Life in the Slow Lane

Contemplating life, faith, words, and memories

Spring’s Arrival — May 24, 2022

Spring’s Arrival

I love spring! Her vibrant colors cast against the blue sky (yes, even here in Oregon) and the warmth of the sun are energizing. The sounds of birdsong filling the air lift the spirit. The scent of flowers as they waft through the air is satisfying. The world around me feels fresh and new!
 
And then there’s Daylight Savings Time. You can either love it or hate it or, according to my daughter-in-law, you can take a neutral stance. I’m still pushing my way through the fog left from setting the clocks forward.
 
Don’t forget the pollen we’re blessed with this time of year. Allergy sufferers around here have been complaining for weeks. At our house, that means two of us going through Kleenex at a rapid pace. And all the while, wishing it would go away at a rapid pace.

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On Winter’s Margin by Mary Oliver — April 13, 2022

On Winter’s Margin by Mary Oliver

Sitting here in the Pacific NW in mid-April, dark gray days with rain one day, snow the next. Sometimes wind and thunderstorms. Dumping of hail yesterday; it lingers still. I watch for nature’s population. Mary Oliver had a unique perspective on nature as can be seen in her poem, On Winter’s Margin.

I had another post underway for today, but our weather patterns in Oregon have been rather strange. Maybe they are mystifying where you live as well. One day last week we enjoyed a sunny day with a temperature of 75. Then our weather predictors began talking snow from the height of the mountains down to the valley floor where we live. My first paragraph above describes this week, so far. These conditions drew me to Oliver’s poem.

Now sit back and enjoy Mary Oliver’s poem. As always, Oliver fills her stanzas with an understanding of shadow and light both in nature and in human nature.

Sherrey

 

Featured Image Attribution:  Photo by Valentin Hintikka on Unsplash 

 



ON WINTER'S MARGIN by Mary Oliver

On winter’s margin, see the small birds now
With half-forged memories come flocking home
To gardens famous for their charity.
The green globe’s broken; vines like tangled veins
Hang at the entrance to the silent wood.

With half a loaf, I am the prince of crumbs;
By snow’s down, the birds amassed will sing
Like children for their sire to walk abroad!
But what I love, is the gray stubborn hawk
Who floats alone beyond the frozen vines;
And what I dream of are the patient deer
Who stand on legs like reeds and drink that wind; -

They are what saves the world: who choose to grow
Thin to a starting point beyond this squalor.

~~ From Famous Poets & Poems

 

The Well Rising :: Poem by William E. Stafford — April 6, 2022

The Well Rising :: Poem by William E. Stafford

The Well Rising

 
The well rising without sound,
the spring on a hillside,
the plowshare brimming through deep ground
everywhere in the field—
 
The sharp swallows in their swerve
flaring and hesitating
hunting for the final curve
coming closer and closer—
 
The swallow heart from wingbeat to wingbeat
counseling decision, decision:
thunderous examples. I place my feet
with care in such a world.
 

For a biography of William E. Stafford, please visit Poetry Foundation.
“The Well Rising” copyright 1960, 1998 the Estate of William Stafford. Reprinted from The Way It Is with the permission of Graywolf Press

Source: The Darkness Round Us Is Deep (HarperPerennial, 1993)
 
Featured image attribution: Edith Johnson from Pixabay
And We Thought Winter Might Be Over! — February 23, 2022

And We Thought Winter Might Be Over!

Just when you think the seasons have begun to change, you’re pulled up short by the weather forecast. You see we thought winter might not hit our area too hard this year. Temperatures were unusually warm for several days. Flowers are blooming early. Birds are singing and nest building. Sounds like spring, doesn’t it?

In fact, our white hellebores have been blooming for almost two months now. They are hardy plants and don’t seem to fear the weather. Continue reading

The Blizzard of 1951 :: A Day in the Life (#13) — February 9, 2022

The Blizzard of 1951 :: A Day in the Life (#13)

Recent weather reports from the nor’easters blasting the eastern coastline as well as the storms to the north of us in Washington state brought back memories. As I watched the news, I was taken back to the year 1951. 

To a child’s delight, snow began to fall on January 28, 1951, as did a lot of ice in the form of freezing rain (to no adult’s delight). Winds blew taking down power poles. Roads were blocked by fallen trees. How little I knew about the wildness and harm of it all. Continue reading

Delighted by the Light! — January 26, 2022