how I long to see
Basho
among the morning flowers
the face of God
May you have a wonderful weekend!!!!
Morning Flowers
-
-
Live this day in peace…
It was a cool and humid morning when I left for the coffee shop. And, when I returned home the wind began blowing and a mist is now falling. It looks like the foothills are already starting to receive snow and I understand the mountains are already receiving snow. We are about 50% below our average snowfall in the mountains so this is a welcomed gift. The only thing on my calendar today is a noon zoom meeting. I have eggs boiling now to make tuna salad today. It is simple to make and I enjoy it especially on toasted sourdough bread. May we live this day in peace and serenity. May we be a shining light in somebody’s life today. Our world needs it!!
The best I can come with in identifying this plant is a allium ampeloprasum. It is a member of the onion genus Allium. It is commonly known as wild leek or broadleaf wild leek. Its native range includes southern Europe, southwestern Asia and North Africa, but it has been cultivated and naturalized in many other countries. Allium ampeloprasum has been differentiated into five cultivated vegetables: leek, elephant garlic, pearl onion, kurrat, and Persian leek. I took this image in 2008 at Inniswood Gardens.
POD (Pen of the day): Blue Marbled Pelikan M205 with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz ink.
-
Thank you!
Flowers from Christine and Cody on my dad’s casket I dropped off both Monica and Sheree and was home by 8 pm last night. It was a good trip with lots of car time that offer good conversation time. We left early Tuesday morning and had a wonderful family gathering on Tuesday evening with lots of sharing of memories with cousins. We had dad’s Celebration of Life on Wednesday morning at the gravesite where we had warm sunshine, more sharing and our shared tears mixed with laughter. I would like to thank everyone for all your thoughts and prayers you may have offered up for my family.
-
My first flat tire
Common Globe Amaranth on campus Welp, when I started to leave the coffee shop this morning I experienced my first flat tire after just over 1800 miles of riding. I filled both tires early this morning before I left and hope I have not damaged anything. I was not able to find any nail, screw or thorn. Without panicking or throwing a hissy-fit I left the bike locked up and walked to the transit center and then took a bus to my condo. I drove my car back and brought the bike home. I did not want to walk the bicycle the 2 miles home. I will take it into the shop tomorrow and let them fix it. I do not want to mess with repairing the flat (front tire) because of the disc brakes. I will feel more comfortable with paying them to repair it. So, I got a good start to September.
These are Common Globe Amaranth planted in the median when you turn into the parking lot of the Lory Student Center at CSU. Every year this flower garden in the median catches my attention. And, each year they seem to plant something different. This is the first time I’ve seen these flowers here. I hope you enjoy your day!!
-
Pollinators
This image is of a Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower Bees are known to be good pollinators and they have the distinction of having a spelling contest named after them. However, not many people are aware that wasps are also pollinators but they do not have a spelling contest named after them. Wasps look much like bees, but are generally not covered with fuzzy hairs. As a result, they are much less efficient in pollinating flowers, because pollen is less likely to stick to their bodies and to be moved from flower to flower. Wasps are omnivores and eat other insects, invertebrates, and nectar. Wasps prey on other insects to give to their larvae. Adult wasps only eat sugars, though. Wasps get hydration and sugar from drinking the nectar from flowers or fruits. As they drink the nectar from flowers, they passively transfer pollen between flowers. The parasitic forms of wasps lay their eggs on or in other insects or invertebrates, and they become the hosts. Enough about pollinators. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
-
Emotional and Spiritual Heart Disease
The real epidemic in our culture is not just physical heart disease; it’s what I call emotional and spiritual heart disease; the sense of loneliness, isolation and alienation that is so prevalent in our culture because of the breakdown of the social networks that used to give us a sense of connection and community.
Dean Ornish, March 1996I find it interesting that Ornish wrote the above quote over 20 years ago in the forward to a book titled Kitchen Table Wisdom, which is a wonderful book I’m presently reading. And, this epidemic he talks about has continued to grow. His quote has caused me to reflect on how my friend Jeff and I seem to be creating a community and a place for connection at the coffee shop without intentionally doing it. He and I sit in the small alcove that has four chairs and a small table. Without intending to, we have created an inviting, and I believe safe, environment for people. More and more people now walk by and say good morning while on their way to work, school or grabbing coffee while walking their dog. I’m happy to say some have begun to sit down and join us, which has created wonderful friendships. And when people see this it invites even more people to connect and a community forms. The circle grows. It’s letting me know people want a sense of connection and community and will step into it when given the chance and feel safe enough.
-
…the world depends on it
Because
So I can’t save the world—
Because from The Unfolding by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
can’t save even myself,
can’t wrap my arms around
every frightened child, can’t
foster peace among nations,
can’t bring love to all who
feel unlovable.
So I practice opening my heart
right here in this room and being gentle
with my insufficiency. I practice
walking down the street heart first.
And if it is insufficient to share love,
I will practice loving anyway.
I want to converse about truth,
about trust. I want to invite compassion
into every interaction.
One willing heart can’t stop a war.
One willing heart can’t feed all the hungry.
And sometimes, daunted by a task too big,
I tell myself what’s the use of trying?
But today, the invitation is clear:
to be ridiculously courageous in love.
To open the heart like a lilac in May,
knowing freeze is possible
and opening anyway.
To take love seriously.
To give love wildly.
To race up to the world
as if I were a puppy,
adoring and unjaded,
stumbling on my own exuberance.
To feel the shock of indifference,
of anger, of cruelty, of fear,
and stay open. To love as if it matters,
as if the world depends on it. -
I did return…
Venti Dahlia If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.
Rachel CarsonI hope you are having an enjoyable Saturday morning. After my quiet time, I enjoyed a bowl of yogurt and granola then met Eric for coffee and conversation. It is a great way to start any day. This dahlia is from my return excursion yesterday evening at the CSU Flower Trial Gardens. Nature is such a creative artist. There is so much mystery, awe, and wonder to experience when we look closely as the child we are.
-
Making History
I rode the red steed to Mugs for coffee this morning. Adrianna was my barista and an Old Town Mocha was my drink. Jeff, Curtis, Adrianna, Joan and myself each gave of our time to one another through our presence, conversation and laughter. I choose to believe we all made some difference in one another’s lives.
Pollen laden bee on a Black-eyed Susan One little person giving all of her time to peace makes news.
from Peace Pilgrim
Many people giving some of their time to peace can make history.Jeff and I rode by the CSU Flower Gardens on the way home. When I got home, I felt I did not stay long enough or walk around enough. I think I’ll return later this evening in an effort to make another small ripple. The bees were busy giving their time and making their small ripples in life, fulfilling their role in creation. I watched while they indulged in the process of pollination. And, later as I journaled on my porch, I shared the arm of my chair with a ladybug. We also gave of our time to one another. I wrote while they watched. Then, I watched two young squirrels chase one another around the tree. Again, we gave of our time to each other. I let them entertain me while they played. The bees, the ladybug and the squirrels live a life so much differently than our world of consumerism and scarcity. Their role in life is about making history. So, my prayer today is that more people give some of their time to peace, sending out small ripples, and making history rather than the news.
-
There is this Invitation
Toward Peace
Clematis Perhaps some part of me still believes
Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Toward Peace
peace is a destination,
a place we arrive, ideally together.
I notice how shiny it is, this belief,
like a flower made of crystal,
beautiful, but lifeless,
devoid of the dust and scuff
that come from living a real day.
Meanwhile, there is this invitation
to grow into peace the way real flowers grow—
in the dirt. With blight and drought,
beetles and hail.
Meanwhile this invitation
to live in the tangle of fear and failure,
to be humbled by my own inner wars
and wonder how to find a living peace
right here, the peace that arrives
when we take just one step through the mess
toward compassion and notice
as our foot rises our heart also rises
and in that lifted moment
still scraping along in the dirt,
there is a peace so real we become light,
become the momentum that is the change.
