The world outside is measured in gradations of russet. It snowed during the night and I was surprised when I looked outside this morning and saw the white expanse. The heeler twins enjoyed their romps in the stuff until mid-day, when the staring sun and the resultant rising temps did away with all of it. And now what remains is a stretch of pine needles and cones atop the soggy ground, beneath the leafless trees and the lichen-covered fence posts, and the sun is easing down in the west, and all is muted and brownish and earthy. Gradations of russet.  The color of oxidation, of disuse. And all things will…

This day is for me significant for several reasons. The weather grows more wintery each day, and this afternoon is supposed to usher in some snow. More significantly, this will begin a stretch of brutally cold nights. But I am warmed inside today, which is the Feast of the Epiphany. Christmastide ended last night with Twelfth Night, and now Ephiphanytide begins. A joyous season and well worth meditating upon. But Epiphany is not my spiritual focus today.  Today also marks the anniversary of the birth of the Maid, Saint Joan of Arc, who is my patron saint. The little French girl’s birth was not officially recorded in the records of…

Too exhausted to write tonight….apologies to my readers. Bless you all. ~ S.K. Orr  

I did not attend Mass yesterday, partly because I suspected there would be some sort of Irishing of the church, with green clothes and eye-rolling jokes from the priest and perhaps a few hung-over attendees, clutching their rosaries with shaking hands and a little too relieved to make use of the kneelers. Every year, I watch the Americans who have convinced themselves that they’re sons of the auld sod as they go to parties and drink green beer and pinch strangers and sing really bad songs, and I feel a little sad because for some of them, this is as close to a national celebration as they’ll ever get. Very…

The older I grow, the more I realize that I not only believe all the old cliches I once mocked, but also that I am living them. The older you get, the faster time flies. The most important thing is to have your health. What goes around, comes around.  And the most present of the many old saws I’ve heard is right now is all we’ve got. To speak of these things out loud, especially in the presence of younger people, is to yourself become a cliche. But in moments of clear, undisturbed thought, I see that this saying — right now is all we’ve got — is truer than…

At first light, I walked in the woods and gathered some plant material for an art project. A curious bull crept up on me while I was trespassing in his pasture and when I turned around, the shock of seeing the massive black creature staring at me rooted me to the spot. I was grateful that he accepted my apology, which took the form of me averting my eyes and slowly backing away until I got to the fence line. Once on the safe side of the fence, I watched him amble across the field, noting the knotted muscles undulating beneath his hide, the soft earth splitting apart at the…