Submitted by Alice Roper

 From my window looking north, this is what I see.

 Melted marshmallow clouds drift across the blue skies.  The distant hills are turning from brown to green.

Trees that have been skeletons are beginning to leaf out, each on their schedule.  Cedar trees show their true ragged branches.  Not at all like the ones on Christmas cards.

Birds fly by in threes.  Is this some kind of mating?   Sometimes they dip down for a drink of water from the pond.

We are in The Great Unfolding of Spring, a most appropriate time for learning to have Nature come to us rather than always believing we have to go to Nature. Our Natural Area can show us many of these “unfoldings.” Just pick a nature-filled place and sit quietly, look carefully, and listen intently—as if you were studying pores in a brick instead of the whole wall.

What in the world is a knitted knocker?  It is a soft comfortable handcrafted breast form made with love by volunteers for women who have had mastectomies.  Knitted knockers is a national non-profit organization run by volunteers. 

Local volunteers are mobilizing within the Manhattan community to form a local group known as Little Apple Knitted Knockers.  We need the help of the local community to make this endeavor successful. 

A Meadowlark Hills St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon for the “Pats” in Independent Living was organized in 2014 by Pat Miksch to honor what would have been her dad’s 110th birthday.  He was born March 17 in 1904 and lived to celebrate his 99th birthday.

Pat asked Rae Stamey to help with the table decorations, and thus she became an official “Pat” for the day. 

Those attending this year’s event are as follows: (back row) Pat Hook, Pat Edwards, Pat Miksch, Rae Stamey, and Pat Hartman;  (front row) Patty Brown-Barnett, Pat Vogt and Pat Niernberger.