Hi folks,

The other afternoon, it got quite cold all of a sudden, and started snowing and sleeting. I was cozied up on the couch with the fireplace going when I heard a knock on the door.

It was a boy about 10 or 12 years old. No coat. Wet and shivering. He told me he was going to meet his friends when it started to snow, and he got off at the wrong bus stop and was a bit lost. Could he use my phone to call his mom?

He looked miserable, cold, and embarrassed, in the tween sort of pained way. We got him warmed up and in touch with his mom. And when he got in her car, I kept thinking about why he decided to knock specifically on our door.

How did he somehow know that this would be a safe and welcoming place? How does the outer perception of your home align with your inner world? Do those things always mirror each other, naturally? Can you consciously cultivate one to help align the other?

All this to say - I’ve officially named my newsletter. It’s now called:

Inner Landscapes / Outer Landscapes.

The tag line: “Tending the seen and unseen.”

This has been a long time coming. I’ve been thinking about how this is what I want to write about. I’m curious - when you hear this title, what do you think of?

We lost our stalwart protector, Gooseberry, the goose, this past week.

Poof. Gone with nothing but a pile of feathers left behind.

We think it must have been at least two coyotes that pulled her through a hole in the fence. Her last act of bravery was protecting the ducks, who seemed unharmed, albeit spooked.

She was a great gal, and we will miss her. Sigh. Some coyotes got quite a good meal, I’d imagine. She was neither small nor svelte.

It’s sad, and it’s nature at work. I like to think that those who experience death in their daily work have a different familiarity with it. It’s less scary and more of a normal reality. This week, I listened to this wonderful conversation with a death doula. I loved hearing about the messy, imperfect, perfect perspective on grief and mortality from someone whose life is centered around the death journey.

“Without death, there’s no context for life. Without death, life is just this amorphous, going on forever experience that we don’t have any parameters around, so death gives all of life its meaning. It creates a big bucket for life to live in. And without it, we got nothing really.” - Alua Arthur

Spring is so close, I can taste it. March is the last month we hastily finish all the lingering house projects. (Ahem, painting my kitchen cabinets.)

The great divide is starting this week. It’s the perfect time to divide your summer and fall perennials. As their little new green growth starts to emerge, they can get dug and divided or moved. Perfect to do in the warm rain! (And don’t forget to plant your peas!)

There is still a little time left to join our flower CSA if you haven’t yet…

I’m offering a free community classifieds section in my newsletters! If you have something to share - a service, an event, an offering, or maybe even something for sale for the general Western Washington area - you can send me a couple of sentences ‘ad’ and a link. I’d love to connect my community with your work! Here are this week’s classifieds:

• ISO - A small restaurant space. Kai & I are starting a restaurant this year in the PT area and are looking for the right spot. Our dream place: not smack dab on Water St, affordable rent (🫣), good light, at least some of the right plumbing or equipment for a commercial kitchen, and a great landlord. Email us with any ideas: emmy@fabledflora.com.

Sending you merry fat robins and full moons,

Emmy and Kai