We’ve had a cold and messy winter these  past few days, lots of snow and sleet. I was glad to see Red out there on duty this morning as the skies finally cleared. The sky in the morning always reminds me of why  I am so grateful to be here. I could not live any longer without nature all around me.

This Saturday, I’ve cancelled my writing class. It’s Maria’s birthday, and I’m whisking her off for a night away in a place we love not too far away. I’ve never made too big a deal out of birthday’s, but her life is something I always want to celebrate. In three weeks, she will be off to India (sniff!) to help the victims of sex trafficking, we are committed to doing good in every way we can.

I am so excited about this trip, it has already changed her life. But I’m not going to lie either, she will leave a big hole behind her. The challenge for me is to make good come out of it. Maybe write some great chapters, as my heart will be wide open.

Today, I’m looking for time to work on my next-next book, “Lessons Of Bedlam Farm,” chapter Four.

For those asking  me, you can pre-order my next book “Talking To Animals: How You Can Understand Animals And They Can Understand You,” out in May, from Battenkill Books. If you order from them, I will personalize and sign the books in any way you wish within reason.

Connie Brooks already has more than 300 pre-orders. I hope to get up to 2,000 by May. You can pre-order the book here, it is about my life with animals, and it calls – through anecdotes – for a new and wiser understanding of animals. If we don’t understand them, we can’t make good decisions for them.

And by and large, we are not.