I've spent the month immersed in herbs and roses - creating herb e-books for this fall's course, and the rose book for a give away on my website. The herb booklets features water color sketches and the roses photographs and I'm enjoying both mediums. Several other booklets are outlined and eagerly waiting my attention.

Having my energy and passion back has made me aware of how depleted I was after the flood. At one point I compared myself to a turtle, carrying my home in my heart and on my back for sixteen months, but it wasn't until recently that I realized the weight of the shell. Yet it served me well. It provided protection during the times of dormancy, as I reflected, processed and eventually outgrew its restrictions. My shell has cracked wide open and I've taken wing like a phoenix. If there isn't a mythological creature who turns from a turtle to a diaphanous winged wonder, there should be! How many of us have suffered life's blows, temporarily crawled into our shells, then emerged into something so much more than we would have been if our lives had remained staid and steady?

In the midst of the passionate, productive, creative frenzy, I'm also feeling more comfortable with being vulnerable. The shell has served its purpose. Like the covering of a seed that needs to soften and break open before the roots can emerge to take nutrients and grow, my shell has split, allowing me to reach out to give and receive information, resources and blessings.