Resolving to stay healthy in the new year, James and I are pulling on our winter boots and getting outside to walk around our property, regardless of the weather!

And in the process, Winter and I are getting better acquainted and I am once again enjoying this wildly unpredictable, bi-polar season of the year! My previous perception of Old Man Winter was prejudiced, determined by the snow storms that interfered with my schedule and the salty slush that messed up my floors; I’ve rarely chosen to experience, much less enjoy, Winter.

Recently, however, James and I are crunching through ice-crusted snow or squelching through snowmelt–often in moonlight–tracking Orion’s climb across the heavens, passing beneath the rustle of wind-tossed Pines, and running up the rise to stand breathless and awed under the stars. By allowing myself to experience–and be OK with–biting cold and slippery surfaces, I am beginning to recognize and appreciate the beauty in this harsh, bone-numbing season–in the naked tree-silhouettes against the sky, the lonely cry of a hawk rending the silence, the whoosh of ice crystals against rocks, the diamond-sparkle of fresh snow in sunlight.

Winter slaps me in the face, waking me up to the stark beauty in the landscape, in the overarching sky, in our garden. It makes me feel, notice, hear things I wouldn’t attend to if I were comfortable. Winter reminds me that, in every season, there is unrelenting joy and beauty to discover if I will just go outside with eyes, ears, and heart wide open.

Joyfully contributed by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& exuberant Winter wanderer)

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, “go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.”

~ Lewis Carroll (British author, poet, and mathmetician; 1832-1898)

Maybe?

Shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. (American Baptist minister, activist, and leader in the Civil Rights movement; 1929 – 1968)

On this day, as we remember the life and courage of Martin Luther King, may we be inspired by his example to be bearers of light and love in our own spheres of influence.

Shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (with gratitude for light-bearers like MLK)

He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.

~ John Burroughs (American naturalist, conservationist, and writer; 1837-1921)

Gladly shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& winter wonderer)

A few weeks ago, James came home with several large cardboard boxes and a secretive smile on his face. He was most likely already envisioning the delight potential of the surprise he had purchased and would soon share.

He went right to work outside, somewhere in the vicinity of our back patio and pathway. He came inside well after dark, so it wasn’t until shafts of morning sunlight filtered through our almost-leafless trees that I viewed with amazement the gift: a carpet of soft, emerald green moss under the Japanese Black Pine along the ‘nobedan’ stone path just outside our back door. Awed and speechless, I snapped photo after photo of the radiant, sunlit beauty of that glorious gift!

I wonder at the power of green in a landscape. This one color, in all of its iterations, elicits hope in the springtime, refreshes in the heat of summer, provides a balanced backdrop for autumn’s stunning leaf display, and radiates life on even the grayest, dreariest winter days.

On this winter day, I am grateful for moss, for green, for the thoughtfulness of my gardener-husband who anticipates the delight of those for whom he gardens . . . !

Joyfully shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& gleeful recipient of green garden gifts!)

“Let our New Year’s resolution be this: we will be there for one another as fellow members of humanity, in the finest sense of the word.” – Goran Persson (Swedish politician and former Prime Minister of Sweden)

Wherever your path takes you in 2023, may you walk with gratitude for the gifts all around you and with grace for yourself and others.

Shared by Betty Hanselman

Gardener’s wife (& hopeful New Year grace-giver)