On the Cusp

23 March 2016






I love the times of year when we are in transition.  When the old season is still hanging on but we are starting to get glimpses of the new one.  Spring is putting out its first tender signs, the green haze will be all around before we know it.  I know that some lament its tardiness but they have their timings wrong.  Christmas is not the middle of Winter but the beginnings of it,  January and February are the coldest months of the year and they are the middle of the Winter.  Now is the time to welcome Spring.

Whilst the changes of the seasons are welcome it can be easy to hang on to the familiar in our everyday lives.  We know what to expect when the seasons change, well mostly anyway but British weather never fails to surprise us!  But the future is not always such a clear place to us.  It is comforting to stay with what we know and not push ourselves out of that cosy place.

Finding balance in our rhythm is a continuous process.  It changes with the seasons and as the children grow and their needs change, I have been frustrated at the need to keep changing it, that somehow that it is my failure to get it right.  But it isn't.  It is better.  It might feel like un uphill struggle but the view from the top is always worth it, even when the mist is down the achievement of getting there makes it all worth while. Water stays level however your twist and turn it, it is possible to achieve that same balance.

34 comments:

  1. Lovely post, my very favourite season transition is Autumn. For me it's the time to take a step back & relax. Spring is for moving forward - nearly as nice xx

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    1. It's true that we do different things at each transition, not thought of that! I am ready to go forward now :)

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  2. I do love this time of year. Where are your photographs taken? X

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    1. Hi, the photos are of Ullswater and Fusedale. The hawthorn was in the grounds of St Peter's Church, Martindale it is the only one I have seen in flower around here and I was so suprised I took a picture. The hawthorns in my garden are not budding or anything yet, this one was in a really sheltered spot.

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    2. Thank you. I thought it looked familiar. X

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  3. What a beautiful part of the world. I used to live in Lancaster and I really miss the North West, it was a very happy time in my life.

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    1. It is a beautiful part of the world. I first visited here in my mid twenties and knew it was where I wanted to put down my roots. A few years later I arrived and never want to move!

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  4. I love that fourth photo. Spring can't come quickly enough for me, I'm always glad to see the back of winter though I'm a summer girl at heart. Spring seems like the start of a new year somehow.

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    1. So do I! I was not sure if it had come out, the viewing screen on my camera is not that good. I took lots just to be sure (the first one was the best!). Spring does seem like the start of the new year and indeed it was at the time when we had a ten month year ( and that is why the financial year is different to the calendar year, it has stayed the same)

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  5. when I was younger I hated spring, but now I have a fond appreciation. I remember maybe 10 years ago, hating spring and decided to change my mind. Instead of the general dislike, I set out to look for signs of spring every single day. so now, it might snow, or it's terribly chilly and windy, I will rejoice in the birds singing and the frogs in the pond ribbiting and everything budding and leafing out. Now I only dislike summer :)

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    1. Those small signs are good are they, a gentle reminder from Mother Nature to live amongst our natural surroundings. I am glad you have come to love Spring :)

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  6. It is true that Christmas is at the start of winter.
    While I adore autumn, each year I wait in anticipation for spring. When everything starts coming to life again.

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    1. I think the anticipation of Spring and Autumn are my favourite times of year too :)

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  7. I so agree that balance is a continuous process and easier if you go with the flow of whatever season (year/life) we're in.

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    1. It has taken me a long time to work this out! But life is so much easier now that I have :)

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  8. I find I enjoy the seasonal changes over the actual seasons. There is a lightening and hopeful feeling to the shifts in the seasons, and I always seem to need the time and space to refocus and reset myself with each seasonal shift.

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    1. I coming round to that way of thinking too Kim. Now that I have realised that I too need to give myself time and space to refocus and reset I hope I will find it easier too!

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  9. Beautiful! I just want to hike right into those hills and never come back.

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    1. Me too! It was a beautiful walk, I am so lucky to have such lovely places to walk right on my doorstep :)

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  10. What amazing country! Thanks for sharing such a beautiful view.

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  11. Wonderful scenery! I love this time of year when everything springs into life again.

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    1. It is wonderful isn't it. We rented a house at the end of a valley close to here it was a beautiful place to live.

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  12. Such lovely photos. The transition from winter to spring is my favourite seasonal transition I think. I love watching their flowers begin to open their pretty heads and mood begins to lift with the increased sunlight.

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    1. The sunlight does wonders for your spirit doesn't it, that and the longer hours of daylight ;)

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  13. It's a fabulous time of year. Every day there is something new to see. I wish I could find the same satisfaction as summer moves into autumn, but I never can.

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    1. It is indeed, I guess we all have our favourites!

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  14. Oh my goodness! These photos are breathtaking!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing! I would love to take a long walk there!

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    1. Thank you! I would love to take a walk there with you :).

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  15. Gorgeous photos and some delicious looking recipes on your previous post. Have a very Happy Easter. xx

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  16. I love the changing seasons. It gives structure to the year, and rhythm. I know what you mean about adapting as the children get older. I'm always amazed that they want to hang on to some seasonal traditions, adapting them for their older selfs. I guess we all like the familiar, but I can't help being excited about what may be too, as well as enjoying life as it is now. Such beautiful photos. My neice is up there this weekend. Fell running according to her Instagram!

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    1. It does give a structure. When I hear people say that they would love to live in a hotter country, much as I would love a bit more heat in the summer I would miss the seasons.

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  17. I love you water analogy. :-)

    I love the seasons, they do mark a definite place to trasition, change and renew... But I love finding the seasons "inside" the seasons. The ones that are just yours and your family's. I guess any rhythm is a sort of season.

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