Spring

Noun or verb - Might be a bit humdrum and obvious to many but here in the septuagenarian high desert, both turnings can speak volumes

Noun - the season following winter when vegetation begins to emerge

We have now spent 10 years at our patch here, south of Santa Fe. There is so much wonder to experience here, but there is one lack that we have come to know well: GREEN ENVY.

We have plenty of blue in the wide, wonderful skies above. And there is a myriad of brown and grey - black and silver, even greens and blues, lightly scattered across the ground. The mountains are well populated with aspens and a wide variety of pines. But down at our high desert (7,000’) citadel, we could use some more green.

Our last long trip was to New Zealand (Aotearoa) and it provided a wonderful offset to our lack of verdant, ripe foilage. NZ is very green.

This winter has been a long one for many reasons and while I know for those in more lush environments you are all experiencing explosions of color as a myriad of trees and bush push their way into a kaleidoscope of color.

What we experience is much smaller, more subtle and for me, in this year the most amazing expression of life that I have seen to date.

There are two small aspens outside my bedroom window and I have spent the past two weeks watching them flow from the scrubby, fuzzy quaking aspen buds into their first expressions of green. Every single morning, I roll to face the window so that the first thing I see is the aspen. This morning the scrub was gone and the first leaves appeared in abundance.

All around our property, the other bits of irrigated, non native vegetation have begun their spring as well - I know this will appear paltry to most of you, but it’s like earth’s baby bump to me from my current vantage point on the planet.

Verb - to move or jump suddenly or quickly upward or forward.

This other take on the word “spring” is pretty salient and crucial term for me to consider at this point in my life.

Some friends have been lovingly joking in calling my past 15 months a retirement. Maria and I have done a decent amount of travel in our spry little motorhome. I have worked in two weekends at the track and done a long distance touring trip, all on two wheels. My metal shop is finally free of cobwebs and ready for some cutting and grinding. Maria and I are actively keeping up with our property and planning some changes, all of which take sweat and labor.

AND YET, I feel as backfooted as I did when pursuing my beloved path as a tour manager. Not that I was not on top of my game—I was, and it felt good. But I always felt that it required me to be on my toes, pushing forward at all times, always leaning into the flow.

So, as I chew on this verb form of spring, I am thinking that in my current, personal state of affairs, it might be a productive, flourishing change to my demeanor to expunge spring from my forward perspective and grow into stride.

I certainly am not looking for a turn down in either energy or accomplishment as I continue into this non career lifestyle. But perhaps a change from a sprinter in the starting block to a steady, constant stride forward will keep me grounded and better able to create and to interact with all of you.

Nothing but love.