As of this moment, and for the next three weeks, Tell the Turning is live on Kickstarter. I will be thrilled indeed if you decide to back it.

Besides the book (!), there are some pretty neat items available. (Kickstarter refers to these as “backer rewards.”)

• Lucy Bellwood, who is illustrating, will be creating a beautiful Ponderosa bookmark, and a postcard set (suitable for mailing or display) of field (and beach) offerings.
• Lucy and Stefan (my publisher—also a poet, and one I re-read regularly) have wonderful books available side-by-side with mine: a collaborative library. There is a shared spirit between our offered works. I am very excited about this.
• Amber D. Stoner—friend, writer, paper and calligraphy artist—is illuminating 25 one-of-a-kind bookplates, which Lucy and I will happily sign for you.
• If you’re into snail mail (I am very into snail mail), there’s a backer level where you get all the stuff already mentioned, plus I’ll pick out a poem for you, hand-write it, and mail it from my home to yours.

You will be unsurprised to learn that I am a bundle of pretending-to-be-calm right now.

This morning I walked, very early, in my fields. They helped me make this book—they are a primary character in the first half of it, and parts of the second. So this is a moment I wanted to share with them. Plus it’s Beltaine, a great day to wash your face with the first morning dew, and welcome the summer.

As soon as I hit ‘send’ and this blogletter zips its way to your inbox/RSS/Wordpress reader, the plan is to go outside, move some soil and compost around, and plant some starts. I’ve got some teenage tomato and broccoli and tomatillo and thyme plants from various neighbors. Dirty hands + occupied mind = no checking the computer.