Salt marshes are not merely havens for waterfowl. They also help mitigate our human mess. Thick stands of smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) and saltmeadow cordgrass (Spartina patens) trap mud and sand in their dense root systems, stabilizing the shoreline and preventing erosion and flooding. The ecosystem as a whole helps filter polluted runoff. Creation gives us yet another glimpse of incarnation.

O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae et sol justitiae; veni et illumina eos habitantibus in tenebris et umbra mortis. O Morning Star, splendor of eternal light and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

If it hadn’t been for the big storm, I would never have encountered this little guy! Indeed, I had no prior knowledge that the wonderful world of sparrows even included one called “fox” with a solid gray cap and bright russet feathers. Fox sparrows migrate from their nesting sites in Alaska to as far southeast as Florida to spend the winter. We do not usually see much of them in northeast Louisiana. They fly over us while we are sleeping. But the snow and ice of February 2021 brought them down into our yards. Lots of them and many other…

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God, I seek you,    my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. –Psalm 63:1, NRSV This photograph was made in the same place as the one published with #AdventWord #Breathe. This very spot is now covered with lush greed growth. Twelve years have passed. The psalmists prayer is answered. Creation regenerates.

Song of Songs I belong to my love,  and his desire is for me. Come, my love, let us go to the fields. We will spend the night in the villages, and in the early morning we go to the vineyards. We will see if the vines are budding, if their blossoms are opening, if the pomegranate trees are in flower. Then I will give you  the gift of my love. The mandrakes yield their fragrance, the most exquisite fruits are at our doors; the new as well as the old, I have stored them for you, my love. –New…