Spiderwort usually blossoms in the early spring. So imagine my surprise Saturday, 12/10, encountering this sweet beauty on the grounds of Allen Acres, my favorite B&B in southwest Louisiana. The find prompted me to look into why flowers sometimes bloom out of season. Turns out, it is a response to stress, particularly an unexpected spell of hot weather. Instead of getting grumpy when life interrupts plans, choose joy. Flourish instead. How gracious is that?!

Slender, red-gold grass caressing the blackened trunk of a longleaf pine tells the story. This scrap of “prairie under the pines” conserved by my retired botanist friend was recently treated with “prescribed fire,” meaning the fire was set on purpose. And the purpose was accomplished. Had it not been, this native grass that contributes much to the lives of many creatures–skipper butterflies, small mammals, birds–would have long since been choked out by brambles, shrubs and vines. Creation once took care of this problem with lightening strikes that caused forest and prairie fires. Well-intentioned but less wise techno-humans set out to…

As you can see by the title of the photo, I visit this place I call “home of the wounded healer” and photograph it with some regularity. I call it that because it personifies for me, the concept I encountered in the work of Henri Nouwan, namely that the best healers are those that have been, themselves, deeply wounded. I say “those” and “themselves,” but do not restrict the powers of healing solely to human beings. Places and creatures of all sorts share that gift. This home of the wounded healer came into being because humans needed fill to widen…

A winnowing breeze brought it to rest on my deck for a little while, then carried it on its way. Testify. Show us the way of letting go, of yielding to a greater power, of seeing sacredness in all things.

Beaches welcome us to the sea and to the land. It just depends on which way we are going, and I love going both ways. The sea draws me to it and into it. It must be very, very cold for me to walk a beach and keep my feet dry. The day I first encountered this beach during a fabulous wildlife photography adventure, I wrote in a post that evening that I wanted to be taken there “when I’m no earthly good anymore” to be laid among the coconuts and fiddler crabs to slide off into paradise hardly noticing…