Belonging to Nature

Today I am grateful for my husband Darcy, our son Sam, and the opportunity to prepare some breakfast for them. I am also grateful for some writing in my recliner this morning.

It is good timing to come across this quote when it is early February in Minnesota:

"If we belong to the sun and its warmth, to the bud and the sprout, to the miraculous flower, 

we also belong to the wind, the naked branch, the cold."

(Fabiana Fondevila)

It hasn't been a terrible winter this year, but it has certainly been typical with the ups and downs of temperature and the snowfalls from nuisance ones to plowable ones. We've had a lot of roller coaster weather this winter, which is frustrating, but also welcome.

I would rather have just a couple days of below zero temperatures rather than a two-week stretch of them. But when the temperature fluctuates say 40-50 degrees in less than 48 hours, it is a bit of a challenge.

Our naked tree branches have been adorned with beautiful snow more than once. I have good winter gear and apparel to protect me from the cold wind.  I have eyes that see the changing landscape and the increasing daylight as we head to spring. I am blessed in many ways.

Nature and I have always been friends. I would even call us soulmates, kindred spirits. I welcome the experience of nature's daily shifts, changes, beauty, and surprises, regardless of the time of year.