Waiting for Springtime Blues

Blue Flax (May 2010) and Springtime Blues Bracelet (January 2011)

First, before I start rambling, I would like to thank everyone who has visited my blog and left comments; you are all just wonderful. Anyone who thinks the Internet and social networking "isolate" us from real life hasn't (1) lived in a very rural, remote area, and (2) made the kind of lasting connections that I and many others have made online over the years. Remember pen pals? I had one when I was a kid, a childhood friend who moved away when I was 6, and with whom I stayed in touch for many years afterward. Now, thanks to Facebook and this blog, I'm in frequent contact with far-flung family and friends I don't get to see in person very often. Anyhoo, thank you again; I always feel honored when someone visits and takes the time to leave a comment, and I enjoy visiting your blogs and seeing what you've been up to lately, too.

So after a very brief interlude with muted winter colors, I seem to be pushing ahead into the colors and themes of springtime. I'm sure there's some wishful thinking there, but I can also feel myself emerging slowly from the mental fog that usually closes in on me after Thanksgiving and lasts through most of January. When I lived back east, it lasted from mid-October to mid-February, so New Mexico definitely is an improvement, and in any case I do try to just go with the flow of seasons, at least to the extent possible when I also have to keep up with my responsibilities. As much as I miss gardening in the winter, I probably wouldn't have the energy for it anyway, at least not till the sun was above the horizon for ten or more hours a day. Those of you who live in very northern areas, how do you function with six or fewer hours of daylight? Given that I'm about half Scottish, how is it that I practically fall apart with fewer than nine? Weird.