“The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song.”  (Is 35:1-10 )

A “steppe” is a grassland region that is semi-arid, too dry to grow forests of trees, but not dry enough to be considered a desert. …

 Last week, Central Park in New York City was painted in fall finery of yellow, green, and red as the leaves of the trees welcomed the season of dormancy and stillness.  Even in the face of the season of falling or dying, there is a vibrancy that not only expresses the gratitude for the season of growth now ending, but also gives a hint of what is yet to come in another time. …

What does it mean to have a shared fate or even a common destiny?  A shared fate seems to imply something to which we all will have to undergo as fellow creatures.  Arguably, it is said that the 2 things that we cannot escape is that we all must die and we all must pay taxes (note I said “arguably”). …

Several weeks ago, we decided to redesign an existing flower garden in the front yard in an effort to memorialize and honor the life of Judy, my mother.  Due to several weeks without rain, the ground was brick hard, which made the removal of sod close to impossible. …

Those of us who have gone into the deep recesses of a cave have perhaps sensually experienced something of the intensity of darkness.  Many times cave tour guides will gather a group together and extinguish all lights so that the experience of darkness can be felt. …