T. S. Eliot who famously wrote April is the cruelest month did not live in Vermont, where we have much crueler seasons. Like January.
Yesterday, on my way from work to a grant-writing workshop, I returned home and changed from a sundress to jeans and sweater (again), but the robins are under the trees, wrenching out live worms. Daffodils splash.
Take what goodness you can get: I hold this as a mantra of single motherhood, but that’s likely my own solipsism. Vermont spring, while inevitably snowy in places, is a ubiquitous joy.
The workshop was held on the second floor of a gorgeous community art center, where I admired the artwork and the particularly pleasant shade of lavender on the walls. Last year, I was knocked out in the final round of this competitive grant; this year, I partook liberally of their snacks and chocolate, a kind of boon.
In this State 14, my daughter’s rock garden appears.
There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.
— Wendell Berry
Stony Soil Vermont 
Good morning. Pale moon this morning on the dog walk gave way to warm sun on my back as I returned home to the little village. Daffodils, greening fields, pussy willows, and—finally—forsythia! It’s hard not to love it after all the waiting. I hope your nights are awash in peeper song. Good for you on the grant workshop!
Yes to peepers! Crazy the other night. Couldn’t be a sweeter song…. Enjoy that forsythia 🙂
Nice Wendell Berry quote. Thanks for selecting and sharing, as this nugget could have gotten lost in his voluminous works.
No lack of great Wendell Berry quotes — that’s for sure. The opening of the garden season always seems like an apt time to revisit this mighty writer and farmer. Glad you liked these lines!