Time Zips by…

And behold how the kids have grown:

But most of all the passage of time is seen in this one:

Meet “Calvin & his Hobbes”!

All for now,
must try to keep up!

--LS

Beside the Sea

There blooms beside the sea come spring a wild beauty of a currant bush.  I journeyed down today to see whether it had yet bloomed.

And there she stood trembling in a stout Nor’wester, hanging on to her latent bouquets for all she was worth…

.

…biding time till it’s safe to unfold her blooms.

Meanwhile a wind-buffeted tug huddled by the mill to wait out the weather…

And I sought refuge among the great rocks guarding the shore.  I found the perfect spot, shielded from wind but open to sun.  As I bent to scrutinize my seating what should I see but this wee handful of ice pellets…

And then I remembered the storms of the previous night—a hazy recollection of dreams disturbed by something lashing at the windows…ahh, there must have been hail.  And here lay its very last vestiges, hidden by the great rocks now sheltering me. 

So I sat just a while viewing the sea from my this fine vantage point, basking in sunshine, listening to the trickle of water making its way down through crevices in the rock slabs to the sea and watering spring’s first greens on its way…

Ahh…what a delectable spot to bloom, here beside the sea.

--LS

From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock [that] is higher than I.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, [and] a strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah. Ps.61:2-4

They smell?

I learned something new this week—snowdrops have a scent. It’s not easy to notice. They hover just inches from the ground tucked under the branches of our currant bush…but a friend said they smell, so I went straightway out and selected a blossom to sample.

And what do you know?! They have the freshest, lightest scent of spring, of green things rising, of promise that winter’s spell is broken…

And so we wait….

through days of rain and some of sun…

And I find that though I thought I’d whipped winter this year—not gotten sick, not succumbed to the blues, not even paid much heed to wind or weather…  that just maybe the hardest part of winter is the part just before spring truly comes.  Hopes are stirred by the odd sunny day.  Expectations rise.  And suddenly it’s hard to wait after all and maybe I am a little glum….

That’s when every little whiff of spring helps---

“For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience…”

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy…” Col.1:11

And maybe this old hymn will hit the spot for you as it has for me this week:

Joyful, joyful we adore Thee,
    God of glory, Lord of love,
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,
    Opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness,
    Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
    Fill us with the light of day.
             --Henry Van Dyke

--LS

What’s That?!

There it was glinting in the unexpected brightness of the morning sun way up atop Scout Mountain.  We were minding our own business, eating French Toast on a Sunday morning, before heading out the door to church.  But this glinting thing was suddenly there, beckoning…Could it be a bench? 

It hasn’t been so very long since I was last up Scout, has it?  I’ve never known there to be a bench at the top; we just settle down on the windswept rock usually.  But today was different.  After church we scrambled up there to find this delightful addition to a great hike:

And for a few moments we sat and reveled in this new thing—not just the bench, but the brilliant sunshine that brought it to light!!  We’d almost forgotten what sunshine was like.

It’s remarkable the energy the sun gives, not just fueling photosynthesis, but fueling human activity.  We came down the mountain, pulled the tandem out of hiding and pedaled around the neighborhood, then headed out to the boat with new friends, to introduce them to the great ‘salt chuck’ by sailboat--

It was a splendid day for a sail—sunshine for warmth and wind for power…Wonderful to see the sun again!

--LS