Winter’s blankets of white, the long-awaited buds of spring
accompanied by the run of maple sap,
summer’s bouquets, and the magnificent palette of autumn:

all are feasts for the senses, and lead to the characteristic New England feeling
of existing in tandem with, and often at the mercy of, the great forces of nature.”
- Tom Shachtman

[did I mention we drove to the top of Mt. Washington? More photos to come...]

It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is.
And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want,
but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!

- Mark Twain

Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

- St. Patrick of Ireland

© all rights reserved (photo by ChrisAnton)

Would I have had enough faith and love to return to the people who had captured and enslaved me,
seeking not revenge but their highest good, their salvation? That is the real St. Patrick.

- 150 Knots (150knots.wordpress.com)

To the outside world we all grow old.  But not to brothers and sisters.  We know each other as we always were.  We know each other’s hearts.  We share private family jokes.  We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys.  We live outside the touch of time.  – Clara Ortega

~ * ~
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain