Thursday, March 20, 2008

First Day of Spring (& Stuff)


And the voice of that wayward song
Is singing and saying still:
"A boy's will is the wind's will,
And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."

My Lost Youth (excerpt)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow




Yes, it’s the first day of spring after a particularly long snow-laden winter - and my thoughts are already turning to summer. Strange that. Very premature.

I think I’d best pause and appreciate all the spring season has to offer before dreaming of the warmth and freedom of those summer months.

And I’ll start with the fact that despite the still existing mounds of snow, I can finally see pavement, brown patches of grass and the basement hasn’t flooded with all that melting snow and recent rainfall.

Hallelujah!

Which is also an appropriate exclamatory remark with Easter fast approaching. (And what’s up with this early Easter date???)

The above “summer” photo (yeah, I’ve meandered back to musing about summer) is of my eldest. Years ago. He is a devoted fisherman of the “catch and release” variety. With him is Bailey – a sweetheart of a dog who is no longer with us. And that is mist rising off the lake – not a photo flaw.

I think of Longfellow’s poem whenever I look at this picture.

I love that phrase, "A boy's will is the wind's will…”

Time to end this post. I’ve gone off on far too many tangents. (Count ‘em – spring, summer, Easter, fishing, dogs, poetry…) Refreshing to do – perhaps not so easy to follow along.

(Does a post have to have a specific point? Are there rules?)

17 comments:

Sherry said...

No "rules" in my book baby -- we say it as we see it -- we write it as we feel it. New motto...oh look, the sun is out -- it IS spring!!! Hooray!!!

(love the mist coming off the water in that photograph!)

megan said...

Aaah, Poke.
Aaah, Bailey.
Aaah, spring.
All are loved and cherished.

Charlotta-love said...

If blogging has rules, please inform me. so I can break them!

oreneta said...

Great post, summer is supposed to meander around.

I LOVE that photo.

Angel said...

no rules in blogging...remember that. If there were rules, I would have broken them a long time ago!! ;)

great picture....does it make you want to go back in time and visit that little boy again?

Ed & Jeanne said...

I just don't know about Easter in March. That's just wrong... Can't they standardize these holidays? Sheez.

Shari said...

It's YOUR blog. Write whatever you want.

When I look at photos. I don't get any verses or songs running through my head. I just think about what was going on when that picture was taken. Great memories, great Kodak moment. :)

Thanks for sharing. I hear you on the spring/summer issue. Just wait, when it's too HOT, we'll be complaining about the heat.....(I'd rather have warmth than cold weather amyway...)

contemporary themes said...

No rules. If there are, I think I've broken them. I just stop writing and put "to be continued" because I got tired.

Love the photo. Love the poem. What a cute boy (is that Ted?).

Happy Spring.

Sherry said...

I'm back...see me stomping...Beth is helping me -- we ARE BREAKING the rules...let's do something totally against who people think we are!!! Whoo hoo!!

Beth said...

sherry:
And we live it how we want to, right?

megan:
So many more on that list...

charlotta-love:
I've decided there's only one rule - do whatever you want. We OWN our blogs!

oreneta:
I LOVE it, too!
And you get to experience two summers...

beth:
You are such a rebel!
And, yes, I would like to go back in time and "visit" all my little boys.

ve:
I think whoever is "in charge" must be a bit of a control freak. Easter in March just doesn't feel right.

shari:
I might complain about the heat - I will NOT miss the snow!

la la:
That's not a broken rule - that's a great literary technique!
(The cute little boy in the photo is my eldest son, Christopher.)

Beth said...

sherry:
You're back! I can "see" you stomping. What other rules can we break? Never mind that, what other rules should we break?
Well, there's that one about being nice and polite to those who drive us crazy - that one has got to go!
(You first...)

Lainey-Paney said...

...oh, I'm so ready for summer too...

...and I love that picture of your son!

Minnesota Matron said...

Isn't this the one off to Europe? Oh my. And I am with you - summer is already on my mind (I'd skip Spring, thank you) and we're slated for five inches of snow tonight. Grrrrr.

Anonymous said...

Beth,
I love that picture, it seems it seems to capture everything that summer and childhood should be. Love it.
I can't wait for summer, the grass to turn green, the flowers to bloom, the warm air blowing off the lake....

As for the blogging rules, there is no such thing.

XOXOXOX

Unknown said...

First day of spring, right. We're supposed to get a half-foot of snow tonight.

By the way, I've sort-of recommended on my blog that you do a meme. Kind-of.

Cipriano said...

Hi Beth.
No, blog-postings do not have to have a point.
This one, yours, is a great one. For instance, I had no idea it was the first day of spring. So, see?
You informed me!
I just want to know one thing.... is that you in the photo?
No, no, not with the fishing pole.
I mean, sitting on the dock there?
[oooohh... them's fightin' words! Am I in trouble?]

Beth said...

lainey-paney:
It is precious - just as all those ones of your little guy are!

minnesota matron:
Within hours of my post, it snowed here. Bah!
(My middle son is in Europe - this is a picture of my eldest.)

eileen:
A boy, a dog and a fishing pole - a perfect moment.

dorky dad:
Sort of...kind of...sounds intriguing. I'll check it out.

cip:
If I was truly a "bitch" (although the figure on the dock is male...) you would be in trouble.
Actually, with only a few semi-incognito photos of me to go by, I'm impressed that you spotted the resemblance!