Sunday, May 21, 2017

Spring Sprung a Snowstorm

We were hammered last week as the sky darkened and snow fell for almost 36 hours.  I have never seen so much snow.  Our fence was buried and we had snow sculptures on everything sitting in the yard.  BBQ sculptures.  Birdhouse sculptures.  Bird feeder sculptures.

BBQ Sculpture
The trees were gorgeous with laden branches and pristine snow around them.  Dixie quickly took care of that as she dashed around enjoying being a "snow-dog."  The downside was loss of the Internet and since our phone is Vonage, an internet connection, we were incommunicado.  How dependent we are on the Internet.  It is wonderful, but also a chain.  What do you do when you don't have the Web?   Sew!  That worked until I ran out of thread and there was no way I was going down the winding, slippery, mountain road to get a spool of thread.  I wasn't even going into our little town, which is only one mile away.

The African violets know it is Spring, but someone forgot to tell the weatherman.
I took pictures.  I shoveled snow.  I dug a path to my sewing storage shed and hauled in some more fabric to fold.  I made bread.  I straightened out some of the messes on my computer.  I watered my new airplants.  Truly, if you get creative, you can find plenty to do and still enjoy the snow.  It is so beautiful.  I do worry about the little swallows and nuthatches that have nested in our big birdhouse, but is hasn't been very cold, only enough to turn a lot of rain into snow.  Now the sun is out and I am sure it will melt away quite fast...unless more is on the way.

Deck Sculpture
I read an article in the latest "Discover" magazine about how our brains need solitude, meaning time without analytical, technical thinking.  Some call it "flow," others call it daydreaming, and I call it free motion thinking.  I do this most mornings as I lie in bed waking up.  I don't have to get up until I want to, but am usually out of bed by 6:30.  My mind wanders around when I am walking the dog or shoveling snow.  I do it when I don't have the Internet.  It is a time for letting your thoughts go where they want to, even to bizarre places, but it is a time when creative ideas seed the other part of thinking, which is the part that puts the pieces together.  It is important to use both kinds of brain work to stay balanced.  Your brain needs go off to strange places sometimes.  You are not being lazy, you are maintaining mental health and fostering creativity.

Birdhouse
 Sew a happy seam this week.  I give you permission to relax and do some free motion thinking.

A little bit of whimsy.
(Ancient birdhouse on driftwood with white, snow hat
)

9 comments:

  1. Oh my. We've had SO much snow this winter, and it's now causing flooding problems, that I can see the beauty in your snow but am extremely thankful that we didn't get near that much around here last week. Spring is amazing, isn't it?

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  2. Thank goodness the snow will melt quickly - enough already! Mornings are my favorite time to let the mind wander, though I don't get to do it often enough as I hit the pool by 5:20.

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  3. Hi Mardi,
    WOWEEEEEE. That is a lot of snow. I live near Chicago, which had NO SNOW in January and February. Can you even imagine that?!! I am glad we didn't get a surprise like this in May. WOW. And no internet - I'll just bet you got a lot accomplished until you ran out of thread. Darn it. ~smile~
    Roseanne

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  4. That is a boatload of snow! At least it looks fluffy (and it's pretty from afar).

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    1. Unfortunately spring snow tends to be wet and it was. I was very hard to shovel because it was so heavy. However, with warmish weather (considering snow and all) it is melting fast. Looking forward to getting back to the garden.

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  5. Surprise! :) The snow looks beautiful and it sounds like you had a lovely day dealing with it. I love those kind of days - lots of snow, no internet, and in my case no T.V. Everything seems so quiet when there's that much snow. Free motion thinking. I like that a lot and need to do much more of it! Thanks for sharing your lovely pictures on MCM!

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  6. oh my goodness but so beautiful- very pretty violets

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  7. How right you are....I wonder if I could unplug for a whole day? Sounds great and calming....Thank you for sharing such beautiful pictures and your positive attitude!

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  8. I love having a whole day to play in the studio, but I sure don't need snow in May.
    Your pictures are terrific!

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