Friends are the hugs when our knees crumple beneath us. They are the filters who sift through a flood of words to hear our hearts. They are the hot soup on cold nights, and the songbirds on a spring morning. Friends are the spices and poppies and sapphires in our lives. They are the music, the sunrises, the lattes. These things, and so much more, aren't the necessities of survival. This is the stuff of joy―and that's what friends are for.  My latest book, That's What Friends Are For, is now on Amazon--and it's a delightful way to tell a friend how much she means to you! ​ Here are a few sneak peeks:

This is how it feels to type that first word onto a blank page.    (A page from my latest book, What Birds Teach Us.)   You gotta just jump.

Living here in Washington State, I have to catch the ferry to get to  the big-city bookstores.  Oh darn.  

For all you bird lovers out there, my latest book release is tweet-worthy!  Here's a peek: 

Just eleven days later, our sparrows are toddling around the planter box, showing off their new feathers.  The petunias may be cranky, because I don't want to water the nest or the toddlers, but the fledglings are happy with the arrangement.

See what we found nestled under the begonias and petunias in my window planter box?   I noticed a few long strands of straw hanging over the edges of the box and realized they were attached to something precious.  Now I water the flowers oh so carefully.  

Thanks to my daughter, Jill, for the great picture!

Today I heard what sounded like a couple of chatty birds in our cedar tree.  Until this Mom and her three kits climbed down the trunk.  Boy, did she have her opposable thumbs full.   One rascal kept trying to scamper up a tree in the neighbor's yard.  Mom obviously wanted him to wait for his more timid siblings, because she tackled him to the ground and held him there until the others arrived.   I can't say I'm thrilled about our new neighbors. I'm gonna keep a real close eye on our pups, and our garbage can.

Well, that explains why my red-twig dogwood tree isn't growing.  And this little lady isn't shy.  Not a bit of zoom on my camera to get this shot. 

I spat out a sharp, "No!" but she didn't budge; she gobbled.  Come to think of it, that's just what I would do if I were eating M&Ms and someone told me to stop.   Only when I reached out to pet her did she back up and re-join her buds in the field--clearly hesitant to leave her treat behind. 

Time to transplant the dogwood!