I subscribe to The Atlantic online but recently haven’t read many articles because, you know, the headlines. I couldn’t resist one this morning, “The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans,” and was flabbergasted by this staggering story (gift link). I see by evening it’s hit all the papers and petitions, and really, everyone involved should be forced to resign. Call your representatives now or send a letter with Resistbot. National security is as chaotic as this puzzle, but not nearly so pretty.

Abundant sunshine has been most welcome these past few days, but it was cold and grey most of the days I worked ‘Sunshine Splatter Paint,’ on loan from the Hotchkiss branch of the Puzzle Club.

Biko has been happily spending the days in his round pen, and staying out long enough to tuck into his new log. The tulip sprouts are crazy with color!

As with the overall picture, I’ve been spending time making order from chaos. Along with Liberty puzzles, abundant mindfulness skills and supportive relationships have greatly assisted my sanity and my fluctuating joie de vivre. I’ve faced a few challenges, both internal and external, and been able to transform afflictive habitual thoughts (“suffering catalyzed by our interactions with other people, the environments and situations we find ourselves in”) into true (if fragile) open-hearted sentiments of compassion and loving kindness.

All but one of the little cabbage sprouts collapsed and died after I transplanted them up to larger pots. It was too soon, I think, their roots too fragile to rise to the challenge. So I planted more seeds directly into the larger pots, and have been setting them outside during the day to give them a head start on sunshine when they do emerge.

Just for this one picture, I did break the cardinal rule of Puzzle Club: no food or drink on the puzzle table, ever. How could I not just set a small bowl of color in the midst of the puzzle? I removed it right away and ate the dark chocolate M’s elsewhere.

The few butterflies in the puzzle recall the few butterflies I’ve seen outside, mostly little white ones since the passing sightings of Milbert’s Tortoiseshells a month ago.

The easy parts of the puzzle moved pretty fast, large flowers and stunning sky, but the middle took a bit longer. The entire process was its own unique delight, as always, from the whimsy pieces to the tenuous touches of placement, and of course, the bacchanal of colors.

Naturally, I made time between teaching, learning, physical therapy, and puzzling to get outside once the snow slowed and mud began to dry. I cleared a couple of branches broken in spring storms, and ventured a little farther down the path each day. And I kept up my perpetually unfolding science experiments, also, with my latest subject a drowned spider. I didn’t mean to drown her but she’d gotten in the sink and I didn’t see her until she was well and thoroughly washed along with some dishes. Usually I see the occasional spider before I start washing and toss her gently over the edge where she can find her way back to her web. This poor girl, I thought she was dead at first but set her on a paper towel to dry off just in case she wasn’t. I dabbed her gently and she moved a leg, so I left her there. After the first day, she turned a bit, so I kept a loose cover over her and checked in a few times a day. After almost four days, she finally sauntered off between checkins.

And then, the puzzle was finished, and ready to go back in the box. And I’m honored to have been invited to come out of my box this weekend and discuss ‘Skills for Being More Kind’ on the Mindful Life webinar this Sunday, March 30, at 6 pm Mountain Time. This monthly webinar series is free. In keeping with our mission to make mindfulness accessible to all, anyone who would like to attend can register here to receive the link. I hope I’ve developed enough skills for being more kind to find something wise to say.

One thing I’ll probably suggest is that being more kind to oneself makes it a lot easier to be more kind to other people. Another facet of kindness I’ll mention will be how when we understand our interconnectedness with all beings we naturally begin to develop more kindness toward our fragile spinning planet. The side-by-side images of the brachia of a human lung and a branching tree crown struck me as a potent image of intrabeing. This image and the one below came from an Instagram post by the drag queen Pattie Gonia, whom I just started following after seeing that she made the list of National Geographic’s 33 Changemakers for 2025. I don’t know where she got the images but want to credit her for sharing them.

If you want to organize, check out the links below. The top three offer up to date ways to get involved, and the third, Jessica Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water also publishes a good news edition on Sundays. I hope that after reading The Atlantic article linked above, you’ll use the 5 Calls app in the bottom section to call your representatives and demand the resignations of the top US so-called “security” officials.