But when the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,
And hides the green hill in an April shroud;
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,
Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,
Or on the wealth of globed peonies.
– John Keats: “Ode on Melancholy”

It’s foggy and raining heavily, the snow’s washed away, and I nurse my January blues with many cups of tea and reading by my little indoor garden. Soon, soon, I wish for energy and the desire to get back to my artmaking.

UPDATE: While I’m cosy at home, I don’t realize what’s happening beyond. The evening TV news has reported that this monsoon on top of the recent snow is creating a lot of flooding in many areas of the city and around southwestern BC. Our backyard like elsewhere is a swamp because the ground is still frozen and can’t absorb the melted snow along with the huge amount of rain coming down, with lots more in the forecast for several days. Records are breaking again. In the meantime the Maritimes are having a blizzard. Enough reasons for January blues!