a better place, today

by Bob Neale

​This time of year — and especially this year — the arrival of autumn brings on melancholy. Light low on the horizon, summer over, winter coming … beautiful, but sad, a kind of heaviness in the air. Throw in the current political climate, regardless of your persuasion, and speaking of climate … oy! … and so it goes in my mind in the fall. And yet, like Venus rising in a clear night sky, a little bit of hope arrived last week. In fact, I believe it is the definition of hope — look it up in the dictionary and you will find a photo like this one. Seven pounds of beautiful, peaceful, little baby joyousness! Our very own stewardship manager Trevor George and his wife, Elizabeth, welcomed their first baby girl, Paige, into the world and, in the process, made our whole world brighter.    

​I think that many of us in Sonoma County are motivated by making the world a better place for the coming generations. We want to preserve and protect special places so that our children and grandchildren will be able to experience nature, to be awed and inspired, to find spirit and self, and to seek renewal and relief. I know that feeling — that desire, that mission was rekindled in me when I looked in Paige’s little face, and when I saw the joy in Trevor and Elizabeth’s eyes. It filled my eyes with tears and my heart with the feeling that the world is a better place today. Life is good.
 
We invite you to join us in a tremendous congratulations to the parents and welcome to little Paige!
 
Send your notes of congratulations to [email protected]. 

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Bob Neale is stewardship director for Sonoma Land Trust. 

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