To Lengthen

As the first week of Lent draws to a close I remind myself — as I do always this time of year — that the word "Lent" comes from the Angle-Saxon word "to lengthen."

Days are growing longer. This is not only a season of spiritual renewal but of natural renewal, too. 

I need this reminder. The witch hazel, earliest harbinger of winter's end — whose late February blooming (pictured in Monday's post) is usually a surprise — is as brittle and dead-leafed as it was a month ago. If the crocuses and daffodils are stirring to life I wouldn't know it — they're buried under half a foot or more of crusty snow.

But the forsythia branches have a yellow glow about them, a fullness. The late winter sun feels warm on the skin. And up high the tree buds are swelling.