there are stands of flowers in the wood

for no man to look upon

lit up in sunlight

heads drooped in the rain

wilting into earth

unseen

Head held down to avoid the cold rain as I walk through town, I side step the earth worms attempting escape from a wet, muddy end. They slide along the cement, slowly, blind, trying to sense the light that will lead them to higher ground. The daffodils bend in the chill, blooms sweeping into puddles. Hands in my pockets. Flexing my fingers to circulate the blood. I catch a glimpse of wild-crafted purple crocus hidden beneath a tangle of brown vines and fallen branches, last season's decaying leaves tilting in the wind along the edges of this patch.

The rain stops. I wipe my face with my hand. A male and female cardinal set in the tree I'm coming up to, red and brown. Somewhere they'll build a nest, lay eggs, and more cardinals will enter the world, yawping for food. The earthworms will become the next generation of cardinals, robins, sparrows. Flowers melt. Roots deepen. Seeds spread.

And that's where babies come from, kids. Energy bound to the body.

These clean-eating "Mounds Eggs" are a celebration. For the Spring Equinox, the rebirth we experience as the season changes, for Easter, and for the tiny human growing inside of Emily of The Pig and Quill. I'm hoping they'll act as a magic totem to bring Em peace and joy on the journey she's about to embark on: for both the birth itself and the life-long walk of motherhood. Check out all of the other posts going live today (3/30/15) to celebrate Em in a surprise virtual potluck!

Tahini + toasted coconut + maple + vanilla + chocolate. You really can't go wrong! Plus this is incidentally a kid friendly recipe (a grown up has to toast the coconut, of course). I think it would make a fun Easter craft and treat for the family table!