Optimism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

You have two choices: look through cloudy glasses or wipe them off and see the beauty. The world will not stop spinning in 2017, nor 2018, just as it did not in 2011 nor during the great Y2K scare.

Redwood trees surround us. Water flows, peacefully along the Russian River, and arrives at our Pacific Ocean to a life of seals, salmon, surfers, and sharks. Today's gloomy rain and cold provides the life for the apples, grapes, peaches, and flowers we crave so much. Tomorrow's sun brightens and reflects the new growth on the fir trees and encourages the daffodils to move forward in their quest to bloom from now until March. Meanwhile, ladybugs burrow in the Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia) waiting for warmth to reproduce and protect the garden and spread beauty.

Continue reading John Hadley's article on the Sonoma County Gazette, here!