Vernal Equinox 2020

     Few things titillate our senses more poignantly than the classic change of seasons.  The crisp colored coolness of early autumn, the brisk sunny breezes of early spring, the first big winter snow and the first warm summer rain--all these bring balance and meaning to our lives.  But autumn this year is waiting . . . and much of the West is burning.  Seasons are changing all right, but they are stretching the limits of time frames, extremes, and intensities.  And we are learning to adapt.
     I've devoted much of my life to helping preserve nature and keep as much balance in our world as possible.  At age 62, I still commute on bicycle.  Deb and I choose our sports of choice as non-motorized.  And we garden, and we pray for life-giving rains.  But we know that as humanity grows and consumes with the ferocity of an ecological wildfire, the Eremocene (as dubbed by E. O. Wilson) is indeed upon us.
     So we celebrate every bird, every mammal, every bee and bug, and all the rest of life that remains when we see it.  Each butterfly might be our last, each bear, each cat, each moose, each heron, eagle, falcon, hawk.  Even each little precious bee.  But while they remain, we remain filled with hope, and we know that Nature will always prevail.  She may retreat into a dark hibernation for eons, but what is time to Nature?  
     It is easier to say goodbye when one knows that someday in the far distant future, every creature will return.  It is important to us that we treasure every memory and every moment with even the most tenuous connection to the "wild" world around us.  As long as those of us who believe in Mother Earth and Nature keep hope alive, Nature will survive.