Sweet Encounters

Grace grows best in winter.

Samuel Rutherford

Every morning, I hang out the feeders.

This winter is especially snowy and cold,

So I don’t chase anyone away.

I thought I was doing it for the animals-

But when the buck came, watching the squirrel

struggle to get food from the squirrel resistant feeder,

and began dropping seeds on the ground… sharing…

I realized they’re giving me a greater gift.

I am witnessing the grace of a wild life.

The doe also came, with her fawn -

Standing at the feeder together

Eating together.

They will survive without my help.

They will find other feeders, other food

When I fly south,

But the doe and her fawn,

The buck and the squirrel

Have shown me their love.

They’ve been my close companions

In the silent calm of morning

In the loneliness of winter

Where the white blanket has fallen

And stayed. And I am warm with

Affection for this snow,

And the grace it brings

Wandering out from the woods.

I will miss it when I leave,

but I am grateful for it now.

Seek teachings everywhere,

Like a deer that finds

A quiet place to graze,

Seek Seclusion to digest

All you have gathered. . .

Namkhai Norbu

Oh it is going to be hard to leave this snowy wonderland, but, alas, the next time I write I will be in Miami - looking for iguanas and night herons.

Thank you so much for being here. See you in a week or two.

The heavy winter skies have only allowed the moon to shine through a few times this month, but here she is, rising through the trees - not quite full. The wolf moon.

Walking Into Winter

This is the solstice, the still point of the sun, its cusp and midnight, the year's threshold and unlocking, where the past lets go of and becomes the future; the place of caught breath.

Margaret Atwood

Winter Sun

Beneath heavy clouds

blazing brilliant light it dropped

then fell out of sight

Saturday -a beautiful expanse of dune grass blew gently in the wind. (Saugatuck Dunes)

Sunday over ripe berries hung from a bare branch…but those looked like tiny buds below them.

Monday, a dark-eyed Junco sat still for a moment looking right at the camera

Tuesday, a neighbors Hydrangeas; blossoms dried, faded and gone to seed…delicate as paper

Wednesday in the garden, a dried up rhododendron blossom that Dr. Seuss could have drawn.

And on the beach, a pair of pigeon’s prints in the sand by Lake Michigan - as if he just stood there, looking over the water and then flew off

Today - Winter Solstice, the sun was muted by cloud cover but still came through - looking more like the moon.

Movement is good for the body. Stillness is good for the mind.

Sakyong Mipham

This is a time of year that often gets me down, so I did a lot of walking and looking for little signs of light and life. A little color, a little sun, some flowering plants with seeds and buds waiting for spring, a couple of footprints in the sand, the stars in the morning, the cold crisp air and crunchy frost-covered grass under my feet - all these things get me outside of my mind as well as my house and those are both good things. And today the days begin to grow longer again! Happy winter solstice- and Merry Christmas if you celebrate!

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you next week!

The morning sky on the shortest day. Within the darkness, there is the promise of light to come.