advent...that which is coming..

There are four afternoon deer in the yard with a solitary raccoon.These are not tawny colored bodies but tree trunk brown and they move like ghosts through the woods to the corn.Three male turkeys just raced in as if chased by a predator but that is just their way.They own the stage now and root around for food.These three have escaped any hunting and never are apart.Neighbors.

Winter has come early this year with the birdbath frozen over day after day and then a warm afternoon appears and one wonders.The maple outside my window didn't even have time to turn before the first frost:the leaves are crumpled and grey.My vision from cataract surgery is spectacular and I am grateful for steady hands and advances that made it so easy.Deo Gracias.

Advent is here and I feel none of the usual expectation.Too many friends have losses and challenges, so this time of year feels weighty.I have a few new friends though, two poets and an author.The books that tell their stories are light and clean on my palm, and the weavings of their words will help.Anna Kamienska writes :"The poplar in my window is completely golden. And is.Is.My witness."

Let me be open to what this Advent brings ; let the Bradford pear and   maple be my witnesses in this wintertime of heaviness and cold.