GO OUTSIDE

From one day to the next, life can turn upside down.

Something we can’t see is changing nearly everything and has made us frightened, angry, nervous, stressed, sad, unsure of what will follow.

So it seems both ironic and a relief that outside our doors and windows, it‘s business as usual.

Trees are leafing out, bulbs blooming, flowers opening, grass greening. As in every year and every season, nature provides a comforting, predictable rhythm.

Birds that left last fall are flying back, waking us in the morning with their songs. Turtles are crawling out to sun themselves. Bugs are zipping through open windows without screens.

Just when we think we have no idea what is around the corner, a fern unfurls as always. A camellia blooms just as it did last year. The bark on an oak grows more lichen. Again.

Like us, nature has its challenges too. Daunting cold. Not enough rain. Too much sun, too hot, too soon.

Still, every year, it pushes on.

It feels reassuring to go outside now. Into the garden, into the park, on a walk around the lake or to the edge of the ocean. 

Sunrises are still rosy. Sunsets still blazes of fire.

This unexpected pause in our normal daily routine won‘t last forever. It will end. Lives will change. There will be new starts and new beginnings. Our busy-ness will come back.

Until then, it helps to lean on the natural world.

Sunrise, the most peaceful time in a garden

Buttercup is a spectacular weed

Climbing hydrangea scales a wall

Holly ferns unfurl

Yoshino cherry blossoms are a frothy spring sight

Forest pansy redbuds are lovely little trees

Freshly cut grass smells so good

Camellia season leads us from winter into spring

Native sassafras has the sweetest buds

Azaleas are the spring bouquets in a garden

Autumn fern pops up out of nowhere

Coral bell azaleas make an early debut

A contorted filbert twists its way out of the ground

Japanese quince is another early bloomer