A Brief Spring in December

I saw this juniper bush on my walk and loved the soft blue color of it’s berries

Yesterday was an amazing day. It ranged from record-breaking warm temperatures during the day to thunder, lightening, and rain at night. And then, even later during the night, temperatures plummeted and winter returned. Early this morning I woke up and went to look out the windows. Our entire back yard looked like it was snow-free. And I celebrated in my mind. Yay!

But by 9:30 AM everything was snow-covered again. I was tempted to lament the sudden change but instead I contemplated the beauty of the new snowfall.

And despite winter’s fast return I enjoyed

yesterday.

In the early afternoon I walked from our house over to Medicine Lake and along the lake. It truly felt like spring was here. I saw lots of bikers and hikers enjoying the sunny mild temperatures. And I also enjoyed basking in the the balmy weather. The pond behind our house began to have puddles of water on it’s surface where before it had been solid ice. And almost all of the snow melted off the deck.

I choose deliberately not to make any commentary in my mind about what this record-breaking weather might mean and decided to simply soak it in without thinking about what the next days might bring. That’s what present moment awareness means for me. And though I don’t always succeed in staying the present moment, I keep coming back to it as often as I can.

This is what was bequeathed us

This is what was bequeathed us:

This earth the beloved left

And, leaving,

Left to us.

No other world

But this one:

Willows and the river

And the factory

With its black smokestacks.

No other shore, only this bank

On which the living gather.

No meaning but what we find here.

No purpose but what we make.

That, and the beloved’s clear instructions:

Turn me into song; sing me awake.

— Gregory Orr

Creative Projects

After my walk yesterday I printed my annual photo calendar for 2022. It is something that I like to give to family members as Christmas gifts each year.

Every time I print out my work I think, “I should do this more often.” Seeing a print emerge from the printer always feels like magic. I love evaluating whether the print accurately reflects my vision for the image and sometimes I adjust the image to improve it and then print it again. I think that one of my goals for 2022 will be to print more of my images and frame them to hang in my home.

Each year I follow one guideline for the images that I use in my calendars. They must be images that I made during the year. Because of the pandemic my calendar this year (and last year) reflected my world here in the Twin Cities with a lot of animals and local scenes and a couple of images I made in our back yard. When I look at this year’s calendar images they tell a story about what I care about and what I experienced in 2021.

“There are two fatal errors that keep great projects from coming to life:
1) Not finishing
2) Not starting”
― Buddha Gautama

If you are a creator, I encourage you to find ways to plan projects to challenge yourself in your work. Even this simple project which I do every year teaches me about myself and what I love.

Wishing you a warm and beautiful day.

May you walk in beauty.

The pond yesterday afternoon

Mid-afternoon moon

A Brief Spring in December

Published by Marilyn on December 16, 2021