THE SPRUCE TREE JOURNAL

A place of refuge, a time of peace, a message of hope.

May 2026

Welcome to the May 2026 issue of the Spruce Tree Journal. I want to offer a huge THANK YOU to John Roedel who gave me permission to publish one of his poems here. I love his poetry. Not sure how I found out about him, but we ended up connected through Facebook where he often posts his poems and other cool ideas. Check out his Facebook page through the link in this Journal where you can sign up for other messages from him throughout the month. Explore John’s website, too, (https://www.johnroedel.com/) where you can learn more about him and purchase his poetry collections.

Embrace the spring.

Tim

Blog

No Sunny Day for Mama?

As I often do, whenever I need to think and explore ideas, I walk. Forests, meadows, mountains…wherever. And it was for just this reason that the other day I found myself wandering around a dandelion-filled meadow trying to figure out what I would write about for this month's journal. The answer, come to find out, was right in front of me, or rather, it was right under my feet! I looked at the bright yellow sun-like flowers and thought of a story I had written in April of 2002 for Story Friends, a magazine for kids. I thought, "Why not share that story for this May’s The Spruce Tree Journal?" And so, here it is.

Monthly Mantra

The day you stop racing is the day you win the race.

Bob Marley

Word Search

Be aware of this month's word manifestation during your travels over the next few weeks.

Sophrosyne - [suh-fros-uh-nee]/ noun. The virtue of being reasonable and moderate in self-control. In a sense it is that place where our heart and mind align. Merriam-Webster further explains the roots of this word as: being of sound mind, prudent, reasonable, whole, and safe.

From the Washington Post, July 21, 2016:

"How can we put a person forth to be the nation’s boss, and he be utterly devoid of any semblance of sophrosyne?"

This Month's Photo

Just Because...

A photo from my files.

Armadillo ('Possum on the Half-Shell)

Second Helping

Jalapeño Poppers

Cookouts will be starting this month in the Northeast if they haven’t started already. And what better appetizer to snack on while grilling dogs and burgers than Jalapeño Poppers. They’re easy to prepare, and holy moly, they taste great. Sometimes these are a whole meal for me.

Click the link below for full recipe.

Full Recipe

A poem by John Roedel, shared here with his permission.

my brain and heart divorced

a decade ago

over who was

to blame about

how big of a mess

I have become

eventually,

they couldn't be

in the same room

with each other

To read John's poem in its entirety, click the link below.