My Fickle Heart

As 2010 passed into the History books and 2011 rushed in with sunshine and plans for my new garden spot, with a sense of euphoria, I proclaimed to anyone who would listen that I expected this new year to be one of the very best. I imagined smiles on every face and troubles melting "like candy drops". That lasted for less than a week. Then the temperatures plunged. Ugh! After the coldest December in Florida's recorded history, January determined not to be outdone. Temperatures in the 20's, night after night, after night until our entire pond was completely frozen over.

Mind you, I'm from Alaska where we anxiously wait for the lakes and rivers to freeze enough to drive on and across and to spin our trucks in great circles on the ice...but in FLORIDA? My heart was sinking and I found that happy, hopeful new year feeling slipping away.
What are the birds to do?

My birdbaths are frozen solid. The birdhouses are anything but welcoming. Even the squirrels refuse to leave the comfort of their nests and scurry about until high noon.
And at noon, I still found frost on the shaded ground.

But today, frowning (and shivering) as I walked through my frozen yard with the camera documenting the fact that spring was unlikely to come at all, I happened to look up. BUDS! I could hardly believe my eyes. The Dogwood trees are budding.

Even after six weeks of the most incredible cold and killing frosts, these promises of spring appeared almost magically. Suddenly I had hope again. Suddenly I was ashamed of my gloom. And just as suddenly I remembered the often repeated words of my mother, "When you are feeling down...look up".

Now, if I can just keep remembering that throughout this whole year, it might actually be as glorious as I thought it would.