"Late April"

have you ever woken to the sun on a spring morning?

: yes...

: that's why I normally like my bed right beside the window

and felt the warmth of the sun... and stepped outside and heard the birds singing?

and seen the dogwoods blooming?

: yeah that's an amazing experience...

its a smelly experience... but it is gorgeous...

and looked around at all the green... and seeing the flowers?

: this is an amazing picture

so then you sit in a chair with your glass of water on your rock patio in the shade...

are you enjoying this?

: definitely

so then you pick up your book and the breeze comes through the trees..

you hear it first

then you feel it

and it beckons you to grab your glass of water

the condensation is on your fingers... its just the beginning

the glass hits your lips... the water is on your tongue

it goes down your throat... how refreshing

enlivening... its a wonderful and beautiful thing

then you lift your eyes from the pages of the best book you've ever read

and among the branches and bright green leaves is a beautiful cardinal

then a blue jay flies into the the dogwood next to the pines

and a squirrel runs up one of the pines...
onto a long branch...

its jumping from tree to tree.

you cant help but feel young and free again... then you hear a splash

: what's that?

you look over at the pond and see circles expanding from where you know a bass just jumped

you begin to wonder whats going to happen next when your book draws you back into the mystery, the glory, the joy of everything you're experiencing around you... its wonderful to find such things in words...

your experience is perfect...

you know you are not hiding in the story of the book from the reality around you... no... its part of the reality, part of the conversation of life

this is beauty...

this is love.