The doors are propped wide open. Outside, spring raced with the posture and speed of a roadrunner. This year, the redbuds flowered in storms of intense pink petals, rivaling my childhood memories of strolling under cherry blossoms at their peak. Windflowers on the hilltops (Anemone, berlandieri) and the endemic variety deep in the gorge (Anemone, … Continue reading Inside… For Just A While
My friend’s phone rang. When she answered, another friend asked, “Is Karen just devastated?” The bark looked the same. Skin of decades. Protecting. Rough and furrowed. Covering — like lined up and laid out potato chips, the wavy edges lifted as if exfoliating, peeling open trails that if followed could share stories from every season. … Continue reading A Tree is Nice
Merry Christmas to all my friends and loved ones! Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. 2 Corinthians 9:15 The wonder of nature comforts me — in times of blessings and in times of deep sorrow — … Continue reading A Big Christmas Greeting
Happy Thanksgiving! Take a walk. Look closer. (Can you find the Thanksgiving guest in the photo below?) Set aside your troubles. Marvel at the little treasures in nature. Appreciate the days. Don't be afraid. Enjoy the beauty around you. Celebrate the harvest. Gasp at God's glorious creation. Let your light shine. Spend time with friends … Continue reading Happy Thanksgiving 2018!
Curse or coincidence, who is to say? Friends and family know that when I travel, have out-of-town guests, or plan a party, a weather event occurs — often an apocalyptic weather event. This is not an exaggeration. A volcano eruption, several tropical storms, too many unexpected downpours, and a 500-year flood are example interruptions to my … Continue reading A Flood of Tears, But Not for the Flood
Oh, little bird, why did you visit — to entertain, to prick, to haunt, to teach? To hear each spring the birds announce the return of familiar flowers, longer sunlit days, and a cast of budding greens, awakens my senses to pay attention. That a wren announces this intensity of life is no wonder. Compared … Continue reading Oh, Little Bird, Why Did You Visit?
The steers were agitated, squaring off and shoving each other while butting their heads and stamping in circles. The ruckus was an all out longhorn brawl. With our eyes wide and our mouths open, Jimmy and I perched on top of the dam — somehow believing twenty sloped feet between us and the fighting longhorns … Continue reading Meet Sweet Ferdinand: All 102″ TTT
"The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected." — Robert Frost Like an alarm bell, the sprouting sedums announce the passage of time. Could it be more than a year since the first post on Take Comfort? I had three reasons to start this blog: To share stories with my kids; to challenge myself … Continue reading Take Comfort: A Year Flew Softly By
Six glass doors fifteen feet from the dining table line the back wall of our home in San Antonio. Once the dark of night arrives, the uninterrupted glass panels reflect into the room like a black mirror. As we ate dinner, having returned from the grocery store only an hour before in a bitter cold … Continue reading That was Unexpected!
During the week that followed Thanksgiving I considered the condition of the ranch, and it was a contemplative exercise. Compared to most of the country, the foliage in South Texas changes color late in the calendar year, if it changes much at all. That the calendar sits open to December and the Texas red oaks … Continue reading As a Child