The Rest of March

I don't know of any other month that can so effortlessly contain all the weather types. Shirt-sleeves to Blizzard, this is March in the Cascade foothills.

Two Februarys

Way-too-early buds and blossoms (the daffodil was purchased, but the other blooms came of their own accord), growing grass that had to be mowed, sunshine as well as rain.

Then... suddenly, Winter came. After a season bereft of snow, it came and came and came. And we were glad.

The Rest of February

February was as always, a wet and cold respite. It's hard for me to put into words just how much I love the months of January and February. All is still and quiet and waiting. I adore the peacefulness of the calendar. It is an introvert's dream to not have so many social engagements, no bright sunshine drawing people out of their houses. There is the hope of Spring on the horizon, the watching for early signs of the end of Winter, but it is slow, still, peaceful. The rain hasn't yet become tiresome, the dreary days are comforted by a crackling fire in the woodstove.

And yet... since I started traveling for work, February is also the month of last-minute, of hurry-up-and-finish, of have-I-remembered-everything? Prepping for the Needlework Wholesale Market in Nashville is both fun and challenging. Every year is different. What will people love? What will they pass over in favor of another design? I don't worry about it too much, because the designs I create are purely from inspiration and intuition, with very little thought for trends or past successes. If I don't feel the design in my bones, if it doesn't get me excited in some way, then it gets trashed.

So my February was a strange juxtaposition of busy and still. And it was all good in the end.