January Porch Vacation
The bird feeder Joe got for Christmas is three times the size of our old one. We like to feed our bird neighborhood of mostly chickadees and sparrows in the winter when the frozen ground makes it hard for them to forage. But this year we haven’t had a hard frost yet. It’s warm enough to wear T-shirts on the porch. We shift in our chairs to follow the sun that shines brightly and then hides behind clouds.
“They say Virginia’s going to have Florida’s weather in 10 – 15 years,” Joe says.
“Yesterday I saw daffodils blooming in Christiansburg,” I answer.
I’m flipping through a book I once read about Edgar Cayce, who back in the 40s predicted dramatic earth changes for the 21st century. The pages are stiff and yellowed. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about this book.
Joe’s reading about the Taoist philosophy behind the martial arts he practices or has practiced: Tai Chi, Hsing I, and Ba Gua. Every now and then the silence between us is broken when one of us reads the other a passage out loud.
The slight whine of machinery can be heard in the distance. Our mechanic neighbor is in his garage. Cows in the distance are bellowing in protest. A lone blossom on the forsythia bush is in bloom. A promise or a warning, I wonder?
Post Note: Read about November’s Porch Vacation HERE.
January 14th, 2007 1:42 pm
A lone blossom on the forsythia bush is in bloom. A promise or a warning, I wonder?
I wonder too!
January 14th, 2007 1:43 pm
Yeah, sort of like the yellow canary in the mine!
January 14th, 2007 1:50 pm
I don’t think my browser is refreshing properly sorry bout the issues
Im here cia Michele’s as you well know…. Feeling slightly scolded ;(
Bye Bye
January 14th, 2007 4:54 pm
Many would say it’s a warning. We have major premature buds on our lilacs…so crazy..I wonder if they will come up properly and flower normally when it is their time?
January 14th, 2007 5:07 pm
Beautiful. We are in the midst of a climate change, I think. I am not exactly interested in Florida weather, but I think we will soon be living in very exciting times if things continue as they have. I have always thought the cold weather was necessary to help kill the germs.
January 14th, 2007 6:27 pm
Hey 😉
Thanks for the apology it really wasn’t necessary but I appreciate the sentiment 😉
I appreciated it being pointed out to me If I came across as a scolded child it was not my intention but thanks for clearing things up….
Do stop by again and chat or come see me via Michele’s
January 14th, 2007 7:50 pm
There certainly have been some strange climatic changes. I remember Cayce’s book very well. Perhaps he knew more than many people gave him credit for.
January 14th, 2007 9:45 pm
We’re noticing the signs here, too. At this time in 2003 our lows had gotten down into the teens. I don’t think they’ve dropped that low since. Back then a neighbor commented that he didn’t remember it ever being so cold, so I don’t yet have enough of a temporal frame of reference. But I’ve never before seen the robins here this early.
January 14th, 2007 10:53 pm
I have daffodils blooming in my front yard 🙂
January 15th, 2007 8:32 am
Wasn’t it a beautiful day? We went for a long walk with the dogs and kitties by the creeks. A slow one because I have some sinus and throat thing going on. Unsure if it is a virus or sinus related. Changing weather doesn’t help. My birds and squirrels are so dependent on me now it worries me. It looks like a wildlife preserve in my backyard!
January 15th, 2007 9:54 am
Somewhere I saw a comic with two people in shorts in January. One is saying my mind is worried about global warming but my body is loving it.
January 15th, 2007 10:58 am
December and January were unseasonable warm, even for the Canadian prairies.. but winter now has a firm grip and, at least for the moment, thoughts of global warming are on the back burner.
January 15th, 2007 11:22 am
Folks are breaking out the shorts and tank tops around here and the redbud bushes have bloomed. But the weather service insists that this 70 degree temp will be replaced by cold rain and possible snow by Wednesday. I will believe it when I see it.
January 15th, 2007 1:55 pm
I read all the Cayce material I could get my hands on in the early 80’s, and it really shaped some of my perspectives. Interesting stuff. And you’re right there in the same state, too. 🙂
Ditto for The Tao de Ching. I found it to be one of the most harmonious philosophies I’d ever read. A belief system or guide that incorporates a profound trust that I still strive for.
Great post.
I think the flowers are just restless. 😉
~S 🙂
January 15th, 2007 2:28 pm
You have flowers up north and we have ice in Texas. What is up with the weather?
Susan
January 15th, 2007 4:06 pm
Some of the back-to-the-landers who came to Floyd in the late 70s and early 80s came after reading Cayce’s predictions. He recommended getting settled on some in-land, although Virginia beach was also mentioned.
January 15th, 2007 5:55 pm
~~~ One of the scary-weird-things over the weekend for me, was working out in the tomato bed, pulling weeds, and feeling like I’d melt from the heat…an’ it Really and truly is January…all of my chamomile is up and growing like it’s April..
The Cayce Center is over in Virginia Beach — they had quite a turn out for the New Year, from what I read in the local paper…Oddly enuf…even tho the temps are Really odd, I’ve just gotten some winter clothes an’ am getting them out for the rest of the week. Started getting them before all the Heat decended upon us. Go Figure…
January 15th, 2007 6:16 pm
um…your forsythia is sporting a blossom? I’m scared!
January 15th, 2007 8:25 pm
i still have a lone purple pansy blooming in my flower bed….poor thing…’tis a bit confused, i guess! and i also saw daffodils blooming yesterday in a nearby town! edgar cayce was quite a fascinating man…he was from my dad’s hometown in ky, so i grew up hearing a lot about him. the weather trends are somewhat unnerving.