Spring Winds and Prayers

Yesterday we lounged under the spirited sun, bare-chested and brazen, watching the flapping, darting, dance of the chickens. Their drama, which has increased exponentially with our our second rooster's coming of age, has us endlessly entertained.  Though the rooster's days are numbered and his ultimate demise is at the top of our list, we sing our favorite Greg Brown song, raising our voices when we get to the line, "spring winds blew my list of things to do away."

I spotted flashes of brilliant blue as the first Mountain Blue Bird swooped around with his mate in search of a nesting place.

The sun draws the frost from the earth, and the smell of soil awakening fills me with anticipation.

Writing has been hard for me recently. In a small community, when hard news hits, we all feel the blow. We watch little babies transform from monkeys clinging to their mothers limbs into horses galloping through our open fields, their heads barely higher than the tall grasses.

My friends and co-workers recently found that an agressive tumor grows around their sweet daughter Jubilee's brain stem. This cancer has a 100% mortality rate. The family has asked that people pray for Jubilee, that she may find peace and freedom from suffering, and our community continues to hold the whole family in our hearts surrounded with strength and light.