Gathering Graces 3/1/2019

*Welcome March!  I love these words of William Cullen Bryant as he writes about the coming of March.

MARCH

by William Cullen Bryant

The stormy March is come at last,
With wind, and cloud, and changing skies,
I hear the rushing of the blast,
That through the snowy valley flies.

Ah, passing few are they who speak,
Wild stormy month! in praise of thee;
Yet, though thy winds are loud and bleak,
Thou art a welcome month to me.

For thou, to northern lands, again
The glad and glorious sun dost bring,
And thou hast joined the gentle train
And wear’st the gentle name of Spring.

And, in thy reign of blast and storm,
Smiles many a long, bright, sunny day,
When the changed winds are soft and warm,
And heaven puts on the blue of May.

Then sing aloud the gushing rills
And the full springs, from frost set free,
That, brightly leaping down the hills,
Are just set out to meet the sea.

The year’s departing beauty hides
Of wintry storms the sullen threat;
But in thy sternest frown abides
A look of kindly promise yet.

Thou bring’st the hope of those calm skies,
And that soft time of sunny showers,
When the wide bloom, on earth that lies,
Seems of a brighter world than ours.

*The roads were clear all the way to Coeur d’Alene and back and I was very thankful.  I had some shopping to do at a few places, so I was glad it was smooth sailing driving over. 

*The dahlias I grew in my backyard last summer were some of my favorites.  Costco had a good price on a bag of 10 dahlias bulbs, so I bought two bags for me, and one for Christy, who had expressed interest in growing them this summer.  She had texted me while I was in CDA and said she had bought me some sunflower seed packets today as well.  I am starting to get spring fever!!  As the poem above says, “For thou, to northern lands, again The glad and glorious sun dost bring, And thou hast joined the gentle train And wear’st the gentle name of Spring. “

*After I arrived home I drove up the St. Rita’s to pick up my Barn Quilt.  Here is a picture of the final product.  It is two feet x two feet.  My plan is to hang it on the fence to the left of the garage where I will plant my sunflower seeds.

*The six classes I taught this evening all went very well.  I had this little four year old in a Level Two class that was unbelievable.  She could read, and rattle of numbers and letters, and had the sweetest mom sitting next to her.  She was a lot of fun!