It's been a very mild winter thus far, and the cows have been able to stay in the lower pasture. There have been no hard freezes forcing us to turn off the water to the barn down below. But even if the weather stays mild, the lower pasture needs several months rest before spring so it can grow in strong for next summer's grazing. And given the excellent fertilizer it's covered with, it should be an excellent pasture.

In the meantime, I've prepared the upper barn for the arrival of Jiffy, Sil, and Mercy. It's been cleared of old paint cans and broken water heaters. There's a barrier to separate the cows from the hay storage, and a milking station has been created. A proper farm gate blocks the barn entrance, and if the weather is bad, the big garage door can still be lowered. 

The large adjacent lawn is now strung with electric fencing to keep our cow-girls in place when they're outside. I traded with a friend our 600 gallon metal trough for a more manageable 40 gallon waterer and set up the hoses to keep it filled. So now we just await the three cow procession up the hill, and look forward to having them wait out the winter months closer to us.

[Bill Consiglio, Resident Companion] 

When I heard about the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it felt like someone had just set the room to spinning around me. It seemed impossible that someone could take the lives of twenty beautiful little children and six of their caregivers. 

The picture of little Emilie Parker and the way her father spoke of her out of his love and grief, shattered my heart. The story of Dylan Hockley cradled in the arms of his favorite teacher, Mrs. Murphy, as they both died, wrenched my soul. 

Christ was there that day. He held each victim in his arms as they died. He gently folded each sweet child and the brave principal, school counselor, and loving teachers under the shadow of his wings. May we each reverse the psychic damage done to any such holy innocents by fostering peace and compassion in our nation, our families, and in our own hearts.  

Then Matthew Wright arrived.

Matthew graduated from seminary in May, was ordained to the priesthood in September, and came to live with us as a Resident Companion in October. On fire to work with the Community in the areas of contemplative prayer/liturgy and interspiritual unity, his enthusiasm has had the effect of getting me to refocus some of my energies into these areas, too. 

In late October the two of us attended "Music That Makes Community," a marvelous workshop held at Trinity Church, Wall Street. We learned to lead congregations in paperless music (music sung without books or sheets or overhead projections), and even how to create this kind of simple but powerful music ourselves. 

In December, Matthew engineered my attendance at Cynthia Bourgeault's Wisdom School, held at a retreat center in nearby Beacon, NY. Cynthia led us through six days of teachings on contemplative prayer within the Christian tradition, and we spent several hours each day practicing centering prayer and contemplative worship. And in between these two events, Matthew and I have attended several contemplative worship services in non-Christian traditions.

I still need to keep up with the latest developments in organic, biodynamic farming, but it's refreshing and enlivening to be returning to these other areas, too. Thank you, Matthew!