Bluebirds of Grief Along a snow-crusted fast food drive through lane Two holly bushes prickle in the cold. Evergreen leaves enfold an offering of snow and red fruit- Sparks in the grey morning. A stormy-sky feathered being alights On the thorny branch. Her soft persimmon blush of round belly Now held in the open palms of the holly Trusts and invites. My mouth drops in wonder behind the mask I wear. A bluebird.. “of happiness”...here and now? Courageously, she plunges in beak-

The Drinking Cup Great-Grandpa walks twenty paces from the front door of the cottage. He steps just off the corner of the cement porch at a 45 degree angle. The cement is painted bright verdigris for him to see it. He notices the gravel under foot in the tire tracks that mound up along the slumped shoulders of the old stump. This is where Golden-Eyed Toad lives. She watched the great-grandchildren frolicking in the mud there one summer rainstorm like tadpoles. Great-Grandpa h

Circumambulation at Wildwood Lake In Buddhist tradition, circumambulation is a body prayer. Reciting mantras, you walk around a shrine or stupa built to honor and enclose a beloved teacher's ashes along with offerings of precious jewels, holy texts, incense, and relics. Lama Zopa Rinpoche encourages us to circumambulate with our pets so that they, too, might gain the merit and blessing of this prayerful act. I've been circumambulating Wildwood Lake for the past few years. A f