It’s very dark. The rain is steady, the wind unsteady, gusting.

Ike is here. He wasn’t supposed to affect us, but then his path crept closer and closer to Louisiana. We’re getting just a taste of the ferocity the low-lying coastal areas of Louisiana and Texas are experiencing. I'm concerned for those who stayed behind.

Early this morning I walked around and around the yard. Even though Ike was coming, I picked up sticks here and there from Gustav, and tossed them onto the brush piles.

Someone said the hours of cleanup this past week were 'futile' now that another storm was on its way to blow away our efforts. Though this is true, the clean space this morning was bright, beautiful, even more so in the knowledge that it was so, so temporary.

I thought about the Tibetan Buddhists who spend many hours making intricate mandala from colored sands, then blow it all away.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sandmandalas13.JPG#file