Today is my mother’s birthday–I won’t tell how old she is, as she’s still pretty strong. My brother, Jerry, is celebrating today, too. He’s a couple of years younger than I am, so I’m not telling his age, either. Yes, their birthdays are on the same day–and here’s the kicker: Dad and I shared June 10 as well. Sisters Sally and Pam, May 21 and January 18 respectively, have birthdays-at-large. Sally was supposed to be visiting now, but the weather is too dicey. Wish you could have made it, Sis.

The snow is still deep, but the horses don’t seem

It’s still dark out as I write this–I see lights glimmering on the other side of the valley, but the snow-laden trees are still invisible. In daylight, the landscape is calendar-beautiful.

Maybe it’s the weather–lots of snow on the ground and more predicted for tomorrow–that has me thinking of spring. And of seeds and cycles. A time to sow, and a time to reap. One of the best things about being back in the northwest is the changing of the seasons; it reminds me that we mortals have cycles, too. Seasons of growth, seasons of waiting and working quietly and