EXPERIENCING LATE SPRING
by contemplativeinquiry
Standing on my balcony I contemplate the last days of spring. I love the abundance of trees now in full leaf. We are in a cool and at times rainy period, good for growth. My local world feels fresh and alive, in a still spring-like way. I had the same feeling when noticing wild flowers beside the canalside a day or two ago. A kind of lush newness and vitality that I associate with the final stages of spring.
This is expected to change soon into a hotter, drier period. For me, this will mark my transition into the summer of 2026.
As I move through the wheel of the year, year after year, I recognise that my experience of of the four seasons is local and subjective. Fixed bureaucratic and liturgical demarcations are collectively necessary. But they do not always align with either local conditions or my personal experience. Tuning in and identifying where I stand in the year is an important part of my practice.
Contemplative Inquiry 
Yes – I resonate with this local and personal appreciation to the wheel of the year. Living for the last 12 years in an environment different to where I’ve spent most of my life in the south of England, it took a while, but I no longer ‘compare in my head’ what I would be seeing in the land of my roots.
Thanks for this comment. I like your ‘compare in my head’ point.