Scottish cattle, Sudanese friends, American farm

A second Giving of Thanks, spent on Whippletree Farm. When friends meet family, many things are shared–food, stories, and laughter. The circle of the table, and of each heart and prayer, grows a little larger… ◆

A stunned cardinal found

while sheep and goat wait

for feeding hands,

provision they never see except when given

Shelter hides,

with shadows soft,

all who come and go. All are both travelers and hosts of culture

Here, a whiskered meeting,

a pine-needle carpet for running in rain boots,

and a basket cradling onions fresh from earth, quietly exude peace.

Camera-to-camera conversations, click click in the kitchen

and outside, calming pines tower and sigh.

My uncle leads all the herd, to catch two

An observer must watch from a distance that won’t startle; cattle know only their owner’s presence 

The red cow is the smartest, most clever, and most gentle

A young Belted Galloway watches me

One penned,

caught,

and into the trailer…

while the other strong bull who throws fences evades capture for the second year in a row.

Penelope in the pines

A commissioned art phrase, “Blessed to be a blessing,” inspired by God’s interaction with Abraham in Genesis 12, and His gift of rain.  ◆