Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, garden, home, Spring, Thoughts, violets on April 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »
We have our first flowers in the backyard. Violets, small and brightly colored, peeking up through the felled branches and unkillable Creeping Charlie and pine litter.
I know that many of you have had green grass and flowers for weeks now, but not so in my neighborhood.
Here, I wait. And watch. And finally, the light of longer days helps the first amethyst petals brave an unpredictable spring.
Welcome, little ones.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2023, #somedaysyoujustneedalittlebreak, Spring, Thoughts on March 22, 2023| Leave a Comment »
The weather is cold here, there’s still snow everywhere, and I’ve developed a weird eye twitch from all the computing. Time to head over to D.C. and see the cherry blossoms, I think. Feel free to join me!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, Affinity Photo, Canada geese, Spring, Thoughts, yay on April 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Not everyone likes Canada Geese (they can be messy), but I love to hear them calling as they fly north to the river, pointing the way to spring.
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Posted in Food and..., tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, food, Spring, Thoughts on April 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »
It’s Monday and it’s Spring and (despite the fact that we are expecting snow tonight) what better time to direct you to this helpful video about asparagus?
America’s Test Kitchen reviews the basics and useful methods of preparation, but also busts several asparagus myths wide open.
I know, I’m excited too!
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Posted in Holidays, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, happiness, inspiration, Spring, Thoughts, yay on April 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I saw my first flower buds yesterday, in a planter filled with lovely little purple crocus plants. We still have a tiny bit of snow in the yard and my mother reports snow down south, but even so it’s starting to feel like spring.
It’s good timing, too. Today is Økodag, or Dancing Cow Day in Denmark, when the country’s 200,000 organic cows leave their winter barns and head out to greener pastures. This year is extra special as the event has been on hold for the past two years.
Danes revel in ‘dancing cow day’ for first time since Covid outbreak
“The cows are so happy to be outdoors, to feel the sun and the wind, that they dance,” she said. “Out in the field, a cow can also go for her favourite dishes – grass, clover, various herbs etc.”
Happy spring!
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #yardworknothanks, home, Spring, Thoughts on April 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Does my yard look tidy? It does not. We left last year’s detritus over winter and it’s still there. A lot of our neighbors started raking and clipping and blowing and trashing leaves and other plant materials as soon as they could find the grass beneath the snow, but not us.
Instead, we have Mr and Mrs Cardinal out front, perching on the Joe Pye Weed stems as they hunt for lunch among the dried maple leaves. We have squirrels coming down into the back yard to gather up mouthfuls of pine needles for nest building. We have duos of doves, clusters of chickadees, and gaggles of goldfinches growing brighter by the day. We have, in short, life.
And while it may not always be pretty, it is beautiful.
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Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, Spring, Thoughts, winter on April 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Yesterday’s rain was doing a great job of washing away the last of the snow, and a little spark told me that spring might finally be here.
A few days ago I went for a walk through the neighborhood with Mr Man. A cool breeze but bright sun, and every other driveway was occupied by an optimist with summer tires. Mr Man shook his head. Too early, he said. He was right.
We woke this morning to snow. Big, fat flakes coating the ground, the trees, the everything in a layer of white. It won’t last, but we still have a few more days before spring makes its true entrance.
Can’t wait.
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Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, orange tree, plants, Spring on April 26, 2021| Leave a Comment »
Our days are brighter, the nights are shorter, and Mr. Man’s orange tree is blooming. It smells divine.
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Posted in Likes, Other, tagged #365Ways, chemistry, flowers, scent, Spring on April 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »
There is a secret world coming to life in my back yard, goldfinches, dandelions, chickadees, red maple, cardinals, crows, robins, roses, insects, earthworms, that unidentified bush the bees love, and yesterday, the first butterfly.
At once common and precious, my spring smells of freshly-turned soil and violets.
Violets get their scent from ionone. It’s an extremely sweet scent that many people describe as also being dry. “Powdery” is the word that’s usually used. Another word is “ethereal,” or “ephemeral.” After stimulating scent receptors, ionone binds to them and temporarily shuts them off completely. This substance cannot be smelled for more than a few moments at a time. After that, people go anosmic to it. Then, after a few breaths, the scent pops up again.
— How Violets Steal Your Sense of Smell
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Posted in Writing, tagged #365Ways, ideas, Motivation, projects, quotes, Spring, work on April 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »
“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
― Leo Tolstoy
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If only it were that simple!
Photos by Gabriel Jimenez, Markus Spiske, Tobias Stonjeck
J.R. Johnson 
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