Aren't you glad at least that the earthworms

Under the grass are ignorant, as they eat the earth,

Of the good they confer on us, that their silence

Isn't a silent reproof for our bad manners,

Our never casting earthward a crumb of thanks

For their keeping the soil from packing so tight

That no root, however determined, could pierce it? . . .

Excerpt from Worms, BY CARL DENNIS

Happily, today’s weather forecast was a fail. All the rain and thunderstorms predicted didn’t materialize. A perfectly sunny and warm and windless July day. Charlie and I have a lovely walk. I have something on my mind and in my heart, and this walk is quiet time, meditating time, feeling time, spirit time. A morning like this, when walk is really like prayer. And prayer is really for the psyche: to feel what one feels, know what one knows. I discovered just what I needed to know that guided me through the day. And then, a spontaneous opportunity with my daughters. The three of us all were available and wanted to swim at the same time. We could, and we did. Ahhhhhh. We put on our suits, drove the quick drive to Farm Pond. And agreed on the best route to take. Not a ripple of wind on the glassy surface. Such warm, invigorating depths of green reflected from trees. We all swam, at our own pace, around the island and back. I went the farthest, but I was the slowest. My daughters are much faster swimmers. We met on shore, happy and invigorated and harmonious. I felt such gratitude for this sweet time. And later, after doing some work, I cheerfully made dinner well in advance. Something heavy on my heart was answered with a good result. My spirit feels quite deeply greened tonight.