A meander: This and that and maybe another thing

Two snow geese.

Peace is not won by those who fiercely guard their differences, but by those who with open minds and hearts seek out connections.

~ Katherine Paterson

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.

~ Herman Melville

We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep.

~ William James

Light in the garden.

Spring is beginning to show itself around here.  The crocuses are about finished blooming and the daffodils are just getting started.  The little lawn flowers (as I call them — because I haven’t identified many of them) are blooming, including the beautiful, tiny and blue, Persian speedwell.  The loblolly pines are starting to flower (which means everything will be covered in yellow pollen in a few weeks).  Yesterday I noticed the peonies are poking up from the ground, and that’s usually a sign that the asparagus will be popping up soon.

From a walk in February. Assateague Island.

M has been working in the vegetable garden, getting things ready for what we hope will be a new layer of top soil.  The area around the front of the pond needs to be graded and we’re hoping to use the dirt from there in the garden.  I have been poking around in the flower garden and will be getting the flower seeds started in the greenhouse sometime this week.  Most likely it will be zinnias again since I can’t seem to get anything else to grow well out there.  I’m thinking about trying bee balm.  I’ll be visiting the nursery this weekend to pick up some seeds and plants, and we’ll see what they have.

Following the road.

Our herd of deer, who seem to have suffered no losses during hunting season, are growing bolder and bolder.  That’s our fault for not scaring them off during the winter months.  Even now, maybe especially now, I don’t want to shoo them away.  This time of year, before everything greens, is usually a time of scarcity.  Whatever it is the deer are feasting on in our lawn (and it’s not the grass, which has been growing and greening and will need to be mowed soon), they seem to like it, and like it enough to come closer and closer to the house to find it.  Worse yet, one doe made her way into the vegetable garden the other day.  It wasn’t much of a leap, just over some short fencing we put up inside the garden to keep out rabbits.  It looks like we may have to rethink our fencing strategy or we may lose our veggies to the deer.  A gate of some kind will probably do the trick since there is a taller, wooden fence around the whole area.

Through the marsh.

Last week I shared, on Facebook, this beautiful blog post by Pauline, Our Black Friday.  Facebook, in their infinite lack of wisdom, pulled it with the message “This goes against our community standards.”  I have to wonder… what standards?  As far as I can tell, they have none.  Their true standards are to react when outrage grows enough momentum to make them feel they have to do something.  Otherwise, pretty much anything goes.  For instance, the campaign chief for the orange guy in the White House used Facebook, with their help, to supposedly tip the scales in 2016 by the use of ads, volunteers to spread (mis)information, etc.  According to an article in Forbes, they already have 1.6 million volunteers to do the same in 2020.  And Facebook thinks that OK.  Because Facebook is making money (which overrules any community standards they might have, as is generally the case in business).

The remains.

So, I am sharing Pauline’s post here where it will reach more people.  Something I should have done in the first place.  When you read Pauline’s post (if you haven’t done so already), I’d also like to suggest that you peruse the comments.  There are a lot of beautiful thoughts floating around in there.

For those wondering and who don’t already know, I would have left Facebook long ago.  I never really wanted to join, always referring to it as “the dark side,” but did so to placate a family member.  I would delete my account if I could.  Unfortunately, I am running the social media stuff for our community affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and that includes a Facebook page.  To set up a community page, you apparently have to have a personal page.  (If anyone knows a way around that, please leave a note in the comments.)

On the beach.

Most of the images I’m sharing are from February, taken on my last visit to the Maryland side of Assateague Island.  I have an abundant collection of old (or somewhat older) photos that have not made it on to any incarnation of my blog.  I also have photos sitting on the camera that need to be uploaded someday.  Since I am currently not in the mood to carry the camera, I figure this is a good time to share some stuff that I meant to share but didn’t get around to.

One more look at this guy or gal, showing off his or her beautiful wings.

That’s probably enough from me on this mostly sunny and very windy Tuesday.  March seems to want to continue blustering and blowing clear to the end.  No lamb-like leaving this year.  Let’s meet out at the Point for sunset this evening.  Today’s schedule puts it at 7:20 PM.  It’s another good day for layering and maybe your wellies.  The wind is probably driving the tide higher than usual and I suspect it’s going to be a little wet out there.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

With the wind in her hair.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  1,026) Wild horses that roam the beaches and marshes on Assateague Island.  1,027) Cloud formations that look like works of art temporarily pinned to the sky.  1,028) Root vegetable hash for breakfast.  1,029) Good numbers.  I saw the doc yesterday for a routine follow-up.  All is well, all is well, and all manner of the ways they measure these things say all is well.  1,030) Spring light and the way it dances on the dried plants in the meadows.

Wait for me, Mama! (A foal running after her mother.)