Picking petals on a quiet Sunday to make dandelion wine.

Paul J. Pastor The back-story, according to Ian Macdonald’s Revolution in the Head:

I had no idea that The Beatles shamelessly purloined one (of the best) of their lines straight from Elizabethan playwright Thomas Dekker.

(Also, I recommend this brilliant book to your attention.)

I was so glad to represent Zondervan Publishers at this year’s Festival of Faith & Writing.

It was joyous to see so many of my writing “worlds” come together—trade publishing and poetry, small magazines and significant literary agents, new and established writers. Good people, good work.

It’s never your fault in

I am very happy to announce that First Things has founded an annual poetry prize thanks to the generous support of the Tim & Judy Rudderow Foundation. Submit by June 30th. Winners will be announced in August: firstthings.com/the-inaugural-…

The balsamroot bloom will peak at low elevations in the east Gorge this week. At middle elevations it will last another week or two. Get out and see the bloom. This is shaping up to be a decent year, with good moisture & cooler temperatures helping the flowers. Remember to ...

The Southwest Airlines workers are grilling burgers out on the tarmac with a full-on BBQ setup, and I am loving every bit of it.

Fool and Little Owl | 2024 | 10x15cm
#art #imagination

Propaganda never looks like propaganda to the people it is meant to persuade.

Mourning and joy are not opposed to one another; but both are the opposite of apathy.

Nature shows us only the clear but vague (like water) or the distinct but hidden (like stone). So Cartesian reason’s quest for the clear and distinct is an unnatural one.

“I’m a huge fan of your work.”

In a lesson for all of us, the trillium moves from a vigorous youth to a regal old age.

Who would say that the first is lovelier than the second?

Streams fill with grit and glitter; yes; mica, pyrite, gold.
The God of little things spits garnets in our mud.
For this is the year of changes. The year it has always been.

Paul J. Pastor

plough.com/en/topics/cult…

Seeing more spammy stuff than usual in my messages here. Changed my password, but apologies if you got an unwanted message from me (nothing too wild fortunately, but still).

The real Paul Pastor can always be two-factor authenticated with The Musgrave Ritual.

The absurdly delicate Fairy Slipper (or “Calypso Orchid” for you Classics kids), native to the temperate rainforest of our little corner of the world.

Magical, and Emily A. Pastor knows just where and when they’ll be each year.

What a *wonderful* experience to host this excellent writer and friend. This first Tin Can Residency was a gift for Emily A. Pastor and me too—full of laughter, good cheer, wild vistas, deep work, and rich conversation on art and faith. Here’s to the good stuff!