have to close the shades a bit to type. There is still 2-3 feet of snow on the ground and plow piles 6-7 feet high. What’s wrong with this picture?!  It’s March already!! No wonder many Alaskans are fleeing for Hawaii next week for Spring Break!

But not me! I’m reminded once more to not rush the season we find ourselves in. For, if we do, we might miss the delights set before our very eyes. The icicles make for incredible photos. I never tire hearing the neighbor’s kids with their squeals of laughter, sledding, snowmachining  or getting  the dogs in the middle of a snowball fight.  Even I can’t resist throwing a cup of warm water over my head when it is this cold outside, watching it vaporize in an arching cloud over me!  We find ourselves humming a theme song of “Slip Sliding Away” as we make our way across a parking lot or down the slippery path to the frozen river.

The wonder of this March Madness continues as we watch the 7 “local” moose routinely come  by to prune our willow tree branches and my lilac bushes, or kneel as if they were praying to find a morsel of hay beneath the layers of snow.  Last week, one moose bedded down on the back side of the hot tub. It startled Bill when  she stood up ever so quietly while he was IN the hot tub. Only a moose can disappear before your eyes!
 
And the Northern Lights displays?  OH MY !! Watching them pulse and roll across the night skies make you realize sleep is way overrated!!

So SERIOUSLY!  Don’t rush the ‘season’ you are in! Open your eyes! Don’t miss the "nuggets" before you!