The hosta is starting to emerge from its winter sleep and I have cabbage and pepper seedlings in my living room. I've dug out four weed-type bushes from the soft soil. The ground in my garden beds is still too wet to work with. I saw my first dandelion of the season the other day (in my yard!) and the first bee. My compost is looking rich. Yes, spring is here and I'm glad! I've almost forgotten how profuse the trees are in June--but I'm starting to remember. Starting to recall the scent of apple blossoms, the blue sky scattered with puffy white clouds, the feel of the warm sun on my back--now, if it would just stop raining every few days, it would be perfect.
I spent two hours Sunday picking up trash along the River Road and now my knee is paying the price. I must be getting old--I have arthritis in my right knee along with softening of the cartilage. The physical therapy I've been receiving has helped. Just should have known better than to scramble down a rock-strewn bank along Piasa Creek.
Can't wait till it's warm enough to go camping. I want to take Boxer with me and do some hiking.
I hope you're enjoying your spring so far.

A little "bit" of horseplay

This is a little something I made from a bit I found at an antique store. I embroidered a stallion and a foal, glued the muslin to some round plastic discs (the kind used in some cross-stitching projects), then took some leather lacing and fastened the discs to the bit.
I also went up to my attic and rescued my hand-made (by a man in Iowa) Amish buggy and harness for model horses and displayed it on my Amish-made console table. I guess I've never really gotten over my love for horses that I had when I was young. Oh well, who would want to?

February Blahs

February is not my favorite month. By this time, I'm ready for spring. But no---it warms up for a day or two and then the temps. drop down into the teens. I wish this month would make up its mind. The ground was frozen, then thawed, then it rained, then it froze again---it was hazardous just walking through my backyard. I pruned my butterfly bush yesterday and made some soap (actually, I took castile soap and added lavender water and ground oats to it) and I made some hand lotion that smells heavenly (it turned out a little waxy but it was my first attempt--plenty of time to get it right). I've given up meat for Lent and I already feel better. I just wish that spring would get here. Oh, and I heard a mourning dove cooing on Saturday so I know that spring is just around the corner. Hope you're having a nice February.

No Batman, but a Robin

Yes, I saw a robin as I was taking Boxer for a walk. He looked mighty cold, as he was all fluffed up, but he was definitely a robin. Can spring be far behind? I have my seeds for my garden, can't wait to get started. I've never had a vegetable garden before, so it should be interesting. Also found a pile of--excuse me--droppings in my backyard and I couldn't figure out what kind of animal they were from, then my neighbor told me she had twice seen four deer walking down our street. Another neighbor told me a coyote had been seen in the neighborhood. Yes, there is wildlife everywhere, if you just look for it. I've been hearing more birdsong lately as well. Spring will be here before you know it. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day--I think I know what his prediction will be. Hope you had a great January, and happy Valentine's Day in advance. Oh, and I know the picture of Boxer has nothing to do with spring, but he looks so contented.

Radically Amazing

If you've never read the book, Radical Amazement, by Judy Cannato, you're missing out on something that is radically amazing. She combines spirituality with "lessons from black holes, supernovas, and other wonders of the universe". I first read this book several years ago and recently picked it up again. Of particular interest to me is the subject of wholes and holons. A holon is something that is part of a whole--every human being is a holon, each cell in our bodies is a holon, the Earth is a holon, our solar system is a holon--you get the picture. The theory of holons argues that everything in the universe--from each atom to each human to each star--is connected, and that to change one holon changes every holon above it. Likewise, to destroy one holon destroys every holon above it. For this reason, and this is what truly amazes me--how can humans continue to destroy other humans and not expect to be destroyed themselves in the process? Call it karma or whatever, but what you do to others, you do to yourself. Perhaps this is why Jesus exhorts us to "Love your neighbor as you love yourself".
There is much more covered in this book than I can talk about here. Only that I find in nature, and the whole cosmos, the mind and workings of God just as surely as I do reading the Bible. Reading this book does require an open mind--a mind that is open to the nuances of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can't fill a mind that is closed. Or a heart that is closed. I encourage you to read this book and contemplate it for a while, and see if it doesn't color your mind and fill your spirit with wonder.

Books of the year

Here is my list of favorite books that I read (or finished reading) this year:

1) A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

2) Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

3) Celtic Benediction by J. Philip Newell

4) Eating Mindfully by Susan Albers

5) Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh

There are others I also enjoyed reading, but these had the most impact on me.

Christmas thoughts

OK, I admit--I enjoy listening to some of the Christmas songs that are played 24/7 in the weeks before Christmas. I always enjoy the classic version of "The Little Drummer Boy" and the instrumental version of LeRoy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" (which may have a lot to do with memories of high school band). There are other songs that I'd just as soon never hear again-- "The Christmas Shoes", the Hippopotamus song, and thankfully, I never once heard "Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer" this Christmas season. My favorites, though, are the traditional carols, particularly those reflecting the spiritual essence of Christmas. I didn't go to Church this year to celebrate the birth of Christ, as I've come to find most Christmas services to be dry and lifeless. I wonder sometimes if anyone really comprehends what the birth of Jesus was like. It was a desperate situation--no room at the inn, taking shelter in a cave/stable, and Mary and Joseph wondering what on Earth God was up to. I, too, wonder sometimes what on Earth God is up to, when I look at my life and the way it's been up to this point. I know God is working in my life, but I don't understand His plans. I know He's working because I received the gift of healing several months ago at a Catholic healing service. My arm had been sore, numb and tingling, for several weeks. Some people prayed over me at this service, and by the time I left, my arm felt normal again. And it's been fine ever since. I don't feel disappointed in God, but I'm very weary of listening to leaders of the Catholic Church make decisions about things based on fear and an inability to see any viewpoint but their own. There has to be a better way out there, but I haven't found it yet. I'm finding a lot of inspiration in exploring a Celtic understanding of Christianity. But I have yet to meet anyone following a similar path so for now, I'll go it alone. In the meantime, I hope you had a blessed Christmas and may the angels be with you always.