Inspiration, Spring

Spring Equinox Blessing

The poem and artwork are attributed to Stephanie Laird

Here in California, it doesn’t look like Spring is tomorrow. It’s another drizzly day among weeks of dreariness.

But, during the one-half day of sun, the orange poppies unfurled to soak up the sunshine, and the daffodils pushed slender stalks through the coarse mulch to show off delicate petals.

A pair of white mourning doves visit the bare silk tree in the garden, bringing four baby grey-speckled fledglings. They know there’s water in the fountain and bird seed in the feeder.

They know they are safe from our two cats, who watch them inside the house atop their multi-tiered kitty condo.

A walk through the backyard garden finds another flower pushing through the damp, a blue spindle. Lupine must’ve blown into the yard from somewhere far away.

The scent of jasmine from a heavy bush bursting with star petals scent the yard and I’m reminded, through thick and thin, storms and dry seasons, that spring is coming.

Despite the forecast, live like it’s Spring.”

Lily Pulitzer

Blogging, Jane Friedman, newsletter

Newsletters Are the New Blog?

photo by Suzy Hazelwood pexels.com

This question seems hotly debated (okay, maybe lukewarmly) between online experts like Jane Friedman, Quora, and others. The answer comes down to what’s important to the writer of said blog or newsletter.

For me, I thought I’d try to ease into a monthly newsletter format. I sent out my first newsletter at the end of July. Honestly, it was kind of scary to do so, as are all first times (for me).

An area that was easy and fun to talk about was a June trip to Scotland and Ireland. We had adventures in a tiny stick-shift car driving on the left side of the road. Soon, we returned to the US, and the horrendous news on TV left me deflated.

A newsletter I read helped me re-center myself. The writer had reposted “A Letter to a Young Activist in Troubled Times.

“Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.”  

Dr. Clarrissa Pinkola Estés

That quote gave me hope, which I wrote about as a topic in the newsletter. And those are the kinds of subjects that are important to me. How do we cultivate hope and resilience in our life.

I ended with an update about my book with the question: “What Do An Elephant and I Have in Common?”

No hints on the answer. You have to read the newsletter 😉

August’s newsletter arrives on the fourth Saturday of the month. There’ll be another question having to do with Skittles, but you need to sign up for the newsletter.

Sign up above the teal button on the right margin (for laptops). On your mobile device, the sign-up shows at the bottom of the page. Thank you, and I hope to share a bit of time with you via the newsletter.