Results of the #Shortdays Challenge

At the beginning of November, I started a #shortdayschallenge on Instagram. The purpose: to increase my appreciation of the blessings of each day--even through the coldest, shortest days. I wanted to avoid my common habit of wishing the winter away, which can mean missing out on little pleasures and living in a sour state of mind for weeks on end.

Did it work? For the most part, I would say yes, posting about a special thing each day helped me better appreciate the season. Admittedly, this particular winter with its deep polar vortex and erratic temperature and weather changes has been tough. But the #shortdayschallenge did help.

Now that the challenge is completed, I'm cutting back on social media for a
bit--not an official break, but a slowdown. I have some good reasons.



One reason is this little fellow--our new little cockapoo puppy, Nicholas. He's really smart and he's catching on quickly to all things puppies need to learn. I'm trying to savor the time with him as a puppy. It will pass too fast.



Also, I need to get going with some seed-starting! Spring will be here before we know it, and I hope to have some healthy starts to plants for the potager garden. Other family events are keeping me busy, too. So, I apologize for not being as attentive with visits and comments on your posts for a few weeks. Time to prepare for the growing season ahead!

My #Shortdays Challenge

Are you on Instagram? I'm finding it's a fun platform for sharing the simple little pleasures of life.

To encourage myself to appreciate every day instead of wishing away and crabbing my way through the winter, I started my #shortdayschallenge on Instagram. I'm challenging myself to post one special thing every day, from November through February.

Feel free to join in! I'd love to follow you on Instagram, too. My handle is @plantposter. What's yours?

It's amazing how special each day is when we make an extra effort to see and appreciate the simple gifts around us.

Vignettes at the Solstice

I forced myself to get outside yesterday and take a short hike at a local park. I'm so glad I overcame inertia, laziness, and endless excuses, because it really was quite a beautiful day: 45F (7C), sunny skies, and no wind. Those days are numbered until next spring! No snow here yet, so the colors of the landscape are nuanced and mostly shades of gray and brown.

But there are always plenty of opportunities to notice nature's vignettes. Thanks to Anna at Flutter & Hum for hosting Wednesday Vignettes!



Where there's moss there are tiny forests of lush green growth.





Before and after buds ... evidence of rabbits?



With a largely brown and gray landscape, bright colors pop, like the Redosier Dogwood (Cornus sericea) and the blue sky.



Oh yes, the blue sky!



The nearly thawed pond soon will be frozen solid and covered with snow. Yesterday, however, it seemed like early spring, and the angled sun captured trees, dried stems, and grasses in magical ways.

After a little exercise on such a comfortable day, I felt energized and grateful to be alive. Not really ready for winter, but aware of and thankful for all the little blessings of each day.

Happy solstice!

November's Gratitude

'Give thanks

for each new morning

with its light,

for rest and shelter

of the night,

for health and food,

for love and friends,

for everything

thy goodness sends.'

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Lessons in Awe and Wonder

On a royal-blue-sky day in late May, a House Wren trills its energetic song of joy. Cottonwood seeds float their fluff on the afternoon breeze, sparkling as they capture the dappled sun/shade filtering through the Oak canopy.

A familiar Black-Capped Chickadee lands on a branch above the pond--an arm's length from where I sit. A blonde Eastern Gray Squirrel scolds me from a crook of the Redbud tree, while a young child's voice in the distance calls happily for "Daddy!"



In the front garden, three healthy American Robin chicks have just left their nest, the same day a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird now sits atop a new nest of avian wonder.

All these tiny "miracles" and many more prompt my quiet prayer of thanksgiving for the beautiful gifts I'm witnessing. And then a butterfly--an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail--flutters across the field of vision, as if on cue from the director of a feature film, at the perfect timing for full effect.



This spring has been a season of yo-yo weather and a whirlwind of personal and professional challenge and accomplishment. It was a busy gardening season, ushering in great promise for the months ahead. But these brief moments of garden reflection are the big payoff. They can't be learned in a textbook, nor earned through heavy labor. They're free and available for all of us, if we only take a little time to notice.

These are my moments of awe and wonder. They leave me breathless and filled with great joy.

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How about you? Did you learn new lessons or experience moments of wonder this season? Welcome to the "Garden Lessons Learned" meme. To join in, simply write a post or share one you've already written about lessons you've learned during the past season. Then share your links or simple observations in the comments. I'll keep this post up for a few days, and it will be available always under the Lessons Learned tab at the top of this blog.

I'll share your "lessons" posts on the PlantPostings Facebook Page closer to the solstice.

Happy summer to friends in the Northern Hemisphere, and happy winter to those in the Southern Hemisphere!

The Last Perfect Day Before Winter

For this perfect day, my only option was to swing wide the windows and steal little moments of nature's glory.

Projects, dirty dishes, dinner, Facebook, unanswered emails ... all waiting.

But I delayed ...



Dawdled on the front porch glancing at the green Maple that will soon be amber,



No longer denying that the Honey Locusts are proclaiming autumn.

Listened to the last cricket songs of the season,

Snapped mediocre photos with my phone, too enchanted to try to capture perfection with a better camera ...



And toasted a most excellent summer, and the last perfect day before winter.