What Grows in a Field

Lily and Clara trying to restrain Benjamin, unsuccessfully. He took off in a 2 yr. old run. I barely caught him.

Benjamin was unrepentant, in a cute way.

In 2014 our family joined together in Switzerland to spend time with Mary and Richard McKinley and our grandson Benjamin. It was a fabulous time, just can't tell you how great it was.

John and I stayed at an AirBnB in Kӧnig, a rural area near Berne. We booked it after Mary researched it. What she did not realize at the time that this lovely place had two fairly steep gravel roads leading to the apartment, which was on the second floor.  What she did not take into account was that we were her parents in their 60s.

This farmer owned about 4 John Deere implements, all pristine. 

These gravel roads led to a farm; not just a farm but it was paradise, at least to me. We always stopped at the barn and house where an arch of old barn connected to new barn. We rested for about five minutes because we were knackered before striking out on the next hill.


A farm was complete with cows, apple trees, a garden, and wheat fields. Each day as we walked by the farm, the wheat fields were ripening. What caught me was the red among the green.

So amazing, this lone poppy was a bravely growing flower.  

This is on my sidebar.

Within the second week, we trudged up the first hill and saw that the wheat had been harvested, taking the poppy with it.

It will return next year in another place. Poppies are resilient.

Measure of a Man

Hold my hand, daughter.

God, history, and hormones arranged how each gender performed in a family unit. Who did what? Man and Woman with their progeny struggled to survive in a sometimes harsh life. 

Man=hunt, impregnate, and kill. Woman=give birth, care for children, gather. Pretty straightforward, wouldn't you say? 

Some would say that there has been a radical turn-around. While many parts of this mixture remain solid, others shift around a bit. Given the changes in society and its needs, change in inevitability is natural.

Whether there is a dad or a mom in the home does not change a primary focus:
their family.

Mother's Day

Men walk through a mall carrying a pink diaper bag.  Women wear combat fatigues when walking their children to school. Men return from work on a motorcycle. Women take the cycle and head out. Men make quilts while women repair pipes. Men and Women both cook. Some better than others.

Things change, things stay the same. 

  It takes a real man to feel safe in his role, whether it has changed or not.

It takes a real man to accept what he will do, what he can do.

It takes a real man to be the husband or partner to his beloved while both hold onto their family unit. 

And, it takes a real man to change a diaper. 

Dark and Light: Gone the Night, Final Chapter

Continued from Ch. 3

Georgia O'Keefe

Fingers tightened and squeezed Kylyu, constricting slowly, crushing the witch. Kylyu screamed and shrunk, cursing Snow White, writhing with all that she had been. Snow White reached into the witch's chest and grasped a beating heart.  

Kylyu's eyes widened as her vision faded. Snow White bit into the dark muscle, blood pouring down her chin, then spewed it onto Kylyu's dying face.

Crumbling ash drifted from Snow White's hands, the remnants of Kylyu. The staff dropped onto stones, resounding through the cavern. Snow White grasped it tightly, her power burning and cleansing it of Kylyu. 

"I dare not leave this behind." Snow White staggered to her feet with quaking legs. Drained of nearly all strength, Snow sensed Anam covering her with the last of her own energy.

They dragged Gunther to the cottage, where Snow White collapsed.  In moments, Snow found herself by the hearth, while buckets of cool water flowed over her. Gunther lay quietly by the fire, a bowl of stew beside him.

Anam draped herself onto Snow White. Sleep now. Sleep. Snow fell into a deep slumber, knowing the staff was standing silently by the hearth