What is it about Spring that can be so wonderful and so overwhelming at the same time? No matter what, it seems to be the season with the most intensity in my life.
When I was younger it was as if I could feel the intensity of the earth coming back to life through the soles of my feet. The power of things turning green and growing rose up through my senses and nearly collapsed my ability to take it all in. Making me feel achingly alive and enervated at the same time.
I was reminded of that feeling the other day when I happened to walk through the dining room and catch sight of my pussy willows out the window. What could be so special about that you ask? Let's see if I can paint you a picture of what I saw in that moment.
This year, for the first time since I planted the bushes ten years ago, they received abundant water thoughout the winter in the form of relentless snows. I knew they would be showy this year as I watch the buds swell on the nearly 15 foot high bushes. The cold February days kept them from coming out too early this year as they have nearly every year we have lived here. I waited and watched each day gauging just the right time to go out and cut some branches for replenishing the vases that I dedicate to them each year. This was a couple of weeks ago when they were perfect for drying.
Normally, as the catkins mature they reach out of the bud and are covered with bright yellow pollen. In drier years after a few days they drop off quickly, littering the ground. But this year is different. The additional water must have allowed them to hold on to the branches a little longer as well as being twice their normal size. The brisk winter winds brushed off most of the pollen and what was left behind were the fine filaments that look like a cat's tail all puffed up. And the bushes were loaded with this silvery array.
As I was walking through the dinning room the sun was slanting low from the west in the late afternoon and a dark cloud was covering most of the sky except for that intense beam of sunlight. What happened was that the pussy willows were backlit by the sun's position. The result was the fine filaments all looked like they were lit by tiny lights. My breath caught at the sheer beauty of the perfect alignment of natures gifts for me to enjoy. My first thought was to go grab my camera, but I knew no photo I could take would do justice to what it actually looked like. So I stood, rooted to the spot, marveling at my great luck to be passing by and view such a perfect coming together of nature's elements.
I was glad I took those few moments to stand there and savor as all to soon a cloud closed off that perfect shaft of sunlight and the magic was gone. Gone, but not forgotten.
I take moments like these and horde them in my memory. So much batters my senses these days as any who reads the words of the writers here knows full well the horror and injustices that go on every day. It has made me extra sensitive to the song of a bird, laugh of a child, the curve of a cloud, the scent of earth coming back to life, the feel of a cat curled warm in my lap, the taste of a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, all the simple little joys of life are more noticed, more important than ever.
As I struggle to find my balance with the intensity of Spring and its abundance of life, I give thanks for these simple gifts to get me through days determined to batter my spirits.
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Important Announcement
Our very own va dare could use a little help right now. The RedBird, that she has put so much love and hard work into has a rather large utility bill coming due this week. If she can't pay it she will have to close the cafe just when the tourist season will be picking-up. It has been a brutal winter in her region and she has already been through several ordeals this past few months. If you can spare a couple of dollars, please put them in an envelope and send them to: D. Wilson, c/o RedBird Cafe and Bookstore, 5715 Orby Cantrell Hwy., Pound, VA 24279.
Our gal has a heart of gold and is always helping those in need in her community. Time for her to get a little helping hand, too.
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My Selections
Diary: I Hope Everybody's Ready For This
By: The Angry Rakkasan
TAR has deep forebodings regarding Muqtada al-Sadr's latest call for his followers rise-up against occupying forces. He cites statistics in the changes of attitude of the Iraqi people toward our forces since the last uprising in 2004.
"The difference between the Mahdi Army uprising of April 2004 and now, is that the U.S. is in a far more compromised position. Depending on what Sadr decides to do in the next few days, this situation could get very bad, very quickly."
Theghostofkarlafayetucker and TAR have an exchange.
killjoy lays out some possibilities.
SteinL starts off this excellent thread with this opinion.
MeteorBlades explains the back story.
spread the word IRAQ NAM responds to MB's comment with some interesting facts.
Iowa Boy on two likely outcomes.
Diary: _Bush's Private "SS": How he is getting away with it?
By: ImpeachKingBushII
Traces the rapid rise of Blackwater mercenaries, a shadow army, that Bushco is using for some very dubious purposes.
inclusiveheart makes a great point!
G2geek on the difference between equipment for our soldiers and the Blackwater mercs.
AmericanRiverCanyon connects some very interesting dots at the beginning of this thread.
SaraBeth has made her own connections.
Diary: "Sweet little lies"
By: nyceve
nyceve delves into the 'perception management business' and the ongoing dribble of lies to discredit universal healthcare for this country.
A Siegel on a rational approach.
DrWolfy on 'waiting lists'.
el cid blisters the argument!
Indy Scott's serious rant resonates.
Diary: Beware Sleeper Cell in the U.S.A.
By: MrMichaelMT
This diary digs into the connections between religious universities training lawyers for the government and large corporations and potential long-term impact of the hiring of such by the justice department. The threads in this diary brought lots of extra information on how deep and far these universities go to get the graduates in powerful positions and the rules that are 'bent' to do so.
goodasgold starts off this thread with another religious university's agenda followed by lists of some very interesting Board members.
Over the Edge follows up with Falwell's bold assertions of his agenda for his legal graduates.
Land of Enchantment cites another college in the mix.
Diary: We're on the other side
By: Jerome a Paris
A powerful diatribe against taking the supply side approach to problems because it has been debunked by reality.
homo neurotic has been having deep thoughts.
Magnifico has some wonderful notions.
pissedpatriot unleashes an excellent comment.
Front Page: Gratitude and Progress in Iraq
By: BarbinMD
Short and sweet from Bush's delusions to Iraqi distain to military spokesman's spin cycle.
talex mops the floor with some damning questions.
Catatonia starts off this thread.
azale knows how to dress a pig.
hockeyrules corrects the numbers.
ImpeccableLiberalCredentials has a very chilling report!
ohcanada on the HUGE difference in numbers reported by the BBC and CNN.
Front Page: The coming Justice Department disaster
By: Kagro X
Kagro lays out the case that, "This is a planned disaster. A burning of all bridges and a scorching of all escape routes. In other words, the routine Republican m.o.: destroy all paths back to the status quo, so that even if our theories don't pan out, nobody can pull them out by the roots -- they can only tinker with the ruins."
Marc in KS and bleeding heart engage the topic.
seesdifferent considers that Paulose's tactics may have been quite intentional.
Mooncat has some really interesting information.
agnostic has an insightful view.
troqua has some great background information.
Front Page: The Escalation
By: mcjoan
mcjoan reports on some prevaling views of the 'success' of the surge.
noweasels has some sobering statistics.
Fred in Vermont on Joe Lieberman's spin. Watch your gag reflex!
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From noweasels
Hmmmm…is all I can think of to say about this diary --
while homo neurotic gets it; the rest of us remain baffled.
Plutonium Page puts it all in perspective.
iconoclastic cat predicts the results of the October 2007 Rasmussen poll
From carolita
entlord1 takes up where Mencken left off in gina's Eve Fairbanks Reveals Bias.
goldberry's voice of experience speaks some scary stuff in troutfishing's Monica Goodling Freakout Time!
From April Follies
Shanikka, deconstructing a racist elegantly.
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Tonight's Top Mojo provided by BeninSC Thank You Ben!
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments and C&J comments:
1 Because one is too accountable to the people by rogerdaddy - 121
2 She's not in the circle of trust anymore by cskendrick - 78
3 Well... by CrazyHorse - 75
4 She is completely screwed by fugue - 70
5 zxcv by stevej - 67
6 An obvious point by Jerome a Paris - 65
7 The meaning by mnhtnbb - 64
8 Would that we had a few more Michael by dolphin777 - 60
9 Extensions are a given by silvercedes - 58
10 I think you are a treasure by bleeding heart - 56
11 There you go...bringing up the realities of war. by rogerdaddy - 55
12 "Clearly......" by phoenixdreamz - 55
13 You nailed it! They wouldn't "hesitate"... by ImpeachKingBushII - 53
14 here you go by distributorcap - 52
15 Maybe they could have an Easter Parade by Olds88 - 52
16 congress can DE-FUND this by G2geek - 50
17 If I said the same thing at my place of work, by Do Tell - 49
18 Very true by irishwitch - 49
19 While I'd never support a Republican by MrMichaelMT - 48
20 Awwwwww... by CatelynK - 48
21 hehe by Irishkorean - 47
22 Religious manipulators are so successful by roseeriter - 45
23 Rasumssen headline in Oct. 2007: by iconoclastic cat - 45
24 It's disturbing by incertus - 44
25 We'll never miss her by 3goldens - 44
26 Dennis is going to own Gravel in that debate. by citizenx - 44
27 I saw it when she testified about the yellowcake by anotherdemocrat - 44
28 doubling...domestic violence and divorce rates by darthstar - 44
29 the 'Jigaboo' reply from Imus's producer by QuickSilver - 43
30 This is the old-time Democratic by TomP - 43
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 tips will be donated to the Imus Off-the Air Fund by tgnyc - 501
2 Tip jar by The Angry Rakkasan - 329
3 The klieg lights of oversight by Magnifico - 312
4 Tips/Flames. Why does Bush need 2 armies? by ImpeachKingBushII - 294
5 Tip Jar - 9 April by Jerome a Paris - 227
6 tips n/t by seesdifferent - 180
7 Thanks, everyone, for your support! by Jeffrey Feldman - 175
8 Spread the word by cal in cali - 173
9 1, 2, 3 by righteousbabe - 167
10 Tip Jar by LithiumCola - 165
11 Tips for populism by david mizner - 137
12 Man the barricades . . . by nyceve - 132
13 Because one is too accountable to the people by rogerdaddy - 121
14 that's why by John DE - 119
15 They have an active dormitory in WashDC by Theghostofkarlafayetucker - 115
16 Tip jar by quaoar - 107
17 Tip jar by quaoar - 95
18 tip jar by missreporter - 90
19 A rec & tip by AWhitneyBrown - 84
20 Tip Jar by davidsirota - 81
21 She's not in the circle of trust anymore by cskendrick - 78
22 Well... by CrazyHorse - 75
23 Tip jar by AAbshier - 72
24 She is completely screwed by fugue - 70
25 zxcv by stevej - 67
26 Bullshit. by Mehitabel9 - 66
27 An obvious point by Jerome a Paris - 65
28 The meaning by mnhtnbb - 64
29 This Is So Spot On by DTH - 62
30 Would that we had a few more Michael by dolphin777 - 60
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