monkey rat dancing

ALT: water-soluble graphite and crayon. It’s more or less a gray squirrel, on tippytoes, on a branch, with its tail high up in the air and a very slight smile on its face.

I had spent some time at daybreak on May Day morning watching a squirrel collect branches to build a nest in a maple tree, such wonderfully athletic acrobats.

dance for winter’s end.

Here’s my eulogy for Old Man Winter for Beltain morning, 2026:

Already the Spring is blooming and (with luck) the last frost is behind us. It is time to wrap up the remains of the Winter and dispose of them once again.

I would say that this winter had broad shoulders. He had an elegance and grace, with perfect crystalline long-lasting snows.

No denying that he was arrogant, and even cruel – with enough long spells of deep cold to challenge anyone who had to spend a lot of time outside. And yet I imagine him in velvet and lace, deep darks and icy filigree. When it was time to depart, he did so on time and without fuss, but left a late calling card or two that I hope will not have nipped the fragile early blooms of fruit trees.

I live in town now, so have not much sense of mud or maple – please good people, fill in your own observations here.

What I do know, and what is never out of season, is that this is a good time to see and welcome all who gather with us to celebrate the end of Winter. Then, let us give a thought to those who may not be here in person, but are here in our hearts. And finally, let’s never forget to hold and honor those dear ones who, like the Winter, have passed on.

But after this moment of reflection, Spring calls us to jump up, cast out the cobwebs, gather up the dusty bones of a dark and cold season, and consign them to the water (or the fire). It’s time to give a cheer and make way for the oncoming rush of new life.

Hooray!

bones of winter welcome the spring

ALT: water-soluble crayon drawing of a seated skeleton holding a little bunch of flowers, more blossoms on its skull, and more blooming around.

chasing pattern

ALT: water-soluble crayon. all-over patterns of lines, dots, squares, circles and triangles in brown, black, purple and orange, with contrasting colors in between. If you squint, you might see an upside down person being followed by and upside down tiger or something, admittedly that’s a stretch.

zebrabbit

ALT: water-soluble crayon. it’s a creature sitting behind a plant that is a simply pair of leaves. the critter is blue, has sort of zebra stripes on its back and a vaguely equine face, but long ears like a rabbit.

tree rocks

ALT: water soluble crayon. four orangish trees stand straight in a forest, each with a blue rock at its base. well, you can’t really see if the one in the way back has a rock, because one of the rocks blocks the view of its base.

happy flower

ALT: water-soluble crayon, simple drawing of a big dandelion with floopy leaves.