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Hummer By Anne R. The six rosetteson the mason jar feederlooked identical to me,but apparently notto the – I want to say“persnickety” –ruby-throated hummerrounding the jar –idling on airbefore each oneuntil he found the one,and uncoiling his tonguesipped the blurof his scintillant selfin the sugar water,his turbo-charged wingschurning the leavesof the potted plant below,like freak…

Pride Festival By Alyson The festival draws a lot of creative and open-minded folks who enjoy the safe place to be themselves and their energy is contagious. Our team worked very smoothly together. We had time to get to know each other while we were setting up and doing the outreach. Jace was an amazing…

Pioneers in Mental Health By Kelly Little was understood about mental illness in the Middle Ages. Sufferers were viewed either as eccentric or possessed by demons. The high point of abuse, however, actually came in the 1600s and it was just then that early Quakers began to counter the conventional wisdom. Perhaps it was Friends’…

The “C” in SPICES By Adrian I’ve been thinking a lot about what creates an authentic community. At Illinois Yearly Meeting last June, I had the chance to talk with Windy Cooler whom I had met at a Pendle Hill retreat a few years ago. As she talked about her many experiences with both healthy…

Mowing and Gardening By Carol The first spring in our meetinghouse (2009) we grappled not only with how to organize our rooms but also how to manage our yards. Mowing was a challenge because we have three — front, side, and back. We soon realized the front yard was mainly for show, the side yard…