Same Tree, New Colors

Here is the same Bradford Pear tree in the last post -- that one was fall, this one is spring.

"and the seasons they go round n round. ."

First Day of Spring

Art by Nichol Brown -- Marcus's mother, Fiona's grandmother, Facebook friend.

We've made it through another winter.  Here are the signs:

•  The heat has stopped running and we are sleeping with the windows open most nights now.
• The fig tree is leafing out.
• A Canada Goose has taken to her nest on the island in our pond at as she does every spring -- is it the same goose from last year? Offspring of the goose who sat there last year? How do new geese know the exact spot for the nest?
• Pear trees blooming
• Azaleas blooming
• Pollen
• The clocks sprang forward a couple of weeks ago.
• "Doing Taxes" is rapidly rising in priority on the running To-Do List.
• Christy and Morris were here this weekend on the first leg of their sailing trip to the Bahamas. They will be gone until early June -- they have long planned to leave in early spring so they can get back before hurricane season.

Good friends, Bahamas bound.

 And a bit from What the Day Gives by Jeanne Lohman:

Stunned by the astonishing mix in this uneasy world
that plunges in a single day from despair
to hope and back again, I commend my life
to Ruskin's difficult duty of delight,
and to that most beautiful form of courage,
to be happy.

Spring in February

 We're having a lovely early spring. Most of the garden looks pretty rough but there are some pretty spots. Here is the Lady Clare camellia we planted this fall. It is also putting out new growth. Very promising.

At week 6 of the fitness program I've lost 13.6 lbs. and am still putting ice on my knees. I'm meeting the group tomorrow afternoon for a workout at Waterfront Park under the Ravenel Bridge over in Mount Pleasant and Duncan is going to the Sierra Club's Oyster Roast where the menu is oysters, hotdogs, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream. He looks forward to this all year.

Happy Birthday Jeffrey

Today is Jeffrey's 25th birthday and that brings to mind our family's story of global warming.

The story was told over and over again of Wilson driving to the hospital on the day Jeffrey was born, twenty-five years ago, and miraculously seeing a daffodil in bloom. A daffodil in February! Surely a good omen for new life blossoming!

Now, daffodils bloom all over the place in January and February. By the middle of March, they're done with. The leaves haven't even come out and the daffodils are here and gone.

I liked it better when daffodils were part of spring and spring was a big splash of tulips and hyacinths, and redbud trees, azaleas, and dogwoods. And if there was a rare daffodil sighting in the depths of winter, it really was a harbinger of good things to come -- as it was on February 27, 1985.

Another Woman Joins the Ranks of Wise Crones

It is the height of spring in Charleston -- we had our first clutch of ducks hatch on the pond this week and the azaleas are in full bloom. This picture of the very picturesque Pineapple Fountain next to Waterfront Park was the picture of the week on SCIWAY . It taken in 2007 by a fellow named Alan Tobey who was visiting from California.

Last weekend I attended a "Croning Ceremony" -- the 60th birthday party for a friend who is also named Sandy. Sandy's life has taken her many places -- Her husband served in Nepal in the Peace Corps and they have returned there several times. They have traveled widely throughout Southeast Asia. Sandy was the first person I met in Charleston and she became my first Facebook "friend". She is one of those adventurous, open-hearted, extroverts who attracts interesting people around her. She has good and true friends all over the world. I am honored to be a part of her local orbit.

Apparently, a formal Croning Ceremony is common is some cultures -- a recognition of a woman's third life stage -- after the Maiden and the Mother, comes the Wise Crone. Guess I skipped the Mother part. Anyway, this was a celebration of the wisdom that comes with deep knowledge of self and of the world, the freedom and the fearlessness to love well what is true and real and the grandmother's sacred role of storyteller for her family, her community and her culture. In the picture, Sandy is being welcomed into the sisterhood of wise crones by Renate, who at age 87 was the most senior woman among us that night.

It was a wonderful celebration with women of all ages, ritual, blessings and prayers, food and wine and gifts given and received. I left with a lovely silk scarf and a henna tattoo on my ankle -- a strangely empowering embellishment. Later in the week, I was sitting on a bench downtown waiting for someone when a woman walking down the street stopped and told me she liked my tattoo. File that in the category of "Things I Never Thought Anyone Would Ever Say to Me."

Signs of Spring Everywhere

This is the bluebird who has taken to frequenting our deck. I think (s)he comes to drink water from the cat's dish (dangerous!) and then looks up and sees her/his reflection in the glass door, so (s)he goes on the the attack and charges at the rival bird, slamming her/his little body into the door. (S)he does this repeatedly until (s)he has to go sit on the railing and shake her/his little head to clear the stars. It's Spring and everyone is acting a little crazy.

A Missed Opportunity

I saw an incredible sight yesterday but didn't have a camera so it makes for a much less effective blog post. But. . . while walking at Charlestowne Landing, I saw a huge 6 or 7 foot alligator sunning on the bank of the pond right in front of a huge, variegated and in full-bloom Camellia. The alligator was brown/grey blah colored, scaly, inert and prehistoric looking -- they are so ugly. And this Camellia was tall and wide and just full of blooms. It was truly beauty and the beast.

On the scintillating topic of weather; yesterday was beautiful; sun was out, temperature was in the 70s. Azaleas are blooming all over town along with quince, daffodils and the camellias. But today, the temps are dropping and it's supposed to get rainy and very cold again. I think it is winter's last hurrah. Signs of spring are everywhere.

Much later -- Joan Perry posted this wonderful photo of 2 alligators at the pond at Roper St. Francis. Duncan and I saw 3 on a recent warm Saturday walk. Joan is a great local photographer and does the Charleston Daily Photo blog. I always enjoy seeing what she's seeing.