Giving Thanks

Thanks for
Mom and Dad.

They gave me
the best family
a girl ever had.

Thanks for my big brother Nic
who gets
better gas mileage
than I do.

Thanks for my sister Cally,
the first of us
to cross the threshold
of grand-parenthood.

Thanks for my little bros,
Ed and Chris,
who've provided me with...

....a wonderful bevy
of nieces and nephews.

Too bad you don't
live closer to Indiana.

Thanks for
my own three daughters

Alex

Nicky

KC







Three girls so different...
...and yet so close.

You three are so lucky
to have each other.

Thanks for
my one son, TJ.

And you, TJ,
are uncommonly lucky
to have three older sisters
watching out for you.

Thanks for my kitties,
Dusty and Stubby,
who entertain me
during my morning blog.

Thanks for my puppies,
Marshall and Koda,
who take me for walks
- and runs -
on The Land.

Thank you
for The Land.

There is no place more
peaceful and comforting
in the world
for me.

Wind River Valley, Wyoming

Thank you
for all The Lands
all over the world

Teton Pass

 The forests...

Kah-Nee-Tah, Oregon

The deserts

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The prairies

And thanks for people
like Barry Banks
who dedicate their lives...

...for the land.

Altamaha River, Georgia

Thank you for clean water
and living rivers...

...and thanks for people
like Jeff Ray
who protect them.

Somewhere in Michigan

Thank you for
fresh, clean air...

Kate Metroka

...and for the many kids
who've planted trees
to help create
new oxygen.

Thank you for my health -

Strong enough
(more or less)
to Bike across America.

Thank you for my bicycle -
my constant companion -

uphill and down

rain, hail and heat-

we've faced it all together.

Thank you,
above all,
for the greatest,
kindest,
most wonderful husband
I can imagine.

My plate is full.

It's a wonderful life.

Sunrise by Tom