Greetings loyal airmen.  Seems like once again Mother Nature had chosen to withhold the warmth of Spring from our faces.  After what appeared to be a few short weeks of warmth and sunshine, we are once more waking up daily to gray skies and dark clouds.  Rain falls steadily and the word gloom seems to pervade every single aspect of our daily routine.  In a nutshell, airmen, it's just plain depressing and takes every ounce of energy to maintain some kind of positive attitude these days.

Yesterday morning, seated by our big bay window that looks down over the yard, the street, then to the copse of pine trees to the river at the bottom of the gulley, I was simply comtemplating as yet another gloomy day.   At which point, out of the scrub and brush, almost directly opposite our driveway, a deer materialized.  It was a female, a doe, and a very good sized creature she was.   She stood for a few seconds, her back to the trees and river, looking up and around.  Thankfully there was no traffic on the road and she began to sniff the air.  By now I was sitting up and taking notice of her with all the attention I could focus.  Deer are beautiful animals and she was no exception, with a mottled fur of light brown over her back, on tall, thin legs, she made her way along the dirt apron beside the roadway, staying near the tree line all the while.  Then when she was directly across from me, she turned and casually walked back into the forest and dissappeared.

In the almost twenty five years we have lived out here, on the outskirts of town, along the river, Valerie and I have seen a managerie of woodland creatures from the usual assortment of squirrel, groundhogs, beavers and skunks, to the more exotic foxes, wild turkeys.  One time a huge, bull moose, appeared at that same bay window, standing
eye to eye with Valerie when she opened the curtains that morning and got the shook of her life.   All in all it is truly part of the charm of living out from the center of town, this ability to enjoy and marvel at nature's creatures in their own, unfettered domain.   They remind us, as did the deer yesterday, that we do not inhabit this world alone and that these magnificent creatures are also the work of the Divine Creator, for us to respect, admire and care for.  Seeing that beautiful doe turned my day into a happy one, despite the gray skies.  Which only goes to prove, there is always something to lift your spirits, if you stay awake to see it.

Finally, just so you don't think I've been completely lazy these past few weeks, I thought I'd post a few preliminary pencils from the new childrens book Valerie and I have been putting together with artist Gary Kato.  It is almost completed and will be published to help support a brand new childrens park being built out in Colorado, where our son, Alan, lives.  More on all of this, and where and how to purchase a copy, when the book is completed.  Hang in there.

                

The above are a couple of rough sketches of the cover and some of the characters..   Not to worry, it will be in full color when done.  It's a fun project and we are so anxious to have it done and out there.

And that's it for another week from Hanger 27, airman.  Take care, Ron.  Over and out.