19 Days of Spring

It’s been a beautiful week! I think all of us in this part of Minnesota are grateful for warmer days and sunshine. The melt is seriously on! Finally!

I’ve been making a photo each day of the scene outside my bedroom window since the first day of spring. Today it’s been nineteen days. I did not imagine when I started that we would still have snow on the ground. But here we are. Still, I am celebrating the first

19 Days of Spring.

Yesterday I saw about half a dozen birds underneath the pine tree next to the bedroom window. They were birds that I don’t remember seeing before. So I made a photograph of one of them and then pulled out my bird books to figure out what they were. They were foraging under the pine tree by kicking backward with their claws and then finding insects and small seeds with their beaks. It was a treat watching them hopping and kicking. I discovered that they are called fox sparrows, named for their rufous coloring, especially on the tail.

Fox Sparrow

They breed in boreal forests from Alaska to Newfoundlund, including the boreal forest of northern Minnesota and they winter in southeastern US. So these birds were probably migrating to northern Minnesota. They didn’t stay long, but what a gift to see them even for a little while.

This morning I saw the first pair of wood ducks in the pond behind our house. Though there is still ice on the pond, there is open water on the entire edge nearest our house and the south end of the pond is completely thawed. The ice is going fast now with these warm days and nights. It wouldn’t surprise me to see turtles on the log at the edge of the pond by the end of this week. And I also expect to hear the frogs croaking in and around the pond soon.

I’m reading a poetry book called Let Us Dance! The Stumble and Whirl With the Beloved  by Chelan Harkin. Though it’s long I’m going to share a poem from the book about frogs (and everything). Chelan Harkin’s poetry reminds a bit of Rumi or Hafiz in its mystical truth and wonder. I love it!

A World That Includes Frogs

I am so honored
to be part of a world
that includes frogs
croaking like maniacs
from a nearby pond
for who knows what reason
though it seems for the same
impulse in my chest
that leads me to pray.

I’m so honored and dazzled
to be part of a Universe
that includes moons at all.

And who can say anything
without first being incinerated
by awe
about that great burn pile
in the sky—the sun—
that provides its own fuel
and brings everything to life
with light.

I’m beyond wonderment
to stand still
within this particular twilight
while the stars appear one by one
like fireflies
turning on their lights

and know that anywhere I point
my heart’s gaze
in this marvelous world
holds a full cup
of secret delight
that makes all seeking replete
with arrival.

And as knowing lays itself
at the feet of amazement
what else can I do
but join those frogs
in their great burbling chorus
of praise.
I’m so grateful
to be part of a world
that includes
the reverence of nighttime
and oceans
with unplungable depths
and hearts
yet deeper.

I’m tickled to be part of a world
that I’m certain is spun
of living poetry
and to be sewn of the same fabric.

– Chelan Harkin

I’m also reading a fiction book that I highly recommend. It’s called Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. It’s a total delight, wry and surprisingly relevant to today’s world considering that it’s set in the 1950’s. It is a funny and smart look at the value of so-called women’s work, a story for all the smart girls who refuse to dumb themselves down.

Wishing you a beautiful day full of wonder and delight.

May you walk in beauty.

Note: photos from Gerten’s Greenhouse in Inver Grove Heights, MN