Writing Scraps from Winter

Emptying my drafts folder for Spring

This is Clouds Form Over Land, a newsletter from Ashley Gremel about resilience, imperfectionism, and our relationship to the earth. Each season, I compile my drafts into a post for paid subscribers. Thank you for spending your time here!

Chickweed (stellaria media) growing out front. This can be used for pesto!

The winter solstice found me in the middle of a writing drought and volunteer gardening was the water I needed. Here’s a review of what came through:

I wrote about the weirdness of winter in our front yard, with the mix of daffodil sprouts, snow, and brown leaves. I moved my desk around several times, searching for and finding focus. I started a compost bin and slugs moved in. I finished the blanket in a box, a housewarming gift from

Jess Schreibstein

. The daffodils bloomed. My sweetie helped me write about high and low pressure, and then we invented SPRINGO - bingo for Spring. Lastly, I went into and out of the swamp.

What follows are the writing scraps from Winter 2023-24:

Sentences left out of the bio for a speaking engagement

I am a writer with bad handwriting, an impatient sewist, a naturalist who didn’t take much science, a homesick traveler, a seasick sailor, and a knitter, full stop. I am a beaver, a snail, a flying fish, and a turtle. I like cats.