Springtime. At last.
But first, before the Spring Equinox arrives, it’s …
SAINT PATRICK’S DAY.
On March 17, here in the United States we take time out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. And so, in this post I’d like to honor my Irish grandmother, Norah Mary Sheehan Cromarty.
Grandpa’s second wife
Sadly, I was never able to meet her. In fact, I’ve never even seen a picture of my paternal grandmother. After my grandfather died, his second wife made a big bonfire and burned all Norah Mary’s photos. Go figure! My mom arrived just in time to save my dad’s baby picture and nothing more. (If I had a habit of swearing or of strangling people, my grandpa’s second wife would be at the top of my list.)
Despite Grandma Norah Mary’s absence from my life, I consider her one of my main inspirations as a writer. It all started one sunny day when I was just beginning to learn the craft of writing. I was sitting on the lawn at the University of Washington when suddenly it occurred to me that my grandmother was born in the land of famous authors. That afternoon I went shopping and bought a bright green dress. That dress survived many trips through the washer and dryer, and it gave me courage for years of writing.
So here’s to St. Paddy’s Day and the wearin’ of the green.
THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING, MARCH 20.
Now I’d like to share with you some photos of approaching springtime and some favorite quotes.
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”
— Anne Bradstreet
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”
— Hal Borland
“Happiness is like a sunbeam, which the least shadow intercepts, while adversity is often as the rain of spring.”
— Chinese Proverb
“When spring comes the grass grows by itself.”
— Tao Te Ching
“All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar.”
— Helen Hayes
“I stuck my head out the window this morning and spring kissed me bang in the face. ”
— Langston Hughes
“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”
— Doug Larson
“Spring is a heart full of hope and a shoe full of rain.”
— Unknown
“If spring came but once a century instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake and not in silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change. ”
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Most of the preceding photos were taken last week while I was taking a walk near my house.
Such a beautiful collection of photos and quotes! However, I am not sure if I agree with Hal Borland when he said ‘No spring skips its turn.’ I think Taiwan may be an exception!
I have 100% Irish roots [all my ancestors moved to Canada from Ireland] and I have celebrated St. Patrick’s Day since I was just a young child.
I guess Borland never lived in Taiwan.
Thank you for sharing your lovely spring blooms! Can’t wait until we have more of those here.
It won’t be long, Suzicate. It happens so fast once they start popping out.
Such a lovely tribute to spring as well as your never-met grandmother.
Thank you, Paddy.
Wonderful share, Nicki! Love all those spring blooms.
Once they get started, it’s amazing how fast things start blooming, something new every day.
How thankful I am that spring never skips its turn. Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos, Nicki. Spring has really sprung in your area.
More flowers and leaves every day, Jill. Today it’s raining, though.
Love the pictures and the “shoe full of slush!” Loathe your step-grandma.
Even though I live in SoCal and it’s not as though we really suffer a cold winter, my freesia doesn’t seem to know this. Thanks to December rains, it has sprung forth in insane overabundance:
“Look at me and rejoice! Aren’t you glad our miserable winter of the occasional 50 degree night is FINALLY over?!”
Ha, ha! You even have less to complain about than we do. My son-in-law from New Jersey thinks we don’t have seasons here. But we all do, each in our own ways.
beautiful Nickie. Thanks for the hope.
Hi Barb. It must be getting better by now in VT. My daughter in IN says her snow is all gone.
Spring has sprung much earlier for you in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Ahhhh, it will be here soon enough. And what a loss, Nicki, what a terrible loss of your family photographs.
It is a big loss, Barbara. I didn’t think about it when I was younger. Now my sister, our cousins, and I long to see how our grandma looked.
Lovely spring photos! I am ready for spring.
I have some big Norwegian maple trees outside my living room window, and every spring these cute yellow-green balls form all over them almost overnight. The first year I lived here I thought they were new leaves. Then I looked more closely and realized they’re blossoms. We have the same trees up and down my street, and for a few days until the leaves come out, the trees in the neighborhood are covered with yellow-green polka-dots.
Love your photos! So glad spring is on the way.
Some friends of mine throw a huge St. Patrick’s Day party on the Saturday before St. Patrick’s Day every year which I attend. So much fun!
I’m jealous. I wish I had friends who threw a huge St. Patrick’s Day party every year. Wait! I could do that. Maybe next year.