My haiku with sweet pea is dedicated to Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who passed on January 22, 2022. On January 23, 2025, fire consumed the building at Plum Village, Purple Cloud in Lower Hamlet, where Thay stayed.

Merry Meerkat post content is inspired by a hike on this warm dry Christmas Day and “Alpha Females Reign Supreme in Meerkat World” by Camille Bromley with photos by Thomas Peschak for National Geographic.