This morning, it would appear that winter is finally making its move and getting a hold on the landscape. The temperature dropped late yesterday afternoon so that the rain could turn to snow. This morning found us with an inch or so of new snow. I swept the deck and shovelled the driveway. It is now snowing again. It is difficult to estimate how much might accumulate. Snow is in the forecast for the next three days. A break in the snow is forecast for Sunday, with snow reportedly to return on Monday.

I recently finished reading Mary Rose O'Reilley book The Barn at the End of the World. I was browsing the religion section of the local library, because a few months I found Peter Ellis' book The Druids to be a good read. It was the subtitle of O'Reilley's book that caught my eye An Apprenticeship of a Quaker, Buddhist Shepherd. The author grew up in the Twin Cities; attended St. Catherine's and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before returning to teach English at St. Thomas for 28 years. I could identify with the author's lifelong journey of self-discovery, which seemed to take her down, if not the backroads of the contemporary American experience, then certainly off on the shoulder and up against the fenceline that parallels the main road.

I found the author's email address at St. Thomas and sent her a note. I will now wait and see, if she responds. I found myself thinking how do I craft such an email expressing my gratitude for the author's work without coming across as a stalker. If I receive a response, I will know; if there is no response, I won't know.