3rd Blogaversary

Female Tannery Workers -- World War I

This is my 1,384th post on the third anniversary of beginning a moon, worn as if it had been a shell. Traditionally, LEATHER is the gift one gives on third anniversaries, and this morning I surfed around the internet for interesting leather images. I found the one above -- a photo of women working at a Tannery during or shortly after World War I when men were in short supply. The work was physically demanding and often quite dangerous. I was struck, especially, by how these women skirted those deep pits, balancing with long poles, probably, that they also used to poke and prod at the dangerous stuff below. The balancing act of mothering -- particularly my Sophie, whose needs are extraordinary -- is a theme that runs through nearly all of my more than one thousand posts, and it's an act that many of my readers perform as well. This morning, as I sit at my desk, sipping coffee, counting my blessings and listening to the infernal racket of one damn mockingbird outside my open door, I raise my anniversary glass to my fellow tanners.

I am grateful to be part of this astounding blogging community of women and men that  has enriched my life in countless ways.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.