The Lenten season will officially begin tomorrow

 Oh God our Father We walk in the wilderness of our world, and face the temptations, which would turn us aside from the path of your will. let us not imagine Lent means merely letting off of little things- cutting out some candy- denying meat for vegetables and hurtful habits for a few hours. Lord God, help us see the meaning of the cross, until it's truth looms large enough to take away all sin. Until we love our Savior enough to part with everything except your will. for this we pray in the name of Him who gave up all for us  (amen).

~Wednesday, March 5th~

We have the privilege of welcoming Lent with snow on the ground this year! How perfectly beautiful and delightful, to be sure. Many birds are passing through our area in migration, too.
Tomorrow morning I will be hiking around at Caledon State Park.  I will be looking to encounter woodpeckers, eagles, swans and songbirds. I will also be meditating on some texts and scripture.  Please join me! I plan on arriving before lunch (say around 10:00) and wandering around for a couple hours.
If you can't make it tomorrow but would like to take a trip yourself, the areas in the park that i would be visiting are very easy to find.  Caledon Marsh is a great place to hear great horned owls at dusk, herons, red wing blackbirds and ducks
Boyd's Hole is the best place to see eagles.  you can almost always see an eagle.
Caledon Overlook holds a vibrant population of woodpeckers.
if you can make it out to Jone's Pond, you can see swans and wild geese* and little songbirds flitting around.
All of those areas can be accessed by bike, as well.
For those of you who don't know, I work at Caledon, so I also have access to a park vehicle.  If you don't feel comfortable hiking, i would be happy to come out with you sometime and take you out on a gator or truck!  I know a lot of neat spots!

God Bless,
s

*the wild goose is a Celtic symbol for the holy spirit, as it cannot be tamed or contained.