April is the cruellest month ... mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. ~ T.S. Eliot
God said to Job: "You value your patience well. Consider now that I gave you that patience." ~ Rumi
T.S. Eliot wrote that "April is the cruellest month," and spring is more often thought of as a time for planting (and waiting) than a time for harvesting. But in these last days of April, we have spent a lot of time appreciating the abundance of spring. Multiple cuttings of asparagus, rhubarb, and mint have graced our plates and our cups. These three seem to grow an inch a day, each in their own way: the asparagus spears breaking ground and shooting straight up; the mint proliferating in unexpected places; the rhubarb branching out with its green-pink stalks and leaves.
Even though there is a lot to harvest, there is still a lot to wait for. We have pinched off the frostbitten strawberry blossoms and now wait for the fruit. We see our lavender irises forming buds and anticipate their sweet smelling, delicate flowers. We see the sycamores coming into leaf and look forward to the shade they will offer by mid-summer. Seeds are planted and germinating in the ground; we water them and watch for the evidence of emerging seedlings.
Spring is both a time of busy-ness and wonder and a time that requires patience and persistence. It's a time to work hard to get ready and then sit back and watch. It's a time to drive with the windows down and enjoy the scenery, as expressed in the lyrics to one of our favorite new covers, "II Most Wanted": "Making waves in the wind with my empty hand / My other hand on you." And, of course, it's a good time to sing (and, sometimes, whistle) while we work and wait! <3
peace and love ~ Vicki and Dean
We are sodden in bodiness,
where the clearest sign of
grace is that from dung comes flowers ...
The ground's generosity takes in our compost
and grows beauty! Try to
be more like the ground. Give back better. ~Rumi
p.s. The night after we first published this post, it rained, and in the morning, we woke up to see this 💜:
with each spring day, a new story ~ Rumi
Love, The Villones
