Today marks the first day of Spring, and I celebrated it by going to a nearby cornfield and imagining those endless rows of corn starks getting ready to grow.

This is my time, the season of color and light. One of the reasons I love winter is that it prepares us for spring with an attitude of gratitude and expectations. The sun is changing, the soil is changing, the animals are calming.

I’m starting to figure out what seeds I’m putting into my two raised garden beds. I’ll be supplying a steady stream of bouquets for friends and for the farmhouse.

I went to the Mansion this morning to photograph and talk to Mary Lou, the Mansion’s newest resident. This is part of my “Mansion Faces” series.

She has quite a story to tell. More later.