i stepped out on the porch this morning

and i couldn’t figure out what i was seeing.

the river looked as though it was standing still.

i was intrigued and went down.

what i couldn’t see from the door,

was that the entire river bed has changed.

a new shape has emerged,

creating a whole new flow.

lovely.

an unusual evening run into town,

brought us home just before dark.

little t. and i walked down,

and took in the evening colors.

this is my favorite area of my river front.

i like to think of it as an enchanted cove.

it is little more than a rock outcropping.

the color of the moss and rocks draws me in.

 incredibly precious.

i am amazed that this is the way that all life begins.

tiny and fragile.

yet,

 strong and determined.

emerging into the world

ready to meet destiny.

 this tiny little sprout will grow and bring forth

 millions of seeds

to begin it all again.

i am in awe of life.

this post is linked with the EO and it’s inspiration-Just Write.

i have been feeling pretty crappy.

an all over crappy.

sore body. sore throat. stuffy nose. foggy head.

just your common cold. nothing fancy.

it has not only effected my body it has soured my mood.

i have absolutely zero patience. okay, maybe a little patience…but not much.

…case in point…i just heard…“i don’t even want to write about this”!!” loud and clear in my head.   i don’t even have the patience to write about not having patience. jeez.

what i really want to write about is the ducks going with cecil today.

good bye jerome, lucy and doc. i will miss your shiny purple-y green- black feathers.

i want to lament, and feel sad that my beautiful little flock of chickens is going to go and live with a sweet little family up on mid-mountain.

i want to write about how there is some much unraveling. while simulaneously there is a substancial upward organized growth.

the garden beds are being made. big long beautiful dark juicy beds of amazing soil.

they look like they have their arms stretched out, awaiting the babies that are going to come and grow there.

and the babies have begun to pop up and out of the trays. 3 to be exact. three “morning sun” yellow cherry tomatoes.perfect tiny green baby shoots. these came up 5 days after they were planted. way to go little guys!

and this is exactly why the flocks of birds are moving to new homes. this year is all about the market. we really would like to feel the success of beautiful perfect produce available to nourish the community.

without wanting to put in the cost of a fence, we just cannot trust the birds to not do thier job of scratching and hunting and pecking.  i get it, they are effectively “free ranging”, exactly what i would love from the hens i keep for eggs to do. except that they are really horrible layers. all but one has yet to find a stable rhythm laying eggs. right now the enjoyment i get from their beauty as my yard art, will not compensate for holey kale.

holy kale farms! i love it! we have been looking for a name. we want to grow mostly kale. i am totally obsessed with. i feel like i am constantly preaching the kale gospel. i would love to be holy kale farms. holy kale farm? what do you think?

i have been emotionally tweaked the past 2 to 3 days. last night i lay awake in that sad sort of memory place; thinking about my little sola chicken, the noises she make and her gorgeous feathers. i am going to miss her.

i feel like i give away a lot. a lot of clothes. a lot of toys. books. and chickens. the last time we moved i dispersed 38 fantastic birds. all of them i had hand selected. giving them away needed to happen so that we could come and enjoy the river cabin. and look at how easy it was to reaccumulate poultry.

it will be that easy again. i trust in that.

now is the time to embrace our veggie babies. and the vision of all of the nutrition that will spring forth.

it looks so dry and dull to me this afternoon.

funny that the word dry comes to mind,

i am standing next to a flowing river.

the whole scene looks faded.

reflection?

our day is fast approaching!

we don’t celebrate christmas.

we don’t dress up for halloween.

we don’t do the easter bunny.

we do, do love…and we do it in a big way!

valentines day is our day.

we have kind of rolled the traditions of all the above mentioned holidays in to one.

we decorate the house. red, pink and white…everywhere!

we start the day in candle light with goodies arranged on the table for our little lovies to find.

we make special breakfast, using our special heart shaped waffle iron. home made whipped cream, with black berry compote made from last summers’ picking!

we make special dinner, this year is roasted quail with rose sauce. i have always wanted to bring to life the recipes from the novel “like water for chocolate”, this is the year!

we play special music…this year i have created the ultimate love mix…80 minutes of the love songs we have listened to over the past 13 years. ben harper, lauryn hill, etta james, just to name a few…

i am feeling the rush of excitement. the excitement of preparation. preparing for a whole day to relax and celebrate our love for each other as a family.

i have never been down this early.

it is gorgeous!

frost sparkling everywhere.

and look,

at the steam rising from the water.

what a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of the day!

beautiful day.

hard to believe that it is winter.

warm, soft and lovely.

i was down on the beach by myself.

i was over come with the feeling of childlike exploration.

i found this perfect stick. it radiated special-ness.

it was then that i noticed how the sun was shining on the water.

i started playing with the stick,

“holding” the radiant ball of light on the end.

then i started making wishes, playing like it was the ultimate birthday candle

that never goes out.

wishes are what create the color on the canvas of possibilities.

the more wishes the more colorful our life canvas is.

i created this picture of my wish stick so that i may continue the creation, and so that i could share it with you..won’t you make a wish?