Well I’ve been a bit out of the blogging loop for a bit. I guess it’s a case of writer’s block and being tired. Half-formed ideas float around in my head – lots of them – but I’ve not been successful at having the energy to coalesce them into coherent thoughts and make proper posts of them. It’s not for lack of material though. These past weeks have been busy and full of exciting things. After the visit to Spring Mill (I still have photos I’d like to share of that), I participated in a yarn crawl and visited several stores in the area. During one of the road trips, my mom and I were able to visit an art gallery and see work from some of our favorite local artists. I’ve also finished up a few knitting projects and started some new ones. One of the shawls I completed was knit especially for the release of Beauty and the Beast and I wore it this afternoon to see the film. I participated in a spring swap with an online group and made up a package that’s even now winging its way to the recipient in Canada. I’ve been working on some jewelry designs inspired by spring and have just finished up an 8-week class on metal clay.
Hopefully I’ll be able to share more of these experiences on the blog soon. Several of my recent activities have been spring-oriented. Vernal equinox will be in just a few days. For a while it looked like we would have an early spring. We had a prolonged warm spell and many of the trees and flowers started budding. Daffodils and crocuses lifted up their floral heads. And (most dear to my heart) several of the magnolia trees grew fat buds that could no longer hold their beautiful blooms. It seemed we would enter spring’s sweet dominion, but alas it was not to be.
Winter did not willingly relinquish its grip and we’re back in the throes of winter. The fragile magnolia blooms are spoilt and brown and I’m so disappointed. We lost them last year too. Spring’s progress is arrested. That doesn’t mean we’re without beauty – winter’s realm holds loveliness of its own. If spring is beautiful for the return of color and life, winter is magnificent in its form and texture as if the world is frozen in sleep.
These are some photos I took at Spring Mill on our winter hikes. Seed pods, spent flowers, acorns, moss, faded ferns… the forest has a share of winter treasures still to be admired. And so, while we must wait for spring’s return, we can still find joy in the ordinary miracles at our feet.
Blessings to you,
Sarah
anordinarymiracleday 
Sorry about your magnolias – it is a sad loss. This yo-yo weather cannot be good for our trees. Fingers crossed for the fruit trees this year.