Breathe In, Breathe Out...Repeat

The wind is relentless, a persistent hair-whipping, tree-rocking, wind-chime conductor's exclamation point to the month of April. I can't recall so many days marked by wind, but it's not surprising after such an unexpected Winter....deep, cleansing breath gusts, exhaling the long frigid nights and piles of snow, inhaling beginnings. Today it's a sun-warmed wind, but rumor has it that the gusts are pulling heavy rain, freezing tempratures and possibly even a smattering of snow behind it. In mid-April. I know it happens, but we have the barest beginnings of rhubarb blushing against the soil; she survived the Winter even though we never quite got around to moving her from pot to ground.

I know Winter can rear its hoary head even into May; I remember joyfully spending one Mother's Day planting tomatoes and basil and zucchini, only to lose it all to a hard frost. But still....the quince buds are tiny, pea-sized kaleidoscopes,

the geese are flying north even by the light of the moon, wrens are singing their sweet dee-Deet-dee-dee-DEE song, and I passed a golden-brown colt walking close to its mama's side as I drove past a stud farm on my way to work Saturday.

Ah, and Saturday! I'm so enjoying my new job, but Saturday required every ounce of will power to turn into the parking lot after a glorious drive. I passed the tiny gargoyle at his lonely solitary post, newly emerged from the snow at the beginning of a long farmhouse driveway. White wraiths of fog drifted off the remnants of last Summer's corn fields shimmering gold in the morning sun. A male ring-necked pheasant posed next to a farm field as if waiting for the next Peterson's Field Guide photographer to discover him. As I neared the Taconics, thick clouds tumbled in the gentle mountain clefts like breaking waves. Dragging my feet towards the library door, I heard red-wing blackbirds and a killdeer. All day long people sang the praises of the beautiful day. It was the kind of day that lets one bask in the unspeakable joy of the Universe. And the kind of day that promises that Spring will finally, truly come. Briefly....until Summer shows up, anyway.

Hello, Everyone!!!!

No, this handsome fellow hasn't taken up residence at our little homestead. He resides at Buckwheat Bridge Angora farm, a fabulously cool place we visited in the wind, rain and fog yesterday.  It was the kind of day that belied any hints of Spring, the kind that has my older son swearing he's going to move to North Carolina and us looking at the dwindling pile of pellets and wondering if there's any chance we can nurse them along for a few more weeks. The pellets we have left are the extra half ton we bought after blowing though the last three tons. I like cold weather and snow, but even the most avid Winter lovers are just....done. 

But there's hope!

Signs of Spring abound, though! The catalpa tree is budding, our garden plans have been drawn and we have dozens of seed packets. We visited a local maple sugaring operation (he even let us each tap a tree!). Fresh greens have hit the indoor  Farm Market,

the chickens are savoring the outdoors and stepping up egg production. Two weeks ago I retired the Winter dishes and pulled out my Spring coffee mug. 

Two of Linda's three hives survived the brutal Winter, and Saturday she picked up 30,000 bees for three new hives. And of course, with Spring comes babies! At the moment we're fostering two litters of kittens, 

both sets with their moms, which makes life so much easier for Linda.

My new job has started, and it's great. The people have been so welcoming, and I'm excited about all the projects underway. Each day is full and diverse, and I've had to hit the ground running, but it truly is all good. Funny thing is, as busy as it feels, it'll be Summer before I know it and that's when we'll really be busy! It's so god to be back in a library, and I don't miss the job I left behind at all. There is an adjustment period as I adapt to a very different schedule. The day starts and ends later, and the commute tacks on even more time. But you know, it's amazing...I go to bed and fall right to sleep instead of tossing and turning; in fact many nights I don't even read before falling asleep. My days off don't whiz by; they're wonderful and I will always wish they could last forever, but I don't look at the clock with shock and dread anymore. 

So life is good. 

Is Spring springing where you are yet (or Fall, for those in the Southern Hemisphere)?

To New Beginnings!

Dear friends in the blogging ether-hi!  I've missed you! It's been a crazy few weeks since my last post. Although we haven't been as Winter-ravaged as some of you, it's been more of a Winter here than I've seen in many years.

That photo was taken back in December, but we have had several more, including a storm this past week that resulted in a perfectly timed snow day. And it's been cold! I honestly don't recall having as many below zero nights and single digit days as we've had this season. We thank the powers that be daily for the wonders of the pellet stove, as do the furred ones in the household.

Got through my busiest time of work, finally emerging from the 13 hour workdays weary and frustrated. And then...it happened! A call I really didn't expect, the culmination of 3 1/2 months of waiting and interviews, process and thought, wishful thinking and mental seesawing. My office phone rang, and on the other end was the voice of my future boss, offering me the hoped-for position! After 7 1/2 years, I'm returning to library work! Some of the work will be familiar and some is branching out in new and exciting directions...working with youth planning, and eventually some community outreach. I've done outreach work before, back in my festival days, but this is will be a different sort. 

I owe alot of love and gratitude to Linda who listened to my angst about what I might be giving up if I was offered and accepted the job; let's face it, libraries have different economic realities than where I've been the last few years, and I've enjoyed a freakish amount of time off at the job I'm leaving behind, between the extended holidays, standard vacation time, Summer Fridays off, and the comp time that came from those 13 hour work days. But Linda--and my family & friends--supported me and reminded me that all those good things came at an exorbitant emotional price that had taken its toll, and that I've missed library work all these years And when that call came, I was stunned and honored, and barely hesitated.

I'm truly excited; the dedication of the army of volunteers is amazing, and I'm mightily impressed by the drive, vision and determination of the library staff and board to serve its small rural community as fully and completely as possible. It may be I've never confessed to you my passion for libraries, the way they put the world at the fingertips of anyone walking through the doors, regardless of income, 'class', social stature, ethnicity, religious or political beliefs. Libraries are both magical and as critical to a functioning society as schools. This will most assuredly be an adventure that lets me feel good about what I do at the end of every day. The new job starts in early March, and I'm working hard to leave my current job ready for someone else to step in.

So that's my big news; I so look forward to checking in on all my favorite bloggers...stay warm; Spring's coming, I promise!