A Quiet Spring

We have had a quiet first month of Spring down here on the prairie. It's been cold, at times, but generally a gentle Spring. It's funny, but we seem to be in a corner of the world where the weather is not much of an issue. Most days are between 50-80 degrees, we get some rain, we get some wind, we get a little snow (I had to shovel twice this past Winter!), and we get some sunshine. If you were going to use Omaha, NE as the example for climate change you would have a hard time convincing people that it is a dangerous thing.

Berkshire-Hathaway weekend has come and gone.  Now, Omaha is not the biggest city in the country, and when you get a bunch of wealthy people in town for a party, you tend to get a a lot of other people hanging around too. It's like Max Detweiler says in The Sound of Music, "I like rich people. I like how I live when I'm with rich people." So the bars and restaurants and filled with people paying with American Express Black Cards and worrying about share prices into the future. (One share this morning is $187, 375. What if you had a 100 of those?) But, to be honest, to have a bunch of retiring millionaires and billionaires wandering around town is not too hard on us...they're all in bed by ten.

So the Farmers' Markets are getting going as well. Our climate is still variable enough that we have growing seasons and fallow seasons. I remember working with community gardeners in San Antonio, TX, who are able to grow pretty much year-round. Up here we still have "winter."  This is always a great opportunity to meet new people, see the fecundity of God's flora, and to get fresh food into our diets. I hope you have a farmers' market in your area that you can support and be a part of the movement. (Chris and I always try to get as local as possible in all the we consume, except of course, my clothes, which tend to come from this guy . Maddy calls me a "logo whore." She's right.

The cardinals are back outside our bedroom window, and every morning they come out at 5:30 am to tell us they are awake. (Because of the way our house is built, their nest is literally only 8 feet from our bed. Our heads are closer to their nest than the bedroom door.) The grass is greening, and my neighbor already has his yard looking spotless, manicured, and perfect. He has a gift...

Well, I hope your Spring is gentle too. I hope it leads to a wild summer. I hope the blessings of this season carry on the whole year through.

May your tables be full, and your conversations be true.