From Our Irish Correspondent: Sweeping

It’s been a while since we heard from Berna, our Irish correspondent in County Kildare. Here’s what she’s been up to in the quiet winter days:

The yard in front of my part of the house had leaves and bits of moss from the gutter strewn here and there among the gravel. I’ve been ignoring this for a while, but this morning I felt in the mood to clear my space. The leaves get blown in the groove of my sliding patio door, so they were my primary objective.
Sweeping with a broom seemed a mindful thing to do on this sunny morning. Buddhist monks do it all the time.
Trying to leave the loose gravel where it was, I whisked all the way from my patio to Margaret’s car, down to the
low stone wall where creeping shrubs had left a carpet of small leaves. Beneath, I found a perfect snail’s shell there and
swept it on with the rest. All the while, an invisible bird sang in a tree nearby.

 

And at home? Yesterday, Spring — Today, snow!!!!

(Over on A View from the Woods, yesterday’s daffodils remain posted — but in a different mood and to a different conclusion — see what you think: The Loveliness of Spring — and Swift Daffodils —)