Katherine May's Wintering

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
Katherine May

Discovering a new author can be like making a new friend. Katherine May is fluent in the signposts that mark winter as a season in the outer world and in the inner world of the soul.  She is generous is sharing her observations in the everyday and their wider connections. Her descriptions of how it feels to cross the thresholds of winter are delicate and meticulous. I read the last pages while looking over my back yard - which is just beginning to recover from the heavy freeze. An exquisite read.

Unearth

Mary of Bethany, March 2021
made in Mexico

Excavate your heart

unearth your great sorrow and 

scoop up fallen love

Evening Walk

Bumble Bee on Red Clover, March 2021

Undeniably

springtime makes her great return

flower by flower

Palm Sunday

Evening Walk, March 2021

We sing Hosanna

and for just a moment, all

of life is joyous

Towards the Warm Sun

Orange Trumpet Vine, March 2021
Houston, Texas

 

Climbing and curling

orange trumpets turn their faces

towards the warm sun

Baseball Season

 

My son's ball and glove, March 2021

He crosses the field

a mother's prayer is breathed with

the force of pure love

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” ― Theodore Roosevelt

* It was good to share the Roosevelt quote with my son after a particularly rough game this week.

Your Compassion

Passion Vine, March 2021
Buchanan's Native Plants

Your compassion lives

where it's given room to grow

clear my crowded heart

It's all around us

Pink Azaleas, March 2021
Fair Haven UMC

 

It's all around us

on ordinary mornings,

exquisite beauty

A Tiny Dose

Hens and Chickens, March 2021

After daily bread,

a tiny dose of beauty

nourishes the soul 

 

Azalea Trail

At long last I see

what was tended in winter

has come into bloom

                                                         Front Yard Azaleas, March 2021

 

Sunday Blessing

Oak Tree, March 2021

            May love be illuminated in my heart.

            May peace be illuminated in my heart.

            May hope be illuminated in my heart.

            May strength be illuminated in my heart.

            May joy be illuminated in my heart.

            And in yours. 

Love

Jigsaw Puzzle, March 2021

Love is incomplete,

yet we add a piece each day

until we are whole

Until

Bleeding Heart, March 2021
Buchanan's Native Plants, Houston Heights

Until we are whole

let's keep sending tendrils of

hoped-for connection

 

Dreams

Nala, March 2021

After a long walk 

she stretches out to rest and

dreams of chasing squirrels

 

Saint Patrick's Day

Oxalis Pink Shamrocks, March 2014

     

Unlock the back gate

let me rest among shamrocks

and fairy flowers

The Beginning of Blackberries

Wild Blackberries (Dewberries), March 2021

Once the earth decides

to flower and fruit again

there's no stopping her

Your Gift

Misty Morning, March 2021

Welcome morning mist

your gift of silver stillness

wraps my heart softly

Give Me Eyes to See

Spring mornings offer

loveliness at every turn,

give me eyes to see

                                                                Tulip Tree, March 2021

*My neighbor's tulip tree has burst into bloom this week. It only blooms for a short time at the beginning of spring. So happy that it survived the hard freeze. 

Sooner

Barberton Daisies, March 2021

The fullness of joy

might find you earlier than 

you were expecting

Unhurried

Barberton Daisy, March 2021

Refuse to be rushed

spring will coax the coming bloom

un-hurry your heart

 

A Curious Glance

Cedar Waxwing, March 2021
Fair Haven UMC, Houston, Texas

We meet eye to eye

both of us caught in wonder

at one another

*I rounded the corner at Fair Haven UMC for my shift in the food pantry and the bright yellow of his/her feathers caught my eye. We looked at each other for a long moment before moving on.

Coming into Bloom

Watercolor, March 2021

 

Coming into bloom,

how good to have each other

sharing sun and shade

The Husk Falls Away

The husk falls away

with beauty in the falling

a gentle farewell

Tomatillo Husks, March 2021

* I was chopping tomatillos for last night's Posole Verde and was drawn to the beautiful texture of the husks. After dinner I brought them out on the porch to take a few photos. The white background is the cutting board. 

 

Every Now and Then

Half Moon, March 2021

Even the moon longs

to visit the morning sky

every now and then

 

In the Air Today

Talavera Fountain, March 2021

 

In the air today

an unfamiliar birdsong

calls across the pines

I hope she soon finds

someone who can answer back

in familiar tune

* I was walking in the backyard early this morning and there was the sound of a single bird singing, calling out. I had never heard this one before. I searched the pine trees, but couldn't see the bird. I hope she found another one of her kind. I hope we all do.

Come out of your shell

Turtle Gathering, March 2021

Celebrate the warmth

your heart has waited for this

welcome early spring

It Won't Be Long Now

Fire Spike, March 2021

It won't be long now

winter's curls and crumples are

making way for spring

 

Yet to Come

Beaded Hummingbird, March 2021
made in Guatemala

She lends her brightness

to winter's garden, all the

colors yet to come

Welcome

Blue Clematis, March 2021

 

Welcome morning sun

bring your warmth where tender green 

rises to meet you

What Appears

Sago Palms, March 2021

 

What appears as death

is the real work of winter

making way for spring

The In Between

Iron Rock, February 2021

Tell me of breaking

and of healing, but don't leave

out the in between