That’s green enough for St. Patrick’s day, don’t you think? That’s a ribena sanguinea ‘White Icicles’ bud getting ready to burst into bloom. I was curious to see when it did that last year, and spent a pleasant few minutes going backwards through all my gardening posts:on March 15th, last year, apparently, the bursting had already begun. In fact, looking through that March 15th post, I got pretty jazzed about what’s going to be coming my way in the next few weeks. Right now, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, but I’m three weeks from the end of classes and the garden’s insisting on optimism. Look at this gorgeous hellebore, for instance. I should get the lovely gardener,Jane (with her fancy new digs!) to come over and identify it for me — I suspect it’s from a seedling I got from her favourite garden a few years ago.
Or what about this miniature iris, which somehow combines daintiness with high drama — look at that contrast between its rich purple and its almost-rude orange throat markings!
So strolling through my garden, both today’s and last year’s virtual representation, I’m bound to focus more on the positive. Yes, I succumbed to some virus or other after a week of insults and injuries that included misplacing my purse, chipping my tooth, losing my close companion, and putting in long days away from home. But those long days were caused by taking my students to watch the two George F. Walker plays we’re studying and attending a reading by poet, Tim Lilburn, whose work I very much admire. In other words, while I might find my life exhausting at times, I don’t find it boring, and my occasional fatigue and illness is a result of choices I make. This week I’m a bit stretched because my enthusiasm earlier this winter for Randall Maggs’ book of poems, based on the life of hockey goalie Terry Sawchuk, led me to organize a reading by Maggs at our campus. That happens this Thursday, after which we’ll go out for dinner, talking hockey, poetry, life, travels, I hope, among other topics, and I will see again how rich my life is — and I’ll try to store up those memories, like the garden photos from last March that rejuvenated me this morning, for next time I’m feeling sick and tired. In other words, snap out of it, girl, it’s almost SPRING!
Oh, and Happy Patrick’s Day to all of you committed to a wearing of the green!
I love these pictures…yay Spring!! In the few days I was away, our elm tree in front went from bumps to gorgeous bright green leaves.
It is blossom city here, and with clear blue skies looks divine.
I agree that while teaching can take it’s physical toll, no two days are the same so there is rarely a dull momemt.
I am packing up for the big move but I keep ‘finding things’ to distract me doubley difficult when all I want to do is walk outside. Glad you are feeling a little more chipper, hope the kettle is on!
Pseu: Silly me, I never really thought that you’d have trees budding as well — rather assumed they just had to flaunt their shiny green year ’round.
Alison: oh, those blue skies sound wonderful — hope they keep you going during that tough move.
Love your photos of the spring buds and flowers and feeling in sympathy. I have the same plants in my yard AND, like you, I’ve been suffering from some damn ubiquitous virus. I’ve been creeping around the yard admiring all buds/blooms coming on and feeling that spring itch. We planted peas, onions and potatoes on St. Pat’s Day!
Colene: Equinox is here — bring on the light! Grow, peasonionspotatoes, grow!