Yea, last evening when it was starting to get too dark to see I had the corn and the sunflowers IN.   Major event!  I think I beat PFJuan in Iowa.  Not bragging, just reporting.   His crop is a hundred times larger than mine, maybe a thousand,  I ‘m guessing.

I got two long long emails yesterday.  One was from PFJuan and it is on Comments.  He has great stuff.  And the other from Laura in Barcelona with Illa de L’aire.   I don ‘t have time today but tomorrow I want to tell you about that.    What a great gift to be connected with so many great folks around the planet.   They give me energy, things to ponder and all that good stuff, plus I get to tell you about it.

I have to get to work with our son Wiley.   Nice to spend some time with him.   OK, tomorrow, for sure.   Connected love, Felipe.

One man is dead, one is missing, one is in hospice, people off to cancer treatment, heavy duty stories. No lack of drama in this world. I need to pray for all of these friends and friends of friends and myself.

I guess that is why I got it together to cook this morning. Have just been doing something simple breakfast wise and out the door recently. But today I need something substantial to carry me through all this thinking and praying.

Nice pic of my breakfast setup and took that partially for PFJuan’s sake. Just showing off our corn products. I haven’t heard from him for the last few days and he is probably knee deep in planting his crop. I have a couple of hours to go with our planting which I need and hope to accomplish today.

Yea, we are trying to get life going in the midst of death and suffering. It’s all happening and making sense of that situation is our job, it looks like to me. And we have to remember to get some laughs in the middle of all that too. Thanks for hanging out with me today. Planting seeds love, Felipe.

Yea, I’m slowly putting my life together after his visit. Thanks Father Tom, I wouldn’t have it any other way. But get some new boots Padre, will ya?

That’s straight from My Rebecca to me. You know, blogging in bed with a snack sounded like like a good idea to me. It’s actually good to have an adult around to save us from those good ideas.

So, the corn is 2/3rds in. I’m pedal to the metal on this one. Should finish up today or tomorrow. I’m going to put in some sunflowers as a nod to Spain. They will be a big hit in the roadside stand, I’m thinking, hoping.

OK, but here is the big news, the Comments are back up and running!! Annie figured it out, that I had a white fonte on a white background. Who would have thought. The comments were there but you couldn’t see them. Everyone should have an Annie, right? It took me a while to actually get a fix going but check it out, they are there. That is a big one off my list. Excellent!!

I think that I will celebrate by making some cornbread. Get the corn gods all pumped. Pilgrim Farmer John, PFJuan, doesn’t know that we grind meal out of our excess corn. He will be duly impressed and send a comment and we will be able to read it on the new comment fix. See how it works?

OK, how is your day going so far? Wishing you the best with your dreams and challenges. Corny loves, Felipe.

Here is a quote from my Camino buddy Angela in Sydney, Australia: “That’s awesome that you have friends doing the camino. I always find it so hard to talk to people about the camino over here because no one really gets it. it feels like such a long time ago!! I hope I get a chance to do it again some day!”

I can relate to that, we all can. But there is another side to the coin. A friend of Annie’s, sorry I don’t have her name close at hand, walked the Camino and recently opened a business called “The Yellow Arrow Cafe”. Yea, isn’t that a thing of beauty. It is right next door to the theater in Breckenridge, CO. Sounds like a great location. They are going to do a fund raiser for “Phil’s Camino” in conjunction with the theater soon.

What am I getting at? Well, I think it is all our duties to blow on the embers of “the Way” and keep it going no matter where we are. Even if it is just in our own hearts without any help around. This is a thing of great significance and beauty that we have touched and that has touched us. Yours, Felipe.

So sorry that I didn’t get a pic of me with Father Tom. Why do ai fail to document? Maybe it is like trying to photograph a whirlwind. I was so busy the whole time that the opportunity slipped away. Maybe Annie has a shot that she would send.

Anyway, it was an occasion, his coming. His fortified my whole Christian faith, made it more robust. Well and confused me at the same time. Confused isn’t the right word but I can’t think of better at the moment. It just seems that there was time before his visit and time after his visit. It was a significant event and things that happened before are fuzzy, are harder to remember. Does that make sense?

So, I am off to st John Vianney’s for Mass in a few moments. After that I walk and then I am planning on working on the corn. Maybe the weather will cooperate. It has been variable with sun alternating with showers. But the sun has been keeping ahead of the moisture so the soil is still workable. Have to purchase the rest of my corn seed this AM and get it soaking. Life here at the ranch.

I liked what Father Tom said about me rekindling his Camino spirit. I guess that is what we are here for at Caminoheads, right? We rekindle, we keep it going. We know how to do that. OK, till later, love you, Felipe.

Fr. Tom here…at SeaTac awaiting my wings back to Cali. What a wonderful time at Casa Volker. Phil and Becca, the consummate hosts. I enjoyed walking Phil’s Camino and re-learned the value of impermeable shoes. My hiking shoes from Burgos are now riddled with holes, from miles of walking the droughted trails of California. Ten meters on Phil’s wet-grassy camino had me sloshing in cold and soaked socks. The Camino was telling me something. So, said shoes are now in the dumpster at SeaTac. Relics of holy times on holy roads that are now simply hole-filled shoes. Buen camino, my dear friends. Thanks for accompanying me oh these many miles!

My time with Phil re-kindled the camino spirit within my soul. Being with him is like re-entering the timelessness of pilgrim life “en camino”. It opened again my eyes to the angels that surround me in city life, but whom I never take time to greet. Life “en camino” has a mystical way of opening my soul to the strangers I meet along the way, impelling me to share freely the things I withhold from those with whom I work daily. What is it about that mystical trail? The lessons we all learn…

From Felipe ~ yes Father Tom.

Comment: oh come on Felipe! you don’t just talk about the fantastic recipe and dangle it out there like that without letting us know what the recipe is. Orange rhubarb sounds wonderful. Let us in on it ok. farmer John is off to start planting corn today. Have you got yours in the ground yet? it is getting that time.

Juan ~ We just Googled Rhubarb Jam and came up with the orange rhubarb jam combo. It’s very simple really, just the addition of orange zest and a little juice. It makes a terrific tasty combo with the standard rhubarb flavor. This is scary, Marines discussing cooking, must be a code.

Comment: Hola Felipe!
Two days of cold rain and wind here, ergo, no corn planted. Not as worried about that as I would have been in days past. A blessing of age no doubt. Very similar weather to what we had two years ago when I was getting ready for the Camino jump-off date 13 May. I was nervous then as I wanted all crops planted before I left. It didn’t work out that way and you know what? It didn’t matter. Isn’t it amazing how the Camino teaches us stuff before we even get on the Camino 😉

Just wanted you to know I’ve got a Fr Tom, too. One of the coolest guys ever. He was the first of all the priests I’ve had in life that we called by his first name. Prior to that, we’d never dream of that kind of intimacy, it was always Fr O’Brien or Fr Morriessy, etc. He even had a personalized license plate FrTom. Like I said, cool guy. He was also a career Army Chaplain and retired a few years ago as a full Colonel. The celebration was in a town about 50 miles from here so I rode my trusty bicycle there wearing my USMC riding jersey since we always jabbed each other about the “premier” service. I knew there were a lot of former military guys/gals in the audience so at the end, I jumped them all to Attention (amazing how ingrained that command is!) and we gave him a Present, Arms! Brought my old buddy to tears. But he wasn’t rattled enough to not return our salute. Love that kind of stuff.
Love your daily stuff too ol’ Jarhead. Keep calm and carry out the Plan of the Day.

SF,
PFJ

Juan ~ I am counting on getting some major work getting done on my corn in the next few days. I am still on the early side but you know how that can disappear. I had a tremendously valuable session with Father Tom. He is retired Navy Chaplain, don’t know if I mentioned that. Not that there is anything retired about him. Nice story about your Army buddy. Yours in corn, Felipe.

Catherine y Dana ~ all good here. Chilling the white for your arrival. Sounds like you are having fun. I went to the town just before Leon. It had a long name like “Marsalas” something. I will have to go back and do the part that I missed. Yes, SJA, is Saint James Again or Saint James Afoot. Either way he is out and active. Love, Felipe.

Yes! He is so out and active! I can’t tell you. Looks like you’re getting ready to walk.

Love to you, Felipe!
Yeah! Chill that wine. Dana.

hello dear brother, Felipe!
Thank you so much for helping us prepare for this adventure of the body and the spirit. Not a day goes by when we do not mention you, think of you, pray with great gratitude for your sudden and timely presence in our lives. It is so sweet to have a photo of you to carry with us. Your story never fails to move those we tell and in some way fuels us as we go. You were right their are small miracles, everyday angels everywhere and we are well held in God’s great hands.
I send my love and biggest gratitudes.
Catherine

We are moving right along!
Hermanillos! Two days to Leon.

So are you getting these emails???? And would you send us a photo of you because we tell everyone your story! You are always with us in spirit. Got a GREAT story. Too long to tap out on the phone 🙂

Big blessings,
Dana