Ron's Fishing

Soft as the voice of an angel,
Breathing a lesson unheard,
Hope with a gentle persuasion
Whispers her comforting word:
Wait till the darkness is over,
Wait till the tempest is done,
Hope for the sunshine tomorrow,
After the shower is gone.

Septimus Winner, American songwriter (1827-1902) in "Whispering Hope" (1868)

Family and friends gathered today to celebrate a gentle man. An avid, if not always successful fisherman (aka the elusive pickerel), I take hope that he has found the perfect fishing hole and that his giggle laugh is reverberating throughout the heavenly sphere. Heaven is a better place for his presence.

During the service, a duet who had brought comfort during his days at the hospice sang "Whispering Hope", a lovely song recorded early on by Gordon MacRae and Jo Stafford (1949) and later by Jim Reeves (1961).

Rest in peace.

The Warmth of Tulips

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.

Anne Bradstreet, first published female writer in the British North American colonies (1612-1672)

The temperatures outside remain cool but my soul rebounds with warmth gazing upon the yellow tulips that came home with me from the grocery store. They are cheery nourishment for the soul.

There's Hope!

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring.

Sir Bernard Williams, English philosopher (1929-2003)

Happy Spring everyone! It has been a long, cold winter -- or so it has seemed as frigid temperatures lasted for days on end and successive snowstorms blustered their way through town heaping snow upon snow. But there is hope!

This week I heard the first chirps of the sparrows in the train station's rafters and a red-winged blackbird calling for his mate on my walk to work. Happily, she answered. And the gardeners arrived to unwrap the trees from their burlap coats. The cedars didn't appear quite ready to unfurl their limbs just yet, perhaps it is still a little cold. But there is hope!

In my own little abode, hope came in the tiny flowers of an African violet. Against all odds, given my past history in nurturing plants, my adopted violet is blooming! There is hope!

Pancakes to the Rescue

Rejoice Shrovetide today,
For tomorrow you’ll be ashes.

Unknown

I am not one to give up chocolate or to otherwise fast in observance of Lent, so I cannot say that I celebrated Shrove Tuesday today in order to eat my last egg, oil, milk and sugar before Easter. No, instead I simply found myself working from home with an opportunity to make lunch and remembered that it was "Pancake Tuesday".

I rather like the pre-Christian tradition of eating pancakes during this Springtide observance to help the agriculture god Jarilo do battle with the "evil spirits of cold and darkness" using the hot, round pancakes, symbolizing the Sun, as their weaponry.

Since the groundhog saw his shadow earlier this month, thus foretelling six more weeks of winter, I figured that poor Jarilo could use all the help he could get. And so well fortified by my pancake lunch, I forged forth into this afternoon's blizzard. "En garde, you beastly thirty below! I challenge you gray skies with missiles of white!"

Most certainly indulging in a plate of pancakes did indeed bring warmth to my spirit. ;-)

Happy Pancake Tuesday Everyone!

Lots of Heavenly Kisses

Snowflakes are kisses from heaven.

Author Unknown

We've been wrapped in a lot of snow and cold over the past few weeks and it's easy to complain trudging back and forth to work in multiple layers. This afternoon, however,  I was captivated by the soft, ethereal world outside the front door as I headed home from work. The crystalline dome of the Ismaili prayer hall served to emphasize the divineness of the moment.

Healthy Pleasure

Once you lick the frosting off a cupcake it becomes a muffin . . .
and muffins are healthy.
You're welcome. :-)

Unknown

Who knew vegan could look so good? I arrived too early for my afternoon appointment so decided to pass some time at a nearby bakeshop. The choice of 'healthy' treats was breathtaking. It's all vegan so it's healthy in my books. You're welcome. :-)

From a Lofty Vantage Point

How do the birds make great sky circles . . .
They fall and falling they are given wings.

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, Persian Sufi mystic (1207-1273)

Along the final leg of today's morning commute, I chanced to meet up with a magnificent hawk perched on the very tip of a pine tree. I stopped in my tracks, pulled out my phone to take a photo, took a few more steps forward and took another photo. As I continued this stop/start rhythm up the slope and past the tree, she kept an eye on me but never moved from her vantage point. My wayside guardian considered the situation from a higher perspective and knew she had nothing to worry about.

The morning's frigid temperatures necessitated inflating one's plumes and probably accounts for 50% of this regal creature's size. I felt similarly inflated inside cumbersome but warm layers of coat, sweater, scarf, mitts, wool socks and boots. In the future, I will be watchful for my feathered wayside guardian and will aspire to her lofty outlook.