As Amy said, your posts are always wonderfully thought provoking Sabrina - thank you! For me it’s definitely the seasons...and in fact my love of what I think of as “classic” seasons led me to move across country from California and stay in the eastern US for good! Snow in the winter, blooms in the spring, hot humid weather in the summer, crisp red/orange leaves and apples in the fall, all of them keep me aware and appreciative. And I love the reminder that embracing whatever the day brings rather than wishing it were different (more or less cold/hot, still/windy, etc etc) is the path to enjoyment. Once again, the joy of being present in the present!
Being present in the present! Absolutely! Weirdly, it is currently lightly snowing here on the Island which, while not unheard of, is pretty rare. I can't stop staring out the window as the tiny to medium flakes drift down through the sky, sometimes fast in a flurry, and other times almost like spring blossoms floating on a breath. I can absolutely understand your desire to have the full four seasons every year. Good for you for embracing all of them! Enjoy the 2024 year unfold!
Since I live where the seasons are quite distinct, at least for Winter and Summer (Fall and Spring are just polar opposites, timing-wise) it is sometimes difficult to remember how each played out. In the Winter its big snow years and low years; 2024 is starting out the latter, and, Summers are either hot and smokey or pleasant with only a heat spell or two. After our recent remodel, this year I was able to put the veggie garden back in and had to wage war on the rabbits which we didn't have in the past. Their presence will used as a reference moving forward. Looking at the past I've used the seasons I competed in skijoring, volunteered at World Cup skiing events, hip injury, knee injuries (ACL replacement and nip-tuck cleaning) for the Winter. Summer, bike races that I competed in or organized. On a much grander scale I've used relocations, job changes and the years we've had each of our 9 Bernese Mountain Dogs (over 32 years). It is a good exercise to test your memory looking that far into the past. I try not to dwell too much on the past seasons but always look forward to the future, planning trips and researching the next bike race. I can't control the weather so when its time to plant the veggies then I will. In general, I love the seasons as each has a uniqueness to them and how different they can be; long, short, intense, mild, wet, dry, etc. And I look forward to them as they approach.
I love this chronicle of the ways you measure time Crowell! So appropriate and many layered. And all really important markers of time - major activities, injuries that keep us from participation in loved activities, and of course the people and creatures we nurture and love. Gardens are another great marker- even when our wildlife gets the most benefit! I'm so glad you love it all and what each season brings. It makes for a rich and happy life I think! Thanks so much for sharing!
Another brilliant post. I love the line "I am lucky to love the life I am living, while I am in it." How true and how fortunate we are to say that and appreciate that fact every single day. That's a very big deal.
Here's another line I love, "Having a garden is all about managing hope for the future." How true, especially now when the world seems like it's a worse mess than usual. Tending a garden is one small but not so small thing we can do to pay back our debts and damage and nourish something with love and care.
As ever, your provocative questions provide good fodder to sit down and think.
I measure time by the seasons, not by years, and not by New Years Day which seems an excuse to not having enjoyed every day. I think every day is a new beginning. I remember events and weather to remind me of the seasons, such as those cold, wet days in Plymouth when you had to lend me your off-white down coat so we could go outside or even sit inside. Or the hike in Dartmoor in the $%#$%$%$W snow! Must have been January/February. The memory and the adventure matters, not the year.
Or visiting Martha and John and hiking in Letchworth followed by a beverage on the back deck and being sprawled on the couch in our shorts and T-shirts watching the US Open. Who cares what year(s) that was?
I remember by activities and adventures with friends and family and the weather. That's pretty much all I need to know.
That's very kind of you to say-thank you. And I love your last two lines: 'I remember by activities and adventures with friends and family and the weather. That's pretty much all I need to know.' EXACTLY! I heartily agree!
I just spent the last half-hour enjoying the rare snow falling outside instead of writing these notes back to y'all because: it's SNOWING! A rare occurrence here on our little island. And now we have a new marker for this winter. I won't remember the year, most likely, but I will remember that it snowed, just a little. Not anywhere near the snow we walked through up on Dartmoor, that's for sure! Good memory of that though!
Thank you so much Rebecca. I can imagine you grew up with a very keep sense of the seasonal changes with all kinds of cues from your small holding. I am currently enjoying rare flurries of snow here on the island. Are you getting some over there on the Big Island? ❄️❄️❄️
Seasons! That is it, exactly! Seasons in the garden for me. This season is all about tidying, raking and picking up leaves so I can watch my daffodils push up (yes, they are already doing that). I love prepping beds in anticipation of what the spring will bring and have only just begun cutting back summer’s growth.
There is an urgency this year, as the deer have figured out how to get into the yard. They have been decimating the roses (which now look like bare root specimens) and have mowed agapanthus, alstroemeria, hollyhock new growth and now my emerging scilla down to nubs. I refuse to sacrifice my spring color to the marauders!
Yay for seasons! Sounds like wild critters are invading gardens more and more these years. Good luck keeping the deer at bay and hopefully leaving you some of your lovely flowers!
What beautiful way to think about time! It occurs to me after reading this that I’ve always counted the length of time we’ve lived in this house by the gardening seasons. 🥰
Ahh, I love that Jen! And I love the photos you have shared of your garden too. I covet many Seattle gardens and am looking forward to seeing how they are looking in my daughter's neighbourhood soon! (Probably much greyer than my last summertime visit!)
Like Erin said, I used to measure time by academic year when I was in school. This first time I experienced seasons was when I went to high school: crunching through fall leaves, seeing my first blooming dogwood tree in front of Newhouse, hotter days before the school year ended.
Now, I'm not so sure. I'll have to think about it.
Academic calendars are pretty universal for most of us, aren't they? Now making time to be outside everyday, and to notice the light and the temperature—those things keep me aware of where and 'when' I am. Let me know what you discover!
Seasons alone are all we need, that and mindfulness of each passing moment. I'm of an age now, the downhill slide, where wasting time counting is just that - wasting time.
This last year and what our family had to face has taught us the value of the moment and of appreciating that we have a moment at all.
Here we are in summer and whereas I used to chase the sun frenetically and bemoan every cloud, every windy day (wasting time in such angst), I no longer worry. I just take the day on its merits and think a good hour or two for writing or reading, maybe an hour or two away from the seawinds in the garden, a walk with the Terrier in the seawind to scour my brain and enjoy the sea against my bare legs. Thus has life changed me and I've changed with life.
I think chasing Time is a thing for the young of the world and fair enough. In the end, they too will slow down and appreciate the best of what the world offers.
So thank you for such a perfectly timed post, Sabrina. The sun's shining, the roof is creaking as it expands in the warmth and maybe I'll venture into the sun's beams and see what life offers.
What a beautiful response Prue! Thank you for such a lyrical description of your time stamps. I too used to crave the sun and feel sad when there was one lonely cloudy day. Now I am mainly in a land of ever-changing clouds, and I am growing used to the light and shadows they produce. Still, when we get a sunny day, I HAVE to enjoy it for at least a few hours. Sunscreen on full, and outside we must go! Less panic, more delight! Enjoy your summer season ❤️
Lovely photos! I used to measure time by the academic year when I was young, then by the patterns of illness and injury that change through the year (since I work in healthcare), and now I measure the passing of the year by the garden. Well, mainly so. I'm married to a professor, have children in school, and still work, so the seasons are layered through those lenses.
Thanks Erin! And you are the first person I know to mention illness and injury as an indicator of time passing—how interesting! And it makes such good sense. Now you have a multi-layered way to orient yourself in the year. I like that!
Happy 2024 to you Amy! Glad I helped you think in hopefully a positive way! If you like the music, besides listening to and/or watching the movie, check out Tick-Tick Boom, the story of Jonathan Larson who wrote the book, music and lyrics for Rent, one of the longest running shows on Broadway.
As always, I love your thoughtful posts. After thirty-plus years in Austin, where there are really only two seasons (football and spring football, or summer and hell, depending on how you count them), I moved back to the tiny town where I went to college, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, in part because I really wanted to experience the delights of four actual seasons. Many of my Texas (and California) friends were baffled by my decision, but I loved my five years there. I finally moved back to my native San Francisco in May 2021, and I’m thrilled to be back, but if my kids hadn’t all ended up on the West Coast (two in San Diego, one in Seattle), I might still be in Williamstown.
As Amy said, your posts are always wonderfully thought provoking Sabrina - thank you! For me it’s definitely the seasons...and in fact my love of what I think of as “classic” seasons led me to move across country from California and stay in the eastern US for good! Snow in the winter, blooms in the spring, hot humid weather in the summer, crisp red/orange leaves and apples in the fall, all of them keep me aware and appreciative. And I love the reminder that embracing whatever the day brings rather than wishing it were different (more or less cold/hot, still/windy, etc etc) is the path to enjoyment. Once again, the joy of being present in the present!
Happy 2024!
Being present in the present! Absolutely! Weirdly, it is currently lightly snowing here on the Island which, while not unheard of, is pretty rare. I can't stop staring out the window as the tiny to medium flakes drift down through the sky, sometimes fast in a flurry, and other times almost like spring blossoms floating on a breath. I can absolutely understand your desire to have the full four seasons every year. Good for you for embracing all of them! Enjoy the 2024 year unfold!
Since I live where the seasons are quite distinct, at least for Winter and Summer (Fall and Spring are just polar opposites, timing-wise) it is sometimes difficult to remember how each played out. In the Winter its big snow years and low years; 2024 is starting out the latter, and, Summers are either hot and smokey or pleasant with only a heat spell or two. After our recent remodel, this year I was able to put the veggie garden back in and had to wage war on the rabbits which we didn't have in the past. Their presence will used as a reference moving forward. Looking at the past I've used the seasons I competed in skijoring, volunteered at World Cup skiing events, hip injury, knee injuries (ACL replacement and nip-tuck cleaning) for the Winter. Summer, bike races that I competed in or organized. On a much grander scale I've used relocations, job changes and the years we've had each of our 9 Bernese Mountain Dogs (over 32 years). It is a good exercise to test your memory looking that far into the past. I try not to dwell too much on the past seasons but always look forward to the future, planning trips and researching the next bike race. I can't control the weather so when its time to plant the veggies then I will. In general, I love the seasons as each has a uniqueness to them and how different they can be; long, short, intense, mild, wet, dry, etc. And I look forward to them as they approach.
I love this chronicle of the ways you measure time Crowell! So appropriate and many layered. And all really important markers of time - major activities, injuries that keep us from participation in loved activities, and of course the people and creatures we nurture and love. Gardens are another great marker- even when our wildlife gets the most benefit! I'm so glad you love it all and what each season brings. It makes for a rich and happy life I think! Thanks so much for sharing!
Another brilliant post. I love the line "I am lucky to love the life I am living, while I am in it." How true and how fortunate we are to say that and appreciate that fact every single day. That's a very big deal.
Here's another line I love, "Having a garden is all about managing hope for the future." How true, especially now when the world seems like it's a worse mess than usual. Tending a garden is one small but not so small thing we can do to pay back our debts and damage and nourish something with love and care.
As ever, your provocative questions provide good fodder to sit down and think.
I measure time by the seasons, not by years, and not by New Years Day which seems an excuse to not having enjoyed every day. I think every day is a new beginning. I remember events and weather to remind me of the seasons, such as those cold, wet days in Plymouth when you had to lend me your off-white down coat so we could go outside or even sit inside. Or the hike in Dartmoor in the $%#$%$%$W snow! Must have been January/February. The memory and the adventure matters, not the year.
Or visiting Martha and John and hiking in Letchworth followed by a beverage on the back deck and being sprawled on the couch in our shorts and T-shirts watching the US Open. Who cares what year(s) that was?
I remember by activities and adventures with friends and family and the weather. That's pretty much all I need to know.
That's very kind of you to say-thank you. And I love your last two lines: 'I remember by activities and adventures with friends and family and the weather. That's pretty much all I need to know.' EXACTLY! I heartily agree!
I just spent the last half-hour enjoying the rare snow falling outside instead of writing these notes back to y'all because: it's SNOWING! A rare occurrence here on our little island. And now we have a new marker for this winter. I won't remember the year, most likely, but I will remember that it snowed, just a little. Not anywhere near the snow we walked through up on Dartmoor, that's for sure! Good memory of that though!
Sabrina, this is such a beautiful post - you've given me a much-needed opportunity to reflect on thoughts of home and the seasons. Thank you. 😊
Thank you so much Rebecca. I can imagine you grew up with a very keep sense of the seasonal changes with all kinds of cues from your small holding. I am currently enjoying rare flurries of snow here on the island. Are you getting some over there on the Big Island? ❄️❄️❄️
Seasons! That is it, exactly! Seasons in the garden for me. This season is all about tidying, raking and picking up leaves so I can watch my daffodils push up (yes, they are already doing that). I love prepping beds in anticipation of what the spring will bring and have only just begun cutting back summer’s growth.
There is an urgency this year, as the deer have figured out how to get into the yard. They have been decimating the roses (which now look like bare root specimens) and have mowed agapanthus, alstroemeria, hollyhock new growth and now my emerging scilla down to nubs. I refuse to sacrifice my spring color to the marauders!
Yay for seasons! Sounds like wild critters are invading gardens more and more these years. Good luck keeping the deer at bay and hopefully leaving you some of your lovely flowers!
What beautiful way to think about time! It occurs to me after reading this that I’ve always counted the length of time we’ve lived in this house by the gardening seasons. 🥰
Ahh, I love that Jen! And I love the photos you have shared of your garden too. I covet many Seattle gardens and am looking forward to seeing how they are looking in my daughter's neighbourhood soon! (Probably much greyer than my last summertime visit!)
Like Erin said, I used to measure time by academic year when I was in school. This first time I experienced seasons was when I went to high school: crunching through fall leaves, seeing my first blooming dogwood tree in front of Newhouse, hotter days before the school year ended.
Now, I'm not so sure. I'll have to think about it.
Academic calendars are pretty universal for most of us, aren't they? Now making time to be outside everyday, and to notice the light and the temperature—those things keep me aware of where and 'when' I am. Let me know what you discover!
Yes, yes and yes.
Seasons alone are all we need, that and mindfulness of each passing moment. I'm of an age now, the downhill slide, where wasting time counting is just that - wasting time.
This last year and what our family had to face has taught us the value of the moment and of appreciating that we have a moment at all.
Here we are in summer and whereas I used to chase the sun frenetically and bemoan every cloud, every windy day (wasting time in such angst), I no longer worry. I just take the day on its merits and think a good hour or two for writing or reading, maybe an hour or two away from the seawinds in the garden, a walk with the Terrier in the seawind to scour my brain and enjoy the sea against my bare legs. Thus has life changed me and I've changed with life.
I think chasing Time is a thing for the young of the world and fair enough. In the end, they too will slow down and appreciate the best of what the world offers.
So thank you for such a perfectly timed post, Sabrina. The sun's shining, the roof is creaking as it expands in the warmth and maybe I'll venture into the sun's beams and see what life offers.
What a beautiful response Prue! Thank you for such a lyrical description of your time stamps. I too used to crave the sun and feel sad when there was one lonely cloudy day. Now I am mainly in a land of ever-changing clouds, and I am growing used to the light and shadows they produce. Still, when we get a sunny day, I HAVE to enjoy it for at least a few hours. Sunscreen on full, and outside we must go! Less panic, more delight! Enjoy your summer season ❤️
Lovely photos! I used to measure time by the academic year when I was young, then by the patterns of illness and injury that change through the year (since I work in healthcare), and now I measure the passing of the year by the garden. Well, mainly so. I'm married to a professor, have children in school, and still work, so the seasons are layered through those lenses.
Thanks Erin! And you are the first person I know to mention illness and injury as an indicator of time passing—how interesting! And it makes such good sense. Now you have a multi-layered way to orient yourself in the year. I like that!
You always make me think. Thank you. Plus, I just downloaded "Seasons of Love". Thanks for that too! Happy 2024!
Happy 2024 to you Amy! Glad I helped you think in hopefully a positive way! If you like the music, besides listening to and/or watching the movie, check out Tick-Tick Boom, the story of Jonathan Larson who wrote the book, music and lyrics for Rent, one of the longest running shows on Broadway.
As always, I love your thoughtful posts. After thirty-plus years in Austin, where there are really only two seasons (football and spring football, or summer and hell, depending on how you count them), I moved back to the tiny town where I went to college, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, in part because I really wanted to experience the delights of four actual seasons. Many of my Texas (and California) friends were baffled by my decision, but I loved my five years there. I finally moved back to my native San Francisco in May 2021, and I’m thrilled to be back, but if my kids hadn’t all ended up on the West Coast (two in San Diego, one in Seattle), I might still be in Williamstown.