From Whence I have Come

~ rabbitpatchdiary.com

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It remains unseasonably warm, so much that the flowers meant for March are making their presence known.  There are  reported sightings  of daffodils and hyacinths – and I have seen first hand the spirea.  Today, I saw  a tulip tree in full bloom, as if it were Easter.  Cherry trees are blooming too.  The blue irises are up at the rabbit patch, I have noticed. It is expected to remain warm for another week.  Oh, I fear this is a “false spring”  which will “throw everything off”.  . .only the heavens are not convinced, for the stars remain steadfast in their assigned winter places.

I can not  boast that I am not stirred by these mild days, for I am.  I have put away the winter china.   Though, we have had snow in March, on several occasions, I also put away my collection of gallant snowmen.   . . and it takes all my efforts not to think of pink geraniums.  It seems, I too have fallen under some sort of spell,  and I find, I can not fault  the cherry trees for blooming. 

Today, we had a half day of school.  It will come as no surprise to those who read this diary, that  under such circumstances, I am heading north, to Elizabeth City.  Elizabeth City is  a delightful small town, with all the charm, a town can have.  It is also the where my daughter, Jenny lives with her husband Will and my only grandchild Lyla.  Once Lyla was born, I began strolling with her regularly,  and just fell in love, with the town by the “laughing river”- that others call the Pasquotank.   One of the first things I noticed was the large community of rabbits  living there.  They were a friendly lot and unhindered by the presence a baby carriage, rumbling along the streets.  Not long after Lylas’ birth, I began the “rabbitpatchdiary” , named partially, for the many  inspirational hours Lyla and I spent exploring the small town full of friendly folks . . .  and  rabbits.  Also, Lyla was born on an Easter Sunday and that was the first day, a young dogwood bloomed , the wind had planted years before.  My maiden name “Warren” means literally, “where rabbits live”, so what else could I have named the diary, that made good sense?  This month marks the anniversary of the diary, now two years old.  I hope to mark the occasion with a long meandering by the river, where the rabbits live.

The Afternoon

Not too long after mid day, I had crossed the three rivers and was driving through the quaint Riverside Village.  Little buttercups lined the drive and patches of them bloomed where they could.  The laughing river was still, as if it were dozing in the sunshine.  Shortly after I arrived, Lyla and I were walking the familiar streets.  We were not alone,  as many people were walking dogs or biking.  Birds were out and about in good numbers.  We stopped when we got to the large flat rock by the little bridge and  listened to a pair of doves for a while.  Most of the early bloomers are shades of lavender or pink-but the forsythia is the exception.  The bright yellow bush demands attention with its’ stark contrast of color. 

My grandaddy “Pop”, loved the forsythia, but he called them “goldenrods”.  When I grew up and became a gardener myself, I learned ,what I thought were goldenrods, all of my youth were actually forsythias.  I told Pop, but garden books did not change his mind.  He called them goldenrods   and so now I do too.  I do not see one, without remembering Pop . I missed him today.

Lyla got just as lazy as the river, as we walked.  She stopped waving to cats and dogs, and she stopped informing me of redbirds.  She was asleep, and I noticed a tire on the carriage was almost flat, so I headed back.  

I passed many camellias, who always bloom in February.  Their red and pink blossoms remind me of roses.  I saw a young mother with a new baby sitting on a porch.  She was admiring her baby, and unaware that I had passed.  Later , I saw an older woman, sitting in the sunshine, with her face turned up, to the sun.  She too, looked so content.  Contentment is a high commodity, and maybe the  most desirable attribute to aspire for, as my dear friend “Cobs”, recently spoke about.  Contentment seems to settle in the heart, and is not governed by moods nor events.  Contentment remains steadfast, in spite of circumstances, which are bound to change, at some point.  Contentment is most often quiet, and can cause you to hum, as you go along, quiet streets in a village . . . by a river. 

I have written all of my life.  Only, the last two years have I kept a “public diary”.  I am not stirred to write about causes or current events.  It is not my “calling” to inform or “set records straight”.  I am not so lofty as to have solutions to world problems, though I think about such things, with a heavy heart.

  I collect  encounters with natural beauty- and recipes .  I share memories of growing up in a simpler season and always, the difference that being loved has made.  For just a little while, amidst the chaos of modern times, I encourage readers to dwell on subjects like hyacinths and laughing rivers, rain and redbirds.

I believe, as Tennyson, that “More things are wrought by prayer, than this world dreams of.”   I am also prone to wish on dandelions and the first star. 

   

Thank you to all who read my accounts and inspire me to seek beauty and peace. . .  To celebrate something daily, and to keep my heart grateful. . .to live with less and yet have “more” . . .and to love, generously  . . . you have only increased my Faith and given me “something to write home about”  in my beloved, Rabbitpatch Diary.”   love, Michele

 

 

 

42 thoughts on “From Whence I have Come”

  1. Congratulations on your two-year blog anniversary!! What a blessing this has been to me! I enjoy your posts a great deal. As soon as one comes on my screen, I’m sure my blood pressure goes down. You and your writings are delightful.

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  2. That was very beautiful. Thank you. On a cold, dreary, rainy day – it brightened my spirits. I have a granddaughter, Mackenna who just turned one. I look forward to many magical days like you experienced. Thanks again, and take care.

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    1. Hi Peter-we ought not to have flowers here yet either, but this warm spell has everything fooled. Usually it is April before things bloom-so I am concerned that a cold snap may rob us of many tender blossoms. We will see! thank you and best wishes!

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  4. Don’t we hope the early Spring last awhile. it is here too but like you I am afraid winter isn’t finished just yet. Only time will tell but God’s word does tell us things will get mixed up and backwards and upside down. But…we can rejoice in the early taste of a seasonal change. I know you enjoyed the weekend with Lylia..May there be many more for you .xoxo to the Rabbit patch

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  6. Congrats on your two years Michele! The time just flies by doesn’t it? I love the Tennyson quote “More things are wrought by prayer, than this world dreams of.” because it is so very true. Thank you so much for that reminder.
    I am glad Spring is making it’s way to your Rabbit Patch…that means it is on it’s way here!

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  7. I am going to muse about contentment with purpose for some time in the season. I have never really thought about the feeling of contentment and it’s steadfastness until I read you post today. Beautiful and meaningful as usual.

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  9. This was perhaps the most profound of all your posts. You spoke of things that are not casual or ordinary. You spoke wise and all seeing words. You spoke of contentment in a way that makes any reader understand at a much deeper level. You are a breath of fresh air and sunshine to readers. You are are an inspiration to writers. Thank you, Michele!

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  12. Dearest, much loved, Rabbit. 🙂
    I feel as if I’ve known you all my life. It cannot be only two years . . . and yet . . . I know it is because I haven’t loved you nearly enough yet, – so two years it is. Congratulations on your Blogiversary. May you have many, many years of blog posts to come.

    This lovely post reads like a poem. It’s filled with such beauty and such warmth, in a way that the great poets of the world were (are) able to bring forth a river of beauty which lies within them, and deliver it to us via their written words, which embrace us and hold us spellbound, shutting out all that is worldly for a few moments. And you do this time, after time, after time.

    You have an incredible, God given gift of being able to reach within yourself and draw out words which take us to the places you describe. You enable us to hear what you hear. See what you see. Feel what you feel.

    You share your days and your life with us, and I, for one, thank you over and over. It allows me a time and place to ‘just be’. You walk me down paths which leave my world behind, just for a time. Then …. you gently walk me back to the beginning again, and watch as I return to my world. And you don’t just do this for me, but for everyone.

    Is it any wonder that you are so loved?

    Thank you, my beautiful hearted friend, for the mention. It made a warm glow come to my cheeks.

    Thank you also for this incredible post, which is full of charm, love, and delight. I’m filled with peace and contentment after reading it.

    I send to you my love. In buckets. ~ Cobs. xxx

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    1. Your words act like a tonic on me . If there is any comfort in my words, then I am grateful and thank God and to HIM be the glory. You are right-somehow we are old friends already. That too comes from God, I think. We are bound up tight and secure and that makes my heart glad. love, Michele aka your rabbit xoxoxox

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  14. What a lovely, lovely read, Michele! I love your approach to life and its simplest pleasures. And your phrase, “I can not fault the cherry trees for blooming” — that would make a wonderful title for a poem, a short story, or something equally evocative from you. Congratulations on your anniversary – may there be many more!

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  15. Happy anniversary Michelle! And thank you for the lovely post as always 🙂 it was so nice to read where the name rabbit patch came from. I love rabbits and I when I saw the name that’s what drew me-I just knew I had to read it and I’ve been in love with it ever since! I had no idea when I visited your site what a treat I was in for, like so many have said you bring such joy and peace and serenity to our lives. It’s a place we can go and escape the craziness of the world and enjoy a simpler time and the things that really matter in life. Thanks again for sharing your beautiful gift. Much love, Jen

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  16. We seemed to have an early spring here too until two weeks ago when we had this winter’s first real frosty and snowy weather. And it has lasted now and is getting increasingly like a Siberian winter. Morning temperatures of minus 22°C and a north-easternly wind that brings all the humidity of the still open lake Vänern along in the form of heavy snowfall. No chance of getting to town with cars and trucks having got stuck on the roads everywhere. In great contentment, I sit here in my kitchen, feeding the stove with firewood of which I’ve got plenty. Rabbits, rodents and mice are contentedly at est in their hide-outs under drifts of snow, while the hungry owl keeps watching intently in the moon-lit night for any kind of movement under the snowy rose bushes in my garden.

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    1. What lovely comment! I loved thinking of you with a warm fire-and being content. .while snow is falling on your rose bushes. Our snow says are few and far between-but you and I love them for the same reasons, I think. Thank you so much. Michele

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  17. Congratulations on two years of writing your inspiring, beautiful, comfortable and reassuring blog. I’m so glad you decided to do so; you have taken me into a gentle world filled with small, wondrous things and introduced me to a woman who “collects encounters with natural beauty- and recipes,” a woman who makes me see things with different eyes, a woman who is also a talented, skilled writer, a woman I think of as a friend and a mentor who helps me focus on the important things. I think you are one of God’s special messengers, Michele. I treasure you and your words.

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  18. Aww. I’m catching up on my blog reading and this is just beautiful. I loved this part, especially.
    “Contentment is a high commodity, and maybe the most desirable attribute to aspire for, as my dear friend “Cobs”, recently spoke about. Contentment seems to settle in the heart, and is not governed by moods nor events. Contentment remains steadfast, in spite of circumstances, which are bound to change, at some point. Contentment is most often quiet, and can cause you to hum, as you go along, quiet streets in a village . . . by a river. ”

    So good and pointed too! I’m so glad you are writing and sharing with us, Michele, I always feel so blessed and encouraged after reading here. Amy

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  19. It is I and many who follow you, Michele, that should thank you for bringing our hearts and minds to a place of peace and beauty. Less it seems always turns out to be more. You have a beautiful way of writing and love how your natural ability has transformed into The Rabbit Patch. I look forward to visiting daily. It makes my heart smile. Bless you. xo

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