Saturday, December 9, 2017

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
‘We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,”
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

~ Oliver Herford

The other day, around 2:45 in the afternoon, we noticed that it seemed dark and realized sunset was just a little over an hour away. These dark afternoons are well suited for books and quilts and tea.

There’s no snow on the ground, though some mornings we see a light dusting on the hills across the valley. There’s a distinct possibility that we may be in for a green Christmas—crazy, given the snowpocalypse that occurred in early November. The snow will return, and stay for a while, all in good time.  For now we enjoy the respite.

Meanwhile, the first seed catalog arrived this week and I spent a pleasant half hour or so garden dreaming as I browsed through it. We are, indeed, inching closer to spring as well as the solstice.