The Fight for Spring

The temperatures had warmed and spring was in the air.  Up sprang the crocus, followed in suit by the daffodils, hyacinths, and tulips.  The trees were budding as the sunlight hours gradually increased.  Everyone felt lighter and there was a new-found energy in the smallest of things.  But winter was not giving up so easily.  The mid-February chill descended on the valley and the snow fell.  This last burst of winter will soon give way to spring.  The journey cannot be changed.  The days will grow longer and the temperatures will rise.  Our spring flowers will soon reign over the earth.  All in due time...

My Blessing

There are so many blessings in my life but these people top the list.  I was blessed to have my grandfather on this earth for 60 of my years.  We laughed together in ways that I never did with anyone else.  I learned incredible things from his example.  But here I am, weighing in at my 64th year and am lucky enough to have both of my parents still with me.  I have never lost sight of how unusual that is and the older I get, the more deeper I feel this gratitude for them just being here.  This year has been a hard one for them both but they continue to greet each day with all that it may hold, good or bad, and find joy in the smallest of gifts.  In the stories they tell, my life takes on a deeper meaning.  I stand on their shoulders and see more clearly how I am connected to my elders as well as the earth.  I give thanks for every minute that I can spend in their presence.  I know that those minutes are now finite and that every time I say good-bye to them could very well be the last.  I honor the lives they have lived and give thanks for the life they have given to me.  I am truly blessed.

The Cons and Pros or Raising Hens

We went from one day having the challenge of a hen on the roof to the next day receiving our first egg.  This is the thing I like best about raising these crazy birds.  You never know what will happen next.  They are fun to watch, frustrating to manage but they make some delicious food!