Signs of spring are everywhere, and the Christian Lent is begun. It is a time of preparing — for new birth, new life. Across the road at our neighbors’ Zaca Ranch, calves are being born all over the place. Our cowboy and moral compass Wyatt took some  photos. He’s got an eye, that Wyatt.

Awww, wook.

Wyatt and his lovely wife Brie are about to have a young’un of their own, literally any minute now. I’ll keep you posted… The little dickens is taking his time. At this rate he’ll go straight from hospital to third grade.

Speaking of labor, pruning is underway in the vineyards. They do it all by hand. It is painstaking work. But don’t talk to mothers giving birth about pruning being painstaking.

I would ask this dude what he is listening to, but I would likely have no idea who he was talking about, like when I watch the Grammys, which is slightly depressing.

Artist Camille Dellar and I finally got out there again to paint. Yipee, though it was a little nipee and windee. In these conditions, my hair looks like a chicken’s behind. Which is sometimes more than I can say for my painting. But this was a good day.

Here is Camille’s. Love her mountains and how she put those light strokes on top of the limestone fenceposts.

She is a pro, obviously. It always fascinates me how two people see the very same scene so differently. To see more of Camille’s work go to CamilleDellar.com. She is great.

Spring of course is not without its surprises. The next day at the ranch it snowed. Seriously, in Southern California. We were all running around squawking like we’d never seen a dang snowflake. But we won’t talk to New Yorkers about snow.

Speaking of New York, where I’m back to, and preparing (there’s that word again) for a few friends for dinner, my trusty sidekick Gina and I went to the flower market, which I love to do.

That last sentence might win the prize for record number of commas.

The flower market doesn’t look like much from the outside…

But once you’re in, it is so wonderful.

Back uptown and best of all, over at Memorial Sloan Kettering (not quite as fun as the flower market) I had a good report on the bosom-smash, aka mammogram. This year begins number eight, cancer-free. Yipee again! Ladies, make your appointments if you haven’t yet. Here’s my post on the subject of, as my friend and The Silver Pen Hollye Jacobs puts it, dealing with F-Bomb Breast Cancer, which WAY too many of us must do.

Yes spring and Lent are seasons of preparation. And yet I am oh so mindful that, prepare as we will, all we have is today.