First and foremost, I must announce this odd phenomenon known as spring... that apparently comes a few months earlier on the west coast! In Ohio there was one of the worst March blizzards on record... here I've been bike commuting and stopping to smell jasmine on the way. Behold-crocuses!
A few shots of wintergrass that I finally uploaded... the quality isn't amazing, but below is just one of the many jams.
Last Saturday we had a hail storm, then rain that only covered half our yard (we were in that rather special spot between the rain and sun) then a rainbow... The reflection on our porch ledge is below. The trees reflected are a bigleaf maple and a hemlock.
Another wintergrass shot... I think this was the band "The Wilders"
The band at the UU! Here we are jammin' out for the kids at the church pj party a few weeks ago :) I didn't want to include a picture with any of the kids, since I don't have permission slips... but trust me they were adorable!
A quick update:
-I'm in love! With Earth Corps! (click here http://www.earthcorps.org/recent_events.php to see a pic of the event a few weeks ago... I'm in the middle pulling some ivy or blackberry root... doesn't it look like a blast!?). Every weekend that I'm in town I'm spending my Saturday morning doing restoration work in parks around Seattle. I love gettin' my hands dirty and meetin' cool folks. This past weekend we found a patch of skunk cabbage! (Which is an exothermic plant-it produces its own heat and can melt snow!... and it is a plant that I love!)


-Under staffing doesn't really get easier... but I'm feeling a new level of being able to detach from work. I wouldn't consider it the ideal L'Arche situation, which strives for community rather than detachment, but it is a necessary change that is working better for me.

-I'll be going on an LVC retreat starting this Thursday.... hooray!

-My spring song is complete (enough to sing... I'd like to add some fancy pickin', but I've got one version of it). It was funny to me how the seasonal songs have come about in different ways. The fall song was a slow composition integrating lines from various poems I had written. The winter song came quicker and had a contrast of darkness and hope (as any winter solstice song ought to). The spring song came quickly, and speaks to where I am right now in unfolding this future of mine. Also, it speaks of my excitement over sowing the seeds of this year's garden (my basil has sprouted!).

The lyrics are:
The time is now, for me to be ready
Spring show me how to awaken
The sleepy flowers on stems unsteady
Show me how to find the new again

Oh dear spring please lend me your trust
Help me feel the warm sunshine
And to believe in my own rootstock
And let me go where my heart does vine

Oh dear spring please bring your brightness
to where I stand on this green earth
and sow my bare winter toes deep
Waiting for the season to give birth

Oh dear spring grow your days long
And too the shadows of this tree
Stretch them both and I will let them
Convince me of my bloomability

Oh dear spring you are whole hearted
And that courage amazes me
Let me learn to be less guarded
And move with your kind of certainty

Oh dear spring I have these hope seeds
And beg for your wisdom to show
How to tend my life’s garden
And find a plot of soil where I can grow

*******************

Grateful list:
-prescription medications, and for some reason, whether I deserve it or not, my having access to them (thanks LVC!)
-spring!
-sunny bike rides
-the bridge in the Arboretum where the marsh smells like goat cheese... I love that smell.
-flowers, oh I am so grateful for flowers
-Earth Corps
-my banjo and mandolin
-clean water to drink
-having pancakes for dinner
-the beautiful act of preparing food for others... I love the tangibility and necessity of it.
-my sleeping bag and care bear blanket
-our neighbors Susan and Christine
-the postal service for transporting bits of delight
-daylight savings time
-the 6:40 am number 8 bus driver who said to me this morning "Sure haven't seen you in a while, where have ya been?" He was glad for me that I was getting to bike in the good weather. I was (and am) glad for his thoughtfulness... sweet of him to take note of the people on his route. Especially appreciated in contrast to the anonymity of the city.