The Shine

The Shine

Rising Park, Lancaster, Ohio   I think it was the vivid sun that drew me outside. There was a spring sky, bright blue with wispy clouds and new green pushing out of every plant and tree. The aliveness of everything was overwhelming, and it pulled me away from my...
Our Mutual Mother

Our Mutual Mother

Los Olivos, California    What should I write for Earth Day, this celebration of our mutual mother, our blessed mother, oceans and mountains, plants and trees, and all the animal life. When I close my eyes, I see a path leading back in time to the dawn of life on...
Ship in the Desert

Ship in the Desert

Desert Hot Springs, California   All the crazy weather brings to mind one of my favorite Joan Didion quotes, “Sometimes I get lonesome for a storm. A full-blown storm where everything changes. The sky goes through four days in an hour, the trees wail, little...
Subtle Organic Notes

Subtle Organic Notes

It was wonderful to receive a letter back in the age of snail mail. I lived in a one-room apartment on the edge of the Hollywood Hills. In the evening after work, I’d unlock my mailbox and sort through the bills and adverts. On a good day, I’d get a letter from my...
Interrelation

Interrelation

Quarry Park, Monterey, California   They noticed me first. I wasn’t even aware of them until I felt something staring at me and peered into the woods. Three young deer with enormous ears and big black eyes stood frozen like statues looking straight at me. I...
Disjunctive Polarity

Disjunctive Polarity

Asilomar State Beach, Pacific Grove, California   We’ve had about twenty storms this season, and they’ve all been different. Today, I’m staring out a window as grey clouds pass by at an unnatural speed. Gusts of wind blow limbs and leaves sideways, and wind...
Everything’s Coming Up Roses

Everything’s Coming Up Roses

Tournament of Roses Parade   On New Year’s Day 1971, the Englewood, Colorado high school marching band performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade. I think it’s no exaggeration to say I was third chair sousaphone (marching tuba). The band, 180 of us, boarded...
Love Will Find a Way

Love Will Find a Way

Monte Vista,  Monterey, California   The sun set as I stepped out the door for my evening walk. It was later than usual, but I pushed on and took the path through the forest and into the upper neighborhoods. I rounded a corner, and there sat the Holiday Wishing...
Such is Life

Such is Life

Peters Gate, Monterey, California   It rained all day yesterday, glorious, coveted, wet dripping rain. The air felt fresh and alive as I stepped out for my morning walk. My usually cheerful neighbor had a look of resolve on her face as she loaded their car,...
Morrie’s Alchemy 

Morrie’s Alchemy 

Rising Park, Lancaster, Ohio   Several years ago, after dessert on Thanksgiving evening, while everyone sat around the table, pushed back in their chairs with stomachs protruding, our host, Lisa Watson, passed around paper and pens and asked us to write down what...