Happy Mother's Day!

It seems to have happened so quickly, but already the springtime seeds are bursting from their pods. They will soon scatter around their mother plant to form the next generation.

Plants have such a small window of time when the temperature, moisture, and light--not to mention the all-important bees and other pollinators--are just right to set their seeds. It really seems a miracle that they accomplish this complex task year after year.

This miracle does not happen in isolation. If you look closely at the earth, you'll notice that nature does not respect the boundaries of the scientific classifications we have created to understand them. In fact, nature knows no tribe.

Vines and wildflowers grow in a happy tangle.

Green moss embraces gray stone.

Tree roots wrap around buried boulders.

Young shoots break through a tangle of decaying leaves from the previous season's growth.

And all are part of this cycle of birth, growth, and decay that eventually returns everything to the fertile earth from which it arose.

On this Mother's Day I wish these gifts for you all:

a sense of curiosity and wonder for the life around us;
an appreciation and acceptance of where we each are in the cycle of growth;
a sense of tenderness for the fragility of the Earth and its creatures;
a willingness to connect with others to nurture our fragile selves and share our gifts with others.

To my mothers (mom Sylvia, stepmom Jenny, and mother-in-law Donna), who have given these gifts to me in their different ways: thank you, and I love you. I hope to pass along these gifts to my own children.

Happy Mother's Day!