Poetic License

Usually spring makes such a quiet entrance here in West Michigan. Unlike the month of March which can come rather like a roaring lion, spring creeps softly on the April rains and suddenly bursts forth with first the snowdrops and then the tulips and daffodils before the trees drop the leaf casings and those small pale green leaves unfold like many crepe paper wonders hand made and dropped to those tiny tips on branches throughout the trees in front of my home.

I love this season so much. Today I got to play with dirt and seeds as I readied the cold frame to hold those seeds in our cold April days and to keep them warm as they begin to grow. Three trays of herbs, and flowers began today, and as I closed the windowed lid I hoped I would get three trays of living plants for my gardens.

I hope you can get out where ever your feet roam near home and find some signs of this season of new birth and the greening of all that grows.

My Muse

January is a season unto itself and I love the snow and cold swirls and moves with the winds that frequent our spot along the Lakeshore here in West Michigan. This year has proved not to be as cold or as snowy as many previous years which is good for many...but bad for me. My muse usually comes with the falling snow and the storms that continually buffet our part of the world and make it look and feel like another planet here in the depths of winter.

For me the most productive time of the year as a writer has been one that often kept me in seclusion and clothed the world in a deep quiet which was something unheard of on the street where I live. So I am writing and tossing almost everything these days. Nothing seems to make sense or come together very well at present. I will get through it since I am writing even though not much is getting beyond the first drafts but I am continuing the effort.

For those of us who no longer write for a newspaper and aren't in the throws of book, getting one piece of writing out every month or so is a pretty, "good thing," as Martha is wont to say. I hope to have a new article on my main site (Writing and Beyond) by the end of the week at least and that feels pretty darn good!