Once again,
This time
Too late in one season,
So early in the next,
Agape's tree
Stands etched
In snow.
On each branch,
Each twig,
Held in its place
Between the sky
And the earth below,
There is a collection
Of the evidence.
I thought
I should never again
See such a sight.
I thought
Such gracefulness,
Such wonder,
To be only a memory
Instead,
I awake to find
The beauty
Of a former time
Made manifest,
Made mine to savor
Once again.
A robin pulls a worm from beneath the dirt that only two days earlier had been covered with a thick layer of snow accumulated over the course of the winter.
When Janice Haakons, Holden's intrepid gardener, arrived three days ago, she took a rake to a small patch of dirt covered by a season of falling vegetation from a nearby tree. Lo! there were green shoots punching up into the air from a winter spent below the surface.
Spring, full-blown, is on the way!
The fish, straight from the sea and Seattle's Central Market, was the gift of Larry Howard and Pastor Nancy Winder as a measure of their appreciation for the help of villagers during Nancy's recuperation from her broken ankle, still an ongoing process.
Those who had come for coffee break gathered around "the silver counter" to watch Paul work his magic. That magic would continue on and would be included in the cooking of the halibut.
I have never eaten better.
For reasons hereby made known to you, the Village Easter Egg Hunt was held in the dining hall.
The Ultimate Prankster saw fit to begin this massive snowfall on April Fool's Day, and it is threatening to dash the hopes of everyone who wanted to park their Yaktrax in the closet for Easter Sunday.
Head Maverick Jacob Sperati will sweep steps and tromp pathways all day and never get ahead of the coverage.
Mid-morning, and the village appears to be deserted. The snow continues to fall, and the seats of the summer Adirondack chairs brought out too early for lasting spring weather, once again fill up with snow.
A number of guests are leaving today, and the bus awaits their departure. Their only consolation, upon looking at the ever-deepening snow covering the road, is that since they are going DOWN the mountain, there is the distinct possibility that there will be less snow on the switchbacks than there is on the road in the village itself. The intrepid Noah Nierman, whose more usual job assignment is Staff Coordinator, will see them safely to the boat at Lucerne.
The view from the porch of the dining hall is one of utter whiteness, both on the ground and in the air. There is so much snow falling that there is not a glimmer of sunlight to ease the gray to silver. As the saying goes, we are "socked in."
In the meantime, Pastor Nancy Winder, who sustained a serious break to her right foot about a month ago, must be transported from her residence up on Chalet Hill down to the dining hall for meals. She arrives for lunch aboard "The Imp."
The bus returns from the boat with guests arriving for the Easter Weekend. I have no idea what they expected, weather-wise, but it is still snowing and looks as if it might turn out to be an Easter they will never forget! Those already in the village wave them in...a time-honored tradition, snow or no snow.
Meanwhile, the greatest prank of all. A gift from the Ultimate Prankster. It is April 1 and it is snowing.
