This too shall pass….

 One kit has perished. Two remain. However, I have yet to see them today. What happened to this precious baby fox just days old?  Did the mama remove her potentially unwell baby from the den and lay it to rest on the grass? Not likely as there was evidence of a predator ‘s aggression on the very small reddish-brown furry body. A fisher cat, or possibly a coyote as the night is alive with opportunists. Did the mama fox look for her baby or was she isolating to protect her remaining young? Our best intentions are not always sufficient. Our best efforts cannot always protect our children even though our strongest instincts drive us to want to try.

The house across the street in its extreme disrepair was sold months ago for the land it sits on and the many beautiful acres that surround it.  I suspect it made sense on many levels that the value in this property was the land, but a lovely elderly brother and sister occupied it until their family insisted that they couldn’t. In this Wyeth-esc picture the brother and sister continued to make daily visits, waiting for the mail or package delivery even though they had vacated months ago living just miles away. The house in its final employ still possessed their belongings left behind.  It was home, their home and I suspect it still is in their heart. How do we define home? A building? A structure? A feeling…

We were greeted by some unusual activity on our normally quiet street.  A quiet street is a bit of an oxymoron these days. Loud reggae music played in a celebratory fashion and permeated our quiet country air Saturday morning at about 8 am. For a brief moment as I stood out on my stone patio, I Imagined a Caribbean get away at cocktail hour …not Vermont.   Cars randomly parked accessorizing the small circular drive with the exception of a dumpster and U-Haul truck strategically parked right outside the front door. The dumpster has been in position for much of late winter and early spring standing at the ready. Sadly, yet telling the dumpster is larger than the U-Haul truck and was filled to capacity by mid-morning. A lifetime of living. A lifetime of memories. Our belongings say something about who we are during this brief stay. If you have no skin in the game what do personal belongings mean?  Couldn’t help but wonder what the destiny of my cherished items and paintings I have created will be one day?

The impermanence of what we cherish and the impermanence of us. All Transient. People and possessions alike.  The Law of Impermanence teaches us that change is not only inevitable, but it affects every aspect of our life. I guess the only constant in life is impermanence. We can fear it, embrace it, learn from it and even resist it but it is going to happen. Clearly one of the many profound lessons learned over the very recent number of weeks. 

A vivid rainbow danced across our sky the other evening after the rain finally ended reminding me to live in the moment and embrace it…the Law of Impermanence would agree.