again. circle. spring.

ogle the seed catalog.

check on the parsley sprouts and the pomegranate's new leaf shoots.

it's a magical day in march.

the wind blows the brand new blooms

and you pull the typewriter out;

your baby is asleep.

(you find yourself lost in the moment, swept up by the beauty of life.)

rebirth, my favorite friends are coming 'round again.

she is new. but she comes every year. what part of you do allow to become new?

spring is not to be resisted. 

the earth is clean.
the rains were few.
not enough to sate the reservoir surveyors
but enough to burst wild flower seeds
and soak the trees to green.

the tadpoles grow fat, we hope they can sprout their legs before this warm sun drinks up their swamps!

teddy loves the sac train museum. (it really is a cool place.) i like the old train chinaware.

looks gross, tastes great. frozen bananas, cocoa, nut butter: better than ice cream.

check out my guns, guys. muscles attributed to lincoln/dance class. thank you.

furled fern fronds

down at weber creek, nursing in the green spring.

land of 4 miracles: portland(ia)

:kathryn and her nursling.:                                      deschutes brewery

miracle 1: i have found myself within a kick-ass network of mormon women: "feminist mormon housewives,"  (we) call ourselves 'mo-fems.' and this beautiful friend that i just hadn't met yet picked me up at pdx and showed me around downtown portland. lovely lovely. what a blessing.

i no longer participate with the religion in a traditional sense but feel compelled to follow this social justice movement, by these courageous women, to make the church a better place for women. these are faithful members questioning the oppressive gender roles, asking hard questions and getting a lot of shit, not just from the men but from women as well within the church. what is merely traditional/cultural and what is true "doctrine"? and why can't we question the status quo within a church that encourages pondering without being called apostate? i admire these women and men, the majority being active, "card -carrying"  lds members. my experiences with the lds church could go on for posts n posts n posts... buuut you can read here at ordain women to get an idea of how many women feel about gender roles and here at feminist mormon housewives to see a glimpse of an awesome network of alternative/progressive mormons. (THERE'S HOPE, PEOPLE.)  

miracle 2: a lone mother navigates the portland transit system with her bulky baby paraphernalia. it's cold, no phone. our ambitious plan? make it to voodoo donut, eat donut, return. with whatever happened in-between.

a women chats with us at the stop while we wait. as we approach our stop in downtown she comes up to me, grabs the folded, bulky stroller, and says, "i'm going to help you today." yes please!

two crust punks leave voo-doo donut with a bucket...fulla' donuts.

she was patient, kind, and friendly, and spent the whole afternoon walking the streets with us, pointing out unique architecture, finding beauty everywhere, and directed us to tasty places to eat. she finds magic money on the ground, and buys us more delicious treats. she helped me with lincoln, who's wild and doesn't understand the importance of a sidewalk!

andrea, i don't know if i'll see you again but i know you were an angel of the universe, a manifestation of love. we had a magical time together!

she told me this was the first tree to bloom in portland. the lady is always so finely dressed.

miracle 3: diana.

she is the goddess of courage, health, and discipline. i love her dearly.

linky loves her. her little apartment is adorable.

miracle 4: the land of a thousand waterfalls. literally. i stopped counting at 200. there isn't enough space on my memory card to handle all of the wonder.

multnomah.

the whole trail: falling water. on us.

electric blue glacial river, glowing green trees.

enchanted trail carved in the steep and moss.

one of diana's many specialties: hot herbal chai with coconut creamer and vanilla stevia. (what i would do for one RIGHT now.)

portland saturday market. diana scopes out the raw dessert competition. she plans to re-launch her raw truffle bizness here! (under-stated matching shirts hashtag bff's.) <<hashtag lincoln.>> lololololololol. (not.) ps. people really talk like this.

my cheapskate souvenir for ty, who stayed in cali. PORTLAND STREETS IN A JAR. the tsa did NOT like this.

back home, sunset at the swamp. air filled with the scent of blossoms.

my little sun beam is two today.
i'm off to celebrate, because he is my little spring time lamb.

xo