Almost shabbos

...and today was a catch-up kind of day:  garden, cats, groceries, email, calls, calendar.  An old friend is in town and will come to shabbos dinner; went and got kosher chicken and challah.  (That is the modern equivalent of hunting and setting the dough to rise.)

The cats are both asleep, Bracha in her basket at my right, Mazal in my beloved's recliner chair at my left.  The fabric-and-foam cat stairs are now in place beside the bed, and I am happy that Mazal has figured out how to use them, since now it is uncertain, when she leaps, that she will reach the mattress.

The bees are back in the yard, and I hear (though I do not see) the hummingbirds.  Boulder is so beautiful, and I am so happy to be back in this house.  Something is rustling and making muttering noises in the back yard; raccoon(s)?  Not big enough for the bear.

I no longer take for granted the joy my body feels in stretching, nor the spirits in the weather, nor the beauty of the mountains or the rain, and the smell of earth and grass just after.  I so want to preserve it for the generations to come, for my beloved's newest grandchild, who bears his name, for my latest cousin, Charlotte's great-grandchild, for the next grandchild-to-come, and all the children and animals and birds...  

It is our responsibility now, with G-d's help.

Good shabbos.