Strength and Resilience in Times of Drought The red maple tree outside my office window marks the seasons of the earth and the seasons of my life. Her red bud action in mid-April ignites spring time hope even if it [...]

This month a quick question.  What thrills your heart? My list today monarch butterflies doing a mating dance in flight near the ash tree morning mist floating in the sunrise air hermit thrush melody any time of day indigo bunting [...]

The Earth Needs a Cool Cloth The Woods here wear a blanket of smoke thousands of miles from the fires.  The trees breathe in the carbon and all the other toxins as they try to absorb the planetary fever.  Their [...]

   As Long As We Both Shall live  Shhhh, don’t tell Svinda.  I have a love affair with the hermit thrush. Each year, I wait with baited breath for the hermit thrush to return from its winter migration. Their  mystical [...]

What our lives depend on Anyone else scrolling through your preferred news sources these days as if your life depended on it?  I’m having trouble deciding if I’m finally, irrecoverably, addicted to my phone and computer screen or if I’m [...]

Waking up with the Trees This week the maple trees are waking up. Sun warmth of longer days thaws sap in winter weary trunks. The starches that have been stored in the roots during the winter pulse their way [...]

Are We Doomed? Don’t think too hard.  What’s your first reaction to a book entitled,“Not the End of the World:  How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet.”?   My first reaction was curiosity and skepticism. What’s yours? [...]

Stars and the Long Game This year, the run up to Christmas at the church where I,Marilyn, am a minister, is all about stars: stars of hope, like the north star that guides sailors and freedom seekers; stars of peace, [...]

The Winds Blow Strangely The winds blow strangely. How often do the environmental conditions reflect our social, political and cultural life?  Probably more frequently than we notice. November 8th when I write this the winds blow cold outside of Rise [...]

There are only two ways to stack wood There are only two ways to stack wood. Now if you are familiar with the concept, because you have been stacking wood for years, or you know the book, Norwegian Wood: [...]