three or more questions
 
when you see the rose
do you grab her to feel the thorn
or do you gaze close to become her beauty?
 
when you know her
do you adore the darkness
through which her beauty is born
as much as you adore her shape
bathed in sunlight?
 
when you see the rose
do you desire her bloom
or do you long for her blooming?

~meg



From lion in February, Extinction Witness moves to bee in March.

As a last note on lion and following my last letter's theme on the conscious predator, I'll close with antelope, lion's favored prey.

Antelope is fast, agile, and clever.

Imagine what it takes to catch antelope.

As of this writing, there is no word on the endangered species listing of African lion.

When I think of bees, I think of flowers. When I think of flowers, I think of seeds. This is as it is with me, quite a stretch to focus on any one group, let alone what classifies a single species.

So, with bee this month, I focus not on honey bee, or the many likes of bee, but also on the flowers they love, the seeds that begin those flowers, and the darkness where those seeds open.

With horticulture so near and dear to the well-being of bees, my thoughts already reach to the many human decisions impacting their lives.

As a beginning point next week, Extinction Witness will release the short film she will bury them, which counts the cost in one spraying of neonicotinoids, a class of neuro-active insecticides that killed about 50,000 bees in Oregon last summer.  

Surely there will be one letter in March focused on honey. The sweetest thing on Earth is worth more than its weight in gold.

And because forests regulate climate and pleasure, I've reserved a corner of this letter - FOREST EDGE - for notes on ways to engage in forest protection and restoration activities.

I am grateful for the personal notes I've received from a few with reflection on lion. I hear the echo of others noting how lonely this work and witness can feel. Death and birth bring us together in love. Thank you for being here with me.

much love, many thanks and blessings,

megan

ps Real Food Media is running a vote on contest finalists through March 4. Click here to watch ten short films and cast your vote. Be sure to check out the gift (on seeds) and who keeps the beekeepers?

And the paintings are courtesy of Bryan Holland Arts. I greatly appreciate Bryan's way of treating darkness with light. It's a gift to share his work. Please see Bryan's gallery. 

top: scar tissue, oil + mixed media
right: crimson and clover, oil + mixed media