2022, Day 1

Deer in Sequoia National Park, July 2007

 When I took this photo, years ago, my thought was "oh, what a pretty deer".  Now I look at it and realize she is not standing in a green meadow, and that there are only small tufts here and there for her to eat.  I also notice how her ribs show. 

In the next photo, taken moments later, there is a different story which has emerged.

Here that same deer has moved a bit, and has pawed the dead branches and old pine needles away to reveal new shoots and roots, which it is now eating.

I don't believe there is anything magical about a new year, but there is always something good somewhere, sometimes right under our feet, if we can just get through the bad stuff.

I don't know what 2022 will bring... whether the pandemic will be better or worse... whether elections will bring better leadership on Capitol Hill or more anger and polarization.  

But I do know that underneath it all there are still good things to be found.