‘Through the dancing poppies stole a breeze, most softly lulling to my soul.” –  John Keats.

I’m grateful for my flowers and my farm, which help me stay grounded at a time when so many people are frightened, angry, or otherwise upset.

Like everyone else, I am concerned about our country and who might be chosen to lead it. I acknowledge the fear and look for acts of goodness, beauty, and peacefulness. I just won’t let it take me over. Life is so much bigger than us and our many flaws.

My pantry work grounds me, as do the wonderful refugee children we got to college – all of them – and the Mansion residents whose needs we have tried to meet. It is meaningful to give food to people in need.

(Signing Out, Good Night, see you in the morning.)

And the animals teach me acceptance every single day.

Now, we are undertaking another challenging task: helping the food-deprived eat what they want. It feels good, grounding, and calming. That’s what I do with my fear; I take it and use it to do some good.

This is a place of safety, thoughtfulness, and respect. It took a while to get here, but we are here, and I am grateful for us. It makes everything better. Color and light are among the world’s great healers. Living beyond fear is liberating; it sets us free from something no one can take from us.

The color is red.

The sun brought out the pink.

“I survived, carried on, glad to be like a weed, a wild red poppy, rooted in life.”   —- Marilyn Buck

Flower heart.

They were firing beauty up into the sky.

Black Susan is one of the last this year.