Lake Moon Night

Another Spring

Kenneth Rexroth

The seasons revolve and the years change

With no assistance or supervision.

The moon, without taking thought,

Moves in its cycle, crescent and full.

The white moon enters the heart of the river;

the air is drugged with azalea blossoms;

Deep in the night a pine cone falls;
Our campfire dies out in the empty mountains.

The sharp stars flicker in the tremulous branches;

The lake is black, bottomless in the crystalline night;

High in the sky the Northern Crown

Is cut in half by the dim summit of a snow peak

O heart, heart, so singularly

Intransigent and corruptible,

Here we lie entranced by the starlit water,

And moments that should last forever

Slide unconsciously by us like water.

We Three

The Saints of April

Todd Davis
Coltsfoot gives way to dandelion,

plum to apple blossom. Cherry fills

our woods, white petals melting

like the last late snow. Dogwood's

stigmata shine with the blood

of this season. How holy

forsythia and redbud are

as they consume their own

flowers, green leaves running

down their crowns. Here is

the shapeliness of bodies

newly formed, the rich cloth

that covers frail bones and hides

roots that hold fervently

to this dark earth.

City of Bellingham, Canadian Mountain Range, looking north from Chukanut Ridge.

Safety first!

Looking east to Mount Baker. Hidden but between the ridge and Baker is Lake Padden.

Living on the edge...

Bellingham Bay

The perfect hiking team!

Lummi, Sucia and the San Juans

Little Chukanut Island

Looking west toward Olympic Mountain Range and Skagit Valley

A Buddhist Leaning Pagan

"Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else." ~ The Buddha

Pagan celebrations of spring often involved eggs and thankfulness for the coming crops, as well as bonfires to commemorate the end of winter. While Daryl burned fallen limbs we'd picked up throughout the yard I hid eggs - just for fun - and our feast cooked.

spring weather

How Many Nights

Galway Kinnell

How many nigbhts

have I lain in terror,

O Creator Spirit, Maker of night and day,

only to walk out

the next morning over the frozen world

hearing under the creaking of snow

faint, peaceful breaths...

snake,

bear, earthworm, ant...

and above me

a wild crow crying 'yaw yaw yaw'

from a branch nothing cried from ever in my life.

This spring has been a little bit of everything! Two bald eagles considered the tree between the garage and the house for awhile but ultimately decided on something a little more rustic... The next group of photos probably don't show it well but it was actually snowing and sunshining at the same time!

Daryl and I on our second hike of the spring, on the old logging road. We hope to enjy a trail we found more often!

A hawk? A female eagle? not sure, but it swooped in low and stayed awhile. This is the neighbor's beach and they were not home so maybe it felt comfortable there for awhile. I've never seen a predator bird hang out on the beach before, but then, I'm new here...

The mallards have gotten nearly aggressive! For years they've kept their distance but now they beg. Only two of them so it's cute, for now!

Garden

It wasn't time, yet, in February, to plant anything but it was definitely time to get the dirt in and the walls up. By the end of that week I had unloaded a truckload of dirt and Daryl had helped me attached wire fencing to keep the deer and raccoons out. Since then I've planted three blueberries, one rhubarb, sweet pea flowers, sweet peas to eat, carrots, lettuce, and chives, and maybe it's still too early for any of those, now that it is April. Waiting for sun so we can plant tomatoes!