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I adore rain.

The way it colors things and makes things new
Pearling up on everything like dew
The way the textures seem to come alive
Under the water's streaming drive

And the swishing, splattering way it meets
All the corners and all the streets
Dripping, cascading through gutters and grooves
Down the roof, down my nose, all that stay, all that moves...

I can murmur and smirk at the streaming rain
With my knees and elbows against the pane
Fingers wrapped soundly round a good cup of tea
With the drops sliding down the glass, spying on me

I love how the leaves get picked up in the swirl
And then plastered on everything after their twirl
The smell of wet leaves, sodden grass and damp earth
Has been a favorite of mine, I believe, since my birth

Showering, drumming, on pavement, on grass
On bright, leafy foliage, shingles and glass
Bouncing and dropping into puddles, ponds, and lakes
Rolling off the backs of mallard hens and woody drakes

I'm always in the mood for a rainy mood to come by,
Tapping me on the shoulder, inviting me to sniff and sigh-
It causes me to ponder and read even more
To stir up something hot,  while I watch the  world   pour.

I adore rain.

Evening

"The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land."—Song of Solomon 2:12.

SWEET is the season of spring: the long and dreary winter helps us to appreciate its genial warmth, and its promise of summer enhances its present delights. After periods of depression of spirit, it is delightful to behold again the light of the Sun of Righteousness; then our slumbering graces rise from their lethargy, like the crocus and the daffodil from their beds of earth; then is our heart made merry with delicious notes of gratitude, far more melodious than the warbling of birds—and the comforting assurance of peace, infinitely more delightful than the turtle's note, is heard within the soul. Now is the time for the soul to seek communion with her Beloved; now must she rise from her native sordidness, and come away from her old associations. If we do not hoist the sail when the breeze is favourable, we shall be blameworthy: times of refreshing ought not to pass over us unimproved. When Jesus Himself visits us in tenderness, and entreats us to arise, can we be so base as to refuse His request? He has Himself risen that He may draw us after Him: He now by His Holy Spirit has revived us, that we may, in newness of life, ascend into the heavenlies, and hold communion with Himself. Let our wintry state suffice us for coldness and indifference; when the Lord creates a spring within, let our sap flow with vigour, and our branch blossom with high resolve. O Lord, if it be not spring time in my chilly heart, I pray Thee make it so, for I am heartily weary of living at a distance from Thee. Oh! the long and dreary winter, when wilt Thou bring it to an end? Come, Holy Spirit, and renew my soul! quicken Thou me! restore me, and have mercy on me! This very night I would earnestly implore the Lord to take pity upon His servant, and send me a happy revival of spiritual life!

--Charles Spurgeon, morning and evening

Death is Swallowed Up in Victory

Photo by Will

"Now I saw in my dream, that the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back.

He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.

Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, “He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.” Then he stood still a while, to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked, therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. Now as he stood looking and weeping, behold, three Shining Ones came to him, and saluted him with, “Peace be to thee.” So the first said to him, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” the second stripped him of his rags, and clothed him with change of raiment,  the third also set a mark on his forehead, and gave him a roll with a seal upon it, which he bid him look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the celestial gate: so they went their way. Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on singing,

'Thus far did I come laden with my sin, 
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in, 
Till I came hither. What a place is this! 
Must here be the beginning of my bliss? 
Must here the burden fall from off my back? 
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack? 
Blest cross! blest sepulchre! blest rather be 
The Man that there was put to shame for me!' "

--THE PILGRIMS PROGRESS, By John Bunyan

You tore the veil, so I could be free

'My song is love unknown,

My Saviour’s love to me;
Love to the loveless shown,
That they might lovely be.
O who am I, that for my sake
My Lord should take frail flesh and die?'

Not my deserving

"What manner of love is this that you would say

Your sin is mine - I'll take it to the grave (then rising)

Death oh death, where is your sting today?

Death is swallowed up in victory"

Hope

Pueblo Zoo, Colorado

Where I've been

I'm inspired to write here again. I've gotten right out of the habit, and I miss this little aerie. For starters I should tell you what I've been up to. Or perhaps show you, since I have a whole bunch of pictures.

It was brilliant to see mountains and hills again. Not to mention the sky. The depth of open sky, wisps of clouds and twitter of birdsong was a welcome rush to my winter-logged brain.

The magpies were a delight to watch, with their sharp black and white coloring, and their enormously long tail, their swooping flight. I also saw a golden eagle, and lot of ducks, including a hooded merganser.

So... I flew to Denver, Colorado to visit old friends, help out around the house, and babysit. There was great conversation as well, and plenty of adventures--they took me for excellent gluten-free pizza...

(at Beau Jo's, Idaho Springs) 

and out to Red Rock

Red Rock Amphitheater

with an incredible view, including downtown Denver, and bits of Kansas; magnificent rock formations and miles of sky; sunshine pouring on my skin and wind tugging at my hair and buffeting playfully.

We popped into the museum as well, to see the list of everyone who's sung here, from Ella Fitzgerald, to the Beatles, and dozens--hundreds of others.

And we visited the Nature and Science Museum...

The section on Egyptian mummies was particularly intriguing to me since I recently started reading the Kane Chronicles. It was solely because of these fun books that I was able to recognize the names of the ancient Egyptian mythological gods and creatures, symbols and stories. If I had learned these things elsewhere, I'd forgotten, and a great deal of the excitement of this sort of exhibit is the fact that you're seeing with your eyes things you know all about, but don't generally get to see first hand. So that was fascinating.

dinosaurs, whales, 

(I was having way too much fun)

........*........

Sunshine, tea, cozy house days...

ginger rooibos at a teashop

Did you know that the Celestial Seasonings tea factory is in Boulder, Colorado? I didn't either until a couple of weeks ago. But now I've been there! We were able to tour the factory and try all sorts of teas, breathe in a roomful of peppermint (clears your sinuses) and see the machine put plastic on the tea-boxes in less than a second (yes, the plastic that takes so long to pull off ;)

We even went to the zoo.

otters...

a dromedary camel

squirrel monkeys and macaws

lions!

African penguins,

and kangaroos.

And there, in a bunch of pictures, is most of my Colorado adventures! Thank you for the great time, my friends! (and for introducing me to Sushi)