Sunday Thoughts ~ About March

“March ~ unfurling petals, the breathless warmth of the shy sun, soft chirps, lightness on your feet spreading into your soul, the sweet scent of blooming, clear droplets, lush of green, the wonder as the world unwraps itself anew.” ~ unknown

Good Sunday morning, sweet friends.  We have beautiful blue skies this morning and I hope you do as well. 

In years past, the month of March has not been a favorite of mine.  If you have never lived in the south, especially along the coast, you most likely will not understand the term, ‘horizontal rain.’ It is rain that comes heavy, in horizontal sheets,  and will soak you to the bone in a matter of seconds.  The Virginia coast has an abundance of such days during March.  So, I came to the conclusion the only good thing about March was our many family birthdays and daffodils.  However, for the most part, the mountains keep such unpleasant things away from us.  Which, makes me happy to once again say, “March is a welcome sight.”  This year, she arrived with blue skies and a symphony of bird songs.  Clearly placing her in my good graces.

“Snowdrops:  Theirs is a fragile but hardy celebration. . .in the very teeth of winter.” ~ Louise Wilder

The first of many blooms which come to remind us of the magnificent beauty about to unfold are snowdrops. . . and ours are blooming!  I checked them a few weeks ago before the snow.  They were up about three inches.  Then, they were under considerable snow and endured several bitterly cold days and nights.  And, today they are blooming.  Wow, isn’t nature grand?  It seems as though I have more appreciation than usual for the smallest of things about to appear on this earth.  I believe COVID has been a stern teacher of appreciation for the gift of life, nature,  beauty, and celebrating these things.  Certainly, snowdrops are a celebration.  A few of them in a tiny vase are a delightful welcome on a cold spring morning.  I enjoy keeping them on the kitchen window sill.

“March brings breezes loud and shrill, Stirs the dancing daffodil…” ~ Sara Coleridge

March brings us the brilliant and dazzling daffodils. Would spring even seem like spring without them?  They are certainly a marvelous feast for our eyes after a long winter.  We are promised blue skies, sunshine, and warm temperatures this week, so many of our daffodils should open.  Namely, the King Alfred daffodils (photo above) which are mostly on the east side of our home.  Many other varieties are just peeking through the soil.  A few years ago I wrote a lengthy post about daffodils and at the end of the post, I listed several reliable sources from which to order unique and beautiful bulbs.  Should you be interested, visit here.

 

“March came in that winter like the meekest and mildest of lambs, bringing days that were crisp and golden and tingling, each followed by a frosty pink twilight which gradually lost itself in an elfland of moonshine.”  ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery

March truly is a wondrous month.  There are precious and fascinating things happening. Lambing season begins in late January, and by April most new lambs are on the ground.  Lambs are so sweet and playful.  As they grow and leap in the air, we are reminded of how very dear life is.  If you know of a farm close to you that has sheep, take a country drive, park your car and prepare to be entertained.  Lambs can put on quite the show.

Sitting in the sunshine, it is also a joy to watch the little birds as they carry straw to build their nests.  They seem so happy and we never hear them complain about their work.  It is amazing to actually examine a bird’s nest and see how tightly it is woven, by such gifted master builders.

There is so much to see while enjoying a wee rest in nature. For instance, to see a courting pair of cardinals with the male feeding the female.  This is part of their courtship ritual and he appears to be kissing her.

“By March, the worst of the winter would be over. The snow would thaw, the rivers begin to run and the world would wake into itself again.” ~ Neil Gaiman

Elizabeth Lawrence told us, “We must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.”  I also believe she would have wanted us to take time to sit and watch the buds burst forth into their exquisite beauty.  I am comfortable in saying this as she was an internationally known garden writer and according to House and Garden is among the top twenty-five gardeners of all time.  She obviously had a great appreciation for the wonders of this world.

Dear friends, thank you so much for your visit and I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts ‘About March.”  

Know I wish you and yours a splendid day.

And . . .

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road all the way to your door.” ~ Irish Blessing

 

 

“March is the month of expectation, the things we do not know. . .” ~ Emily Dickinson

Amour,

Sandra

 

 

 

Images: via tumblr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22 thoughts on “Sunday Thoughts ~ About March

  1. Beautiful Sunday post Sandra. I always looked forward to March while live in NC. Winter would just drag by. But now that I am here in southwest Florida, it seems the winter flew by! Have a lovely weeke ahead.

    1. Winter seemed to pass quickly this year for us as well. However, you have spring and summer every day now. Happy day and week, Penny.

  2. Good morning Sandra, this is such a lovely post to greet a beautiful Sunday. Spring is really coming to life in our Appalachian Foothills. Japanese quince is in full bloom along with the daffodils happily dancing in the wind! I always look forward to your images and sentiments each Sunday. Thank you for sharing your gifts. Wishing you and Michael a lovely week!

    1. Good morning, Pam. I know your part of the world is really beginning to bloom. I don’t want to be over-anxious about the gorgeous blooms this year. I want to enjoy each and every one.
      Thank you, Pam, for your kind words and encouragement, they mean so much. Wishing you and your beautiful family a beautiful day and week ahead. ❤

  3. I am absolutely thrilled with discovering each and every little sign of spring, my favorite season, and your photos capture all that. This past week I saw my first blooming daffodils in the neighborhood, along with full blooming hellebores. The trees have faint red and green tints to them with leaf activity, and the buds are visible on the Bradford pear, forsythia and lilacs. All this after a very ferocious start in our region with local flooding on Monday. It was scary, esp for one family member who saw waters rise in his yard! Thankfully, he was spared water in his home, unlike surrounding neighbors. Cheers to a more temperate week coming!

    1. Good morning, Rita. I thought of you and your family as I saw the heavy rains and storms in your area. I know water can be scary and I am thankful your family and their home were safe. It is hard to believe the weather is so different where you are, as we are only about 2 hours away. We had a shower or two. However, things here are certainly looking like spring. And the world will be better when it arrives.

      Have a lovely week ahead with blue skies.

  4. Happy Sunday, Sandra! Your photographs, words , and sentiments are beautiful. Those snowdrops are so pretty. My daffodils are starting to peek up through the ground. I transplanted them last year from my grandparent’s home, and I was so scared with our terrible winter weather that I had lost them. My mom remembers planting them when she was a little girl in the late 50s with my grandfather. They were actually transplanted from her Aunt’s garden. It is amazing to think how long they have been around! I hope you have a most blessed week ahead! Take care, sweet friend!

    1. Good morning, Shannon. Thank you for your kind words. Daffodils are tough and they can take considerable cold. It will be interesting for you to see them bloom and what variety they are. We moved some daffodils from my husband’s grandparents’ farm. When they bloomed (2nd year after planting) they were a variety called ‘Rip Van Winkle’. An heirloom variety and a beautiful double. There are many heirloom varieties that are so pretty. Yours probably is too, considering the history. Which, of course, makes it so special. Wishing you a lovely week, sweet friend. Stay well.

  5. Oh my, your earlier post on daffodil info is marvelous! Thank you for having put all that work into compiling it. I saw so many kinds and even particular names that we had at our previous home of 26 years. I had a darling clump of the Pheasant’s Eye and had gotten into the split cup ones the last few years there. Two falls ago here we planted hundreds but bought them from John Schepler (spelling?) and I was very disappointed that they weren’t nearly as nice as all the ones I bought from White Flower Farm at our other house. Perhaps they’ll do better this spring.

    Your snowdrops are beautiful! And I love all your March excitement, I share it too this year. And I do so love Elizabeth Lawrence! I have two of her garden books but one memory keeps floating through my mind. I am positive that decades ago I read an article in a magazine where someone had bought a small cottage in NC that once belonged to her and the garden was completely grown over. Can you imagine the joy of uncovering and restoring a garden that had once belonged to her? I know Lawrence’s home is open to visitors in Charlotte now and am wondering if that was the house I saw in the old magazine or if it was in Raleigh.

    I love your Irish blessing and return the wish to you!

    1. Good morning, Dewena. I became acquainted with Elizabeth Lawrence through her book, “No One Gardens Alone.” And then reading about her garden in Charlotte, “Wing Haven.” I also enjoyed reading about her special friendship with Katherine White. Wouldn’t it be amazing to sit and listen to those two ladies talk about gardening? What an education that would be.

      I know your home and gardens must be beautiful with all your daffodils. I ordered from John Scheepers when we lived in Va. and they were beautiful bulbs, although things do change in companies. Like you, I have always had good luck with White Flower Farm and if you are looking for something special, try Brent and Becky’s Bulbs in Gloucester, Va. The daffodil festival is held there every year and it is a marvelous event.

      Dewena, thanks so much for your visit. I think it would also be lovely and enjoyable to sit and talk with you about gardening. Have a beautiful week, hope you are seeing the sun and blue skies.

      1. I would love to listen to those two talk gardening! I have White’s book of her essays on gardening catalogues and a biography of her and E. B.’s marriage. They fascinate me. I’ll write down Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. Sandra, I forgot to tell you that when I looked at my old book on Georgian art that it did mention French Georgian. Evidently Robert Adam’s work was influenced by early Louis XVI period. I’m guessing that’s the same Adams as the famous English Adams fireplaces and mantels but don’t know much about him except that an Adams fireplace is supposed to be a treasure. I had forgotten that my book didn’t cover architecture, just decor but it was interesting to know a little more of French Georgian. Your house is the first time I’d heard the term and I had to google and look at pictures. They are beautiful in such a dignified way and you are so fortunate to live in one!

        1. Hello, Dewena. I was so happy to read your response, that I answered you on my email. I think it went to your email as well. If you don’t have a response from me, let me know and I will resend it. Thank you so much for this information and for your efforts.

  6. We call it “raining sideways” (a cousin to “snowing sideways,” which is worse!). But oh! The images you share here – -my favorite creatures! Cardinals, bunnies, lambs, and of course the flowers. I really do need to plant snowdrops next year if I can find them. What a joyful sign. It’s still brisk here — but it is on the way and I’m so relieved!

    1. Good morning, Jeanie. I imagine snowing sideways is worse than rain sideways. Jeanie, Brent and Becky’s bulbs carry snowdrops if you want to order later this year for fall planting. They are lovely and bloom in the harshest of conditions. It is still quite cold here as well, although we are promised 60-degree temperatures by the middle of the week. Many of the daffodils should open.
      Wishing you a lovely week!

  7. Beautiful post, Sandra, and so uplifting to know that many lovely things will be blooming over the next few months. This winter seems to have flown by– surprises me since we’ve been so house-bound and pretty much bored out of our minds from it. Thank you for the marvelous post on daffodils–see a few varieties I’ll be planting this fall. There are several hillsides near our home, plus many local gardens, that are covered in daffodils each spring, and what a treat they are! We also have a couple farms w/ precious little lambs that are a delight to watch. This week has been bright w/ sunshine and hope for new beginnings , and a greater appreciation for them all. I’ll be bringing out all the spring/Easter decor over the next couple of days–so love all the cheerful pastel colors! Wishing you & Michael a gorgeous spring, one full of answered prayers for better days ahead. Much love.

    1. Hello, Bobbie. Thank you so much for your visit and thoughtful words. I know your part of the world is breathtaking in the spring. It is very pretty here too and the mountains are gorgeous when the wildflowers and rhododendron are in bloom. I will be bringing out spring soon as well. I’ve been thinking of our table for easter. Although, my dried hydrangea arrangement (from our hydrangeas), in a variety of colors, is still in the center of the table and it is hard to think of letting it go.
      I think we all will have a greater appreciation for spring this year. It was a relief to get our first COVID shot and looking forward to the next one.
      Wishing you and your Michael a lovely spring and hope all your days find you under blue skies. Love and Hugs, dear one. ❤

  8. A lovely glimpse of spring here on your blog, Sandra. Although we have warmer weather and the snow is melting, for which we’re most grateful, as yet everything is brown and looking quite weather worn. Yesterday, Rick had the urge to go into the still sleeping garden and trim back a few snow-trodden leaves and old branches from perennials. The secateurs were probably happy too (wink). The non-migrating birds are certainly in full spring mode around here, the Canada Geese have been spotted and heard — a welcome sight and sound overhead.

    I hope you have a wonderful week ahead, and thank you for another beautiful post of photos and accompanying quotes that set our sights on things to come. xo

    1. Hi Brenda, it is good to see you. While it is still quite cold, we are promised warmer days this week. Things are beginning to turn green again and I can barely see a tinge of yellow on my neighbor’s forsythia. Our birds are out and about as well and keeping Mike busy at the feeders. The blue jays are so spoiled that scream if they arrive and their peanuts haven’t been put out. All in all, our garden is still sleeping, but the peonies are ever so slightly peeking through the soil.

      Wishing you a lovely week. Isn’t it wonderful to know spring is really on its way?

  9. You have written about all my favourite things about Springtime, and all so beautifully presented. I love see and reading about these changes that form a pattern that is comfortingly familiar and dear to my heart. It is so nice to be sharing happiness, thank you Sandra.

    1. Hello, Louise. Thank you so much for your kind words. I do so love spring and all the blooming wonders. I often feel sad for folks that don’t enjoy nature and her offerings. It is nice to share things with you, Louise, even if it is virtually. Have a lovely week, my friend.❤

  10. A beautiful post extolling the delights of March. It’s a month that often can’t seem to make up its mind here – is it spring or still winter? The daffodils are beginning to bloom in my garden – the little tete-a-tete variety (excuse the lack of accents). They are such a bright spot in the garden and I am glad I can see them when I’m working in the kitchen.

    1. Good morning, Lorrie. Your area is ahead of ours. My King Alfred daffodils are up with blooms set on them, however, they are not in a hurry to open. I also love the sweet tete-a-tete’s. Ours are up but will be a little while before they bloom. We are to have 70 today and tomorrow and back to cold. March is a fickle month, but she brings hope. Have a great week.

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