Another beautiful morning!

Spring is literally springing up all around. Check out this amaryllis! I was given the kit for Yule by my friend Kathryn. (Isn't the wooden birch pot great?)

I waited until Feb. 2 (Imbolc, the mid-point of winter when the ancients celebrated the returning of the light and the first stirring of the seeds underground) to plant my amaryllis bulb (while planting my intentions at the same time. I also had some friends over for a "Peace Feast" to plant their own seeds of intention in pots of dirt that evening. I plan to begin hosting periodic "Peace Feasts" again; I stopped when my full-time job took over my time and energy. I was laid off the end of January, so now I am able to focus on what I want to bring into my life.).

My amaryllis stayed in our kitchen for the next four weeks -- through February's cold -- and in the beginning of March, I started putting "her" outside in the warm sun (or the quenching soft rain) for a couple of hours a day. Yesterday, I took the first photo of her. This second photo was taken this morning! She has grown at least 1 inch in one day! Isn't that absolutely amazing... imagine how quickly those cells we all diligently drew in 6th grade science of plants and the process of photosynthesis, etc.

I wonder if you had a sensitive enough microphone: could you hear the growth? It is so astoundingly fast, I can't imagine it is completely silent.

Our camellia bushes are covered with buds. Yesterday, not one was open; only a few had a thin lipstick line of pink or rose grinning with promise. Today, there is one bloom opened (just peeking out from behind the garbage can) and lots of lipstick smiles. My heart leaps when I see this. It feels like my joy reverberates with theirs; it feels like a giggle in my chest. How's that for cool?

The sun is blessedly warm; the shade is still chilly, as it should be. It won't be long before I'm griping about the heat. For now, I am thankful for these harbingers of spring.

I'm not used to getting up an hour earlier yet. (I hadn't used up the hour we gained back in the fall!) Paige and I had an early teachers' conference this morning at 7:30. We left the house at 7:15 and the sun hadn't even gotten up yet! Well, with the turning of the year, that will take care of itself. Paige is a junior in high school and now is the time for her to focus on doing her best so she will have a successful year's end. I must remember to be patient!

Have a lovely day.

Peace,

Kate