SPRING is here!

 

"Spring drew on. . . . and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps."        ~ Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre ~

Weekend flowers & bunnies 

Black-capped chickadee on front porch 

Grey squirrel on bird bath - Spanish bluebell leaves

If 'Hope" traversed my garden last night she would have perhaps been scared away by 'ghosts!'  Such a very cold night was forecast, 28F.  Concern for plants and shrubs, even the leafing trees, was high. At dusk we went out and covered the hydrangeas in front of the porch, and the peonies which are already showing growth. I keep old shower curtain liners handy for this thankfully infrequent job, they seem to do well . . . . but do appear as ghostly white mounds in the night garden! I whipped them off this morning after the sun had warmed us up above freezing, and thankfully the sun is full and brilliant now and it will soon reach 53F.  One more night of freezing temps and then we'll be over the hump I think. 

Tonight we'll light the last fire. Our hearth served us well as always over winter. Yesterday we started our clean out of the leaves remaining in the front garden beds - we'll be off to purchase mulch soon to freshen them and keep the weeds controlled. As I write the street sweeper truck has driven by - really good to see the cul-de-sac swept clean to welcome the first day of Spring. Wishing you a happy one.

Wearing and eating the green -

 

 Somewhat of a low key St. Patrick's Day here.

Fighting one's way to the bar in the American version of an Irish pub

is hard enough on a regular day, doing it this evening would likely be an act

of futility . . . . . . especially as it will be raining and any outdoor seating

 for the overflow of patrons unpleasant. 

Instead, I made my usual pistachio muffins. They are also perfect

to bake for Easter.

If you would like the easy recipe click below -

 https://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2020/04/bakery-style-pistachio-muffins.html 

where I shared my version before and readers tried and liked.

Sending you good wishes for a fun St. Patrick's Day.

I'm off to don a greenish sweater and my only emeralds. They are set in a

lovely pair of silver earrings, crafted by an English jeweler in my brother's

 French village, far from Ireland, a country we truly love and hope

 to visit again  . . . . .  and where Bob will continue the ancestry search for

 his paternal grandfather's family from County Kerry.

Procrastination. . . . getting tasks done!

Happy tea time to my lovely friend Marilyn - an expert on teas from
 around the world -  who celebrates her birthday today.

A while to go before Easter but getting ready to do just a little decorating.

After all, I have rabbits, eggs, assorted bits and bobs which only come out to play at Easter. The cottage needs a good Spring clean but not until we cease lighting the fire - burning wood makes such a lot of dust. Once this cold spell is over, and the chocolate eggs are a sweet memory, cleaning will be done, along with gardening, both jobs requiring a lot of time and bending . . . . . and I am procrastinating.

I admit to becoming rather lethargic since the start of the year. Procrastination was never really on the list of my temperament traits, well not that I can remember. I've always been a busy person who completed what I started. Temperament refers to personality traits that determine how someone reacts to the world.Quiet or rambunctious? Easygoing or apprehensive? The traits of temperament are mostly innate, we are born with them, but they can also be influenced by an individual's family, culture or life's experiences.There is no right or wrong temperament—we are all unique in our style of thinking and interacting with the world.

I read an article about making one's daily work - and yes, even we retirees seem to have a lot to do - much more complicated and busier that it should be. If you feel you are procrastinating and having difficulty taking action, first sit down and do some deep breathing. Once relaxed, focus your thoughts on what's the most important thing requiring attention today and choose that one task. Get going on that task, perhaps telling yourself you'll just work on it for a few minutes. The good thing is you will most likely keep going much longer once started, you may even complete the entire task and can pat yourself on the back!

As you might have realized, the task for me today, after the other tasks of 

 making soup and baking St. Patrick's Day pistachio green muffins. . . . . .

. . . . . . . .was writing this blog post. 

Now, as I close here, I feel really good.

Of course I did do other things today including -

Pulling weeds along the driveway

Feeding and watering the neighbor's cat 

Writing e-mails

Rearranging flowers

Cleaning out the freezer

Making supper - off to do that right now

If you're up north in New England and digging out my thoughts

 are with you, especially those of you who received up to 35 inches

of new snow yesterday. Dear Jeanne in New Hampshire, we are

thinking of you . . . . . take care, leave that task to someone with a plow!