Gratitude for the winter light, shining at a golden angle. Gratitude for living above the layers of the freezing fog – the icy breath of the Bridgewater Jerry – for my beautiful firewood delivered by friends, and for being able to keep a fragrant hearth-fire aflame. Gratitude for my beautiful house, a sanctuary for 7 months and for my new (even more wondrous – still to be manifested) home to come.
Gratitude to the last of my winter roses that have kept blooming through storm and hail, scenting the garden and delighting the drowsy bees.
Gratitude to the relentless tide of snowdrops, daffodils, hyacinths and emerald growth that hold the melody of spring when it is still 3′ outside. Gratitude for the full, rose-golden Moon that illuminated the Derwent, and for her silvery light above me in the near-dawning sky, as I warm my hands on a bowl of coffee. Gratitude for the flagrant colour of the rainbow lorikeets in the stark branches of the Oak trees of the Domain.
Gratitude for the strength and endurance of the Sequoia, Yew, Kauri, Cedarwood. Silver Birch, Cypress, Linden and Service Tree in the RTBG, holding the space for what is to come.