Letters from Ascension Hermitage and Sanctuary

  Risley and Wren settled down for an afternoon cat nap. These two little sisters are totally devoted to each other. They have been known to sleep almost all day and then play all night - oh, the joys of kittenhood!

Yes, the daylilies are beginning to grow! Today is sunny and 50+ degrees, so I went out to check on the flowerbed. . . I'm thrilled to say that the daylilies are coming up!  

Yes indeed, this is National Dog Biscuit Day! Sammy is keeping a watchful eye on me so that I don't forget . . . every time I walk near the dog biscuit shelf, I must give out treats! Of course, the dogs like to think this happens every day, but perhaps today it really will.  Yesterday, we watched an episode of the old TV show Colombo . I love the show, not only because of the clever ways that Lt. Colombo solves the mysteries, but also because of his basset hound. On yesterday's show he left his dog in the car and asked the dog to take care of the car. "If the car is here when I come back, I'll give you another biscuit," he said, "and if the car is gone, I'll give you a biscuit anyway because I love you."   That's just what I say to my dogs when I leave home - I ask them to take care of the house . . . so far, the house has been here when I've come back. But either way, they'll always get a biscuit! "Enough about dog biscuits," P...

 Happy Saturday to one and all!  We can hardly believe that this is the last Saturday of February.  As you probably know, tomorrow is National Dog Biscuit Day, so our doggies will steal the show - but today is a day for cat photos! Two photos of modern-day cats - and one photo from the archives: a young Sister Mary Winifred and the first two cats - Thomas and Augusta "Gussie." We hope that whatever your plans are for today they will include some time for fun and play - and cat naps, of course.

Another day of cold weather - 26 degrees right now, but as you know the wind chill makes it feel colder!  Janie went out with the other doggies but came back in and claimed a spot right beside the heater. "Age has its privileges," she says. Usually, Sammy and often Bubbles and I join her near the heater. If you're weather is cold today, we hope you are staying warm!  

 Piper sends her best wishes for a wonderful snow day!  May we all enjoy the snow as much as she does! Stay safe and warm if it's snowy in your world too.

It's a cold, gray day here - a few snowflakes just beginning to fall - but our orange amaryllis is blooming with two of its four buds open! I saved this amaryllis bulb and one other from Christmas 2023 . . . they slept right through Christmas 2024, but much to my surprise, one began to grow in mid-January. I'm sure its message is - have patience, never give up! The tiniest bit of green is visible on the second bulb - maybe it will bloom in April. Sending all good wishes for today and always!  

 On this Sunday when many churches hear the Beatitudes as part of the Gospel proclamation, I always remember my friend and distant cousin, Gurdon Brewster.  As a Union Theological Seminary student in 1961, Gurdon was invited by Martin Luther King, Jr. to be a summer assistant at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He told the story of his first night at dinner in the home of Martin Luther King, Sr. Dr. King, Sr., announced that at the service later that evening, their guest would be the preacher - and told Gurdon that he would have 45 minutes to preach. Not only was this a surprise - but Gurdon had never preached before. . . and certainly not for 45 minutes! Of course, he could not turn down such an invitation from his host, but he decided right then that he would use the Beatitudes as his text since they would provide many points to develop. [More about Gurdon Brewster:  About the Sculptor: Gurdon Brewster ] My own earliest experience with the Beatitudes was having to me...

    Happy Valentine's Day! The sun is shining here today - that's a reason to rejoice after so many days of clouds! And remembering today, Dr. Mariette Grant - a physician in NYC, who died in 1923. She graduated from the Eclectic Medical College of the City of New York in 1891 TimesMachine: February 14, 1923 - NYTimes.com   --  she is definitely an inspiring person to me, and one discovered quite unexpectedly!  The sunshine, Mariette Grant, a new day - all of which brings me to this hymn with words by William Cowper (conveniently in the public domain):  Sometimes a light surprises   The Christian while he sings; It is the Lord who rises   With healing in His wings; When comforts are declining,   He grants the soul again A season of clear shining,   To cheer it after rain. In holy contemplation   We sweetly then pursue The theme of God’s salvation,   And find it ever new; Set free from present sorro...

Yesterday's snow was beautiful - all 6-7 inches of it. Cindy took these photos last night when she went out to give the horses extra hay. [Don't worry about Sonny with the face mask - he's fine . . . the mask just protects his blind eye. And no, that large building in the last photo is not ours, it's on the property next to ours.] This morning, of course, is a different story - the temperature has risen to 33 or 34 and what was snow has changed to rain - so we have SLUSH! A mixture of snow and rain is expected for much of today.  Naturally, heavy, slushy snow has produced one or two problems - the most immediate is that some of the nets covering our chicken yard have pulled down. Fortunately, the chickens are safely in their coop for today - and probably for tomorrow too, until I can put the nets back up! That won't happen until all of the snow is gone . . . We hope you are safe and warm wherever you are!  

 Watching the woods fill up with snow . . . if you're in the path of this storm, stay warm and safe!

 The moon is so bright tonight that I thought I had left the outside light on, although I believe it will not be at its fullest until February 12th. This is the Snow Moon and sure enough 4 to 8 inches of snow is predicted for tomorrow! Full moons always remind me of my mother - she was well into her 90s and living in a retirement community, when she discovered that a window in the dark laundry room provided the best place to view the full moon, even in the very well-lit city of Houston! "Did you see the moon last night?" she often asked me. I hated to admit that I hadn't even looked for it, so I too began watching the moon. . . and I still watch it.  Amazing the habits we pick up from our parents! This particular moon - the Snow Moon - also reminds me of my friend Bill Asplen and his dog, the first American Eskimo dog in my life, Snoflash's Happy Mini Peep "Minnie" - until we meet again at the Rainbow Bridge!

 Hmm . . . the weather report says it's snowing here, but it surely looks like sleet to me! And to the doggies as well - even our American Eskimo girl Piper ran outside and turned right back. Thea the beagle ran out and then reconsidered . . . and everyone else just looked out and said, "No way!" Fortunately, they had all been out an hour earlier when it was dark and cold, but there was no precipitation. Cindy has fed the horses, and I have fed the chickens. The chickens have gone back into their coop, and the steps are now coated in ice so I'm inside - all the better for Saturday house chores! Louie stretched out on his beach towel, pretending that it is a warm summer day! This collect from Common Worship  has been on my mind all week, so I'll share it here for what it's worth:   Almighty God, by whose grace alone we are accepted and called to your service: strengthen us by your Holy Spirit and make us worthy of our calling; through Jesus Christ your Son our ...

 Every day a flock of goldfinches comes to the Sanctuary House feeders for breakfast, and little by little, almost imperceptibly, the males are showing more of their summer yellow feathers. Even on this rainy morning, the goldfinches showed up right on time - they usually stay until early afternoon and then fly away until the next morning!  Goldfinches are the vegetarians of the bird world, surviving almost entirely on seeds. Their favorite seed? Nyjer seed!

Whether we call today the Presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple or the Meeting of the Lord in the Temple or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary or simply Candlemas, we are, today, celebrating Jesus as the Light of the World. Traditionally, religiously, this is the end of the Christmas season. For as long as I can remember this has been a favorite day of mine, not least of all because two of my favorite Biblical characters are introduced: Anna and Simeon. I remember in elementary school (at St. Stephen's Episcopal Day School in Houston) hearing about Anna, who lived in the Temple . . . right then I decided that is what I wanted to do! Of course, my life has not turned out quite that way although I do have a chapel corner in my house; but even now I feel most "at home" in church buildings. Thanks to the many musical settings of the Nunc dimittis  and its inclusion in Compline, Simeon is an ever-present partner in prayer. And for me, no celebration of Candlemas ...

 Today I am remembering my cousin Greta Risley Casavant who died a hundred and two years ago, on February 1, 1923. Greta's mother, Jennie, and my great grandmother, Dora, were sisters. In some ways Greta and I are very different - she was a gifted opera singer and performed professionally all of her adult life. [The photo to the right is from her performance of Carmen in June 1899.] She travelled and performed extensively in the US and even in Canada. She loved sailing and ice boating; and once when a bank refused to cash a check because she had no written proof of identity, she sang to prove that she really was Greta Risley! You can read more about her here:  Greta Risley - Wikipedia But in spite of our differences and that I never knew her in person, Greta is a spirit mentor to me and is an important influence in my life. When I go on to larger life, my ashes will be buried on her grave in Oak Grove Cemetery on Martha's Vineyard. May she rest in peace and rise in glory, and ...