Comments on: On Spring: Surviving the Brown Before the Bloom

By: Kristin

Kristin — Fri, 11 May 2018 10:10:47 +0000

this is a great piece, and i can relate so much to your feelings about spring! i’m in michigan, and this winter especially has dragged on and carried over into spring. everything seemed to bloom overnight this past weekend, but it was pretty cold up until that point. i hate winter and tend to experience seasonal depression. i always look at the start of spring on the calendar like it will be a magical end to the sadness winter brings – and that never happens. spring comes and things stay the same for some time. you’re right about just needing to push on and view it as a sign of hope that better days are coming! hope that your sleeping coat is officially back in the closet until next year 🙂

By: Irshad Khan

Irshad Khan — Fri, 27 Apr 2018 09:58:38 +0000

Very Nice images and post too.

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Sat, 21 Apr 2018 21:06:17 +0000

In reply to Maggie. Oh.my.good.ness. Seriously. This is it. Yes! Maggie, thank you for passing along this little burst of truth!! xo

By: Maggie

Maggie — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 13:33:04 +0000

In reply to Julie Rybarczyk.

And because I still can’t stop thinking about this – Austin Kleon just posted this quote from Vonnegut.
“One sort of optional thing you might do is realize that there are six seasons instead of four. The poetry of four seasons is all wrong for this part of the planet, and this explain why we are so depressed so much of the time. I mean, spring doesn’t feel like spring a lot of the time, and November is all wrong for autumn, and so on. Here is the truth about the seasons: Spring is May and June. What could be springier than May and June? Summer is July and August. Really hot, right? Autumn is September and October. Seethe pumpkins? Smell those burning leaves? Next comes the season called Locking. That is when nature shuts everything down. November and December aren’t winter. They’re Locking. Next comes winter, January and February. Boy! Are they ever cold! What comes next? Not spring. “Unlocking” comes next. What else could cruel March and only slightly less cruel April be? March and April are not spring. They are Unlocking.”
http://tumblr.austinkleon.com/post/173104378861

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:59:08 +0000

In reply to Michaela. Michaela - here's to wool sweaters (even in summer) and finding some hope in the midst of the brown. xxoo

By: Michaela

Michaela — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 19:09:56 +0000

Like you, I am also always the coldest person in the room. I can detect the air-con clicking on from rooms away, that’s how sensitive I am to any fluctuation. I feel your pain.

And your daughter really did hit the nail on the head with her metaphor about depression being like gloomy skies and brown foliage. As a long time sufferer of depression, life often feels like a perpetual state of early MN spring.

By: Take the Weekend By the Horns – Bull (City) by the Horns

Take the Weekend By the Horns – Bull (City) by the Horns — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 17:37:11 +0000

[…] finally seems to have gotten here, despite being an otherwise hard week. This article was what my soul […]

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 16:42:14 +0000

In reply to Maggie.

Maggie – Yes! I believe on your behalf that new life is taking root – in the midst of the utterly brown shit-scape. Because, yes, these truths go way beyond our literal spring season, right? The sun is coming, girl. Hang in there!! xxoo

By: Maggie

Maggie — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 17:24:06 +0000

THIS! This is absolutely beautiful and so delicately describes a consistent, working hope and faith that transcends the literal seasons. I’ve been in-employed and actively looking for work for 5-months and this is arguably a more relevant article than the one posted yesterday for tips for those who have been laid off. (Can you redirect that traffic this way?) Doing the actions of applying for jobs, interviewing, networking, hustling, etc. is the easy, obvious part – the hard part is maintaining momentum and hope through that work, in the utterly brown shit-scape. It’s the mental and emotional wreckage of spring that’s the challenge. I thought this was beautifully written. And a good reminder for me that the sun is coming, but not soon enough!!

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 12:23:55 +0000

In reply to Hilary Grant.

Hilary – I KNOW, RIGHT??? Spring fashion doesn’t work until it’s basically summer around here! Instead we need a new batch of springy-colored wool sweaters and warm pants to freshen things up without freezing for February-April. Fashion industry, take note. xo

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 12:19:13 +0000

In reply to Mirela. Mirela - Oh my goodness. Spring tiredness. Yes. That is it exactly. And the needle-like pain after a numb leg. YES. You nailed it. So glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. xo

By: Hilary Grant

Hilary Grant — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 07:10:04 +0000

It’s exactly the same here. I live at the very North of Scotland on an island, the climate seems very similar to Minnesota spring. Still feels like winter here. And what’s worse, all you can buy now is the ankle skimming trousers, paper thin coats. Fashion needs to add another season to its buying calendar for sure!

By: Mirela

Mirela — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 21:49:36 +0000

I absolutely empathize with this, I thought I was the only one that hated spring! To me, spring feels like that needle-like pain in your legs when you try to move them after they have gone numb. You have been fighting back the ice, the wind, the brown earth, the flu and finally your resolve breaks when a store stocks yellow jumpers. In my home country we have a phrase called ‘spring tiredness’, it refers to your body & mind finally giving in to the winter struggles! When SAD finally hits you…

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 21:09:15 +0000

In reply to Rachel. Rachel - me toooooo! xo

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 21:08:56 +0000

In reply to Eva.

Eva, well actually most of the grass is still covered in snow here right now. Brown grass would be a slight step toward spring – although even uglier than the snow… Here’s hoping for May flowers!! xo

By: Julie Rybarczyk

Julie Rybarczyk — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 21:07:36 +0000

In reply to Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog. Charmaine - yes! Fingers crossed for that light!! xo

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 20:17:44 +0000

This! So true. I’m in update NY and am just looking forward to seeing green trees and grass again.

By: Eva

Eva — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 18:56:30 +0000

You’re very right about spring, it takes so long to get here and then it’s gone in a flash. I feel you on the brown/gray colors outside, it’s super depressing for photography. On the east coast we’re having a super slow start to the spring and things are only now perking up. The grass looks so sad now, I can only image how awful it is in Minnesota!!

Eva | http://www.shessobright.com

By: Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 15:32:49 +0000

I prefer spring over winter, but it’s super hot and humid where I live so spring is horrible! But hey… there’s light at the end of the tunnel like you said, right?
–
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com