I was kissed by many bees today. I think they mistook me for a flower, because of my blue top. I can see how they might make that mistake. Or perhaps they just knew that I was a friendly place to land, mid-flight across the yard. It was warm out, and I was in their territory.

Winter was not as long as last year, and the snow was not as great. I was glad of this. I do enjoy snow, but last year we had so much snow we ended up making a snow pit in the back yard, complete with a snow couch that we could sit on while we made use of our fire chimenea.

This year, spring has come early. And today, I took it upon myself to sit outside all day, reading my book (which I finished) an reconnecting with my writing. It was a fabulous day.

I sat on the lounge chair that used to live beside my parents pool, and stretched out, reading. I’ve been reading many books lately written by Rebecca Solnit, and they have led me back into myself, back to the place where I want to write again. All winter I have hibernated, retreated, not written anything. Most people might think that winter would produce more writing, that I would write more because I’m confined inside. But for me, that is not the case.

I can only write inside my house in my studio in the attic, which is unfinished. It’s a fantastic space at the tiptop of the house, but in wintertime it gets very cold. I can’t go up there without wearing many layers. I’ve tried writing in the bathtub, but I only create a few pages and then stop. For me, I have to have a space to write. And when that space is cold, my words are also frozen within me.

But today, I was able to go outside, read a bit, and the inspiration from my reading led me to write again. And I think the thaw has begun. The story has awoken again. I may be horribly sunburned but at least it was at the cost of a new part of the book, that will transition to something I’ve already had written. And I have finally come to a decision about point of view.

All in all, today was a good day. And it was so warm. My arms feel that heat, but it’s a heat that fuels my writing as well.

And I made Dominican fried cheese. If mozzarella and feta had a baby, and it was fried, that’s how this tastes. Very good stuff. And something I’m definitely making again!

And beside writing my story, I have started blogging again. While I was reading, I wanted to write a blog post. This post. Amidst all the things going on in my life, I was sitting in my backyard wanting to share my peaceful existence with nature with the entire world. Before I had gone outside, I was thinking about a lot of things. And since we had no plans today I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But because it was warm, I went outside. There’s something about my backyard that makes you want to sit for a while, basking in the sunlight, hearing all the things around you. The neighbors were all inside, doing their own thing, so all I had was the birds and bees to keep me company.

I have not written for a while. My writing was frozen, lost to the coldness of winter, and my imagination was frozen for a bit. I have tasted the warmth, the sunlight, and I have started writing again. What once was frozen is now thawing, bit by bit. I am able to tap into that imaginative space that had fallen prey to winter.

The icicles of my mind are melting. And I’m curious where their water trails will take me.