• leaves,  quotes

    A Path of Grace

    September 18, 2024
    Two leaves, similar but different

    We do not want our lives to signify nothing. This would be the most profound and ungrateful ignorance: to remain childish in an aging vessel…Life’s longing for itself, is a path of grace.

    Kathleen Dowling-Singh

    I remember a morning when I was getting ready for work I felt tired, confused, probably hungover, unhappy, and questioning if this was all there was to life. I knew at that moment that I did not want the life I had. My life meant nothing to me. Somehow, and some will call it grace, I moved through that period to discover life is much more than I could foresee at that time. I found lifestyle changes that included letting go of some old thinking, believing, and most importantly an unhealthy lifestyle and career that was not fulfilling me. I look back at it now and see it was my time to let go of childish ways and begin living life’s longing for itself, growing up. Today, even with the challenges of everyday life in this aging vessel of mine, I want to live a path of grace.

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  • flowers,  poems,  quotes

    Let me linger…

    September 10, 2024
    A busy bee and daisies

    It may be a product of getting older
    But sometimes I want to stop time.

    I want to make the sunsets last just a little longer.
    I want the quiet mornings to go on and on

    The laughter at the dinner table
    To stretch out into a whole evening
    The beauty of the clouds as they race
    Across the valley to never end.

    It is not that I want to freeze reality, just slow it down.
    I want life to move as slowly as I do.
    For I have learned that life moves far too fast as it is.
    It is a joy that endures but briefly
    Made of moments that pass as quickly as hummingbirds.

    Let me linger in the love I feel.
    Let me see the light for as long as I can.

    Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel

    I stopped on my ride this evening because these daisies caught my eye. However, I was not the only one interested in the daisies as this bee busily flitted from flower to flower. So busy in fact, I never got a good infocus shot. Oh well. I watched and lingered and loved the moment.

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  • flowers,  Plants,  quotes

    Stand there

    September 8, 2024
    Coneflowers at the CSU Trial Gardens

    “Don’t just do something. Stand there.”

    Daniel Berrigan

    I like this saying because for too many years I thought it was more important to do something than to stand there and take it all in. Have a wonderful Sunday!!

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  • Plants,  quotes

    You Have the Answer

    August 26, 2024
    Prairie Blazing Star

    At the center of your being
    you have the answer;
    you know who you are
    and you know what you want.

    Lao Tzu

    Prairie Blazing Star is a hardy native perennial forb. It can grow up to 5 feet tall. It has abundant grass like leaves and hairy stems. The lowest leaves can be well over 1 foot long and up to ½ inch wide. The flower heads are in a dense spike at the top of the plant and bloom top-down. The stamens and styles protrude from the tufted flower heads creating a soft fuzzy appearance. It is one of the most popular varieties of blazing stars. It is native to the midwest where it naturally occurs on prairies, rocky bluffs and open areas. It prefers slightly acidic, poor, well-drained soils and demonstrates both heat and drought tolerance. They are common in all the natural areas I visit. I haven’t seen one 5 feet tall, yet. Hope you had a good Monday.

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  • leaves,  quotes

    Leaves

    August 10, 2024

    For all the great thoughts I have read
    For all the deep books I have studied
    None has brought me near to spirit
    Than a walk beneath shimmering leaves.

    Steven Charleston, Spirit Wheel

    My walks over the past few days have been cooler and wet. The much needed moisture and a break from the heat is welcomed. I love walking in nature especially when green leaves are covered in dew from the mist. I was awakened during the night as thunder shook my room and rain tapped on my windows. I did not sleep well after that. This morning has been sunny but more storms later this afternoon. I also got in a nice bicycle ride while the weather was good. I will attend a friends retirement party this afternoon and probably overeat, again. Suspect a nap after that!! Enjoy your weekend!

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  • leaves,  Plants,  quotes

    Things are wet

    August 9, 2024

    You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.

    Henry David Thoreau

    Things are wet. And, because of that photo opportunities were everywhere. So, I took my camera with me to get the mail yesterday afternoon. And by doing that I stayed present as I’ve learned there is no other life but this. No mail but I did return with a few images that depict our weather condition. Even has a tinge of fall to it.

    So I had an enjoyable, serene, quiet time of prayer and meditation this morning. Then a half hour later burst out in profanity at my phone. Shows I am a work in progress. It is a cold, humid, and misty morning. It’s the perfect morning for an Old Town Mocha at Mugs and made by my barista, Emily. Have a wonderful Friday!

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  • bees,  flowers,  insects,  Plants,  quotes

    The Gifts of Other Beings

    August 6, 2024

    Gratitude is founded on the deep knowing that our very existence relies on the gifts of other beings.

    Robin Wall Kimmerer

    Latest news this morning shows the Alexander Mountain FIre to be held at 9,668 acres and is 74% contained. The Stone Canyon Fire is 100% contained. Grateful the skies are returning to their blue color! I found this bee enjoying their time on a sunflower the other afternoon at the CSU Experiment Garden. I really need to thank them more often for being the gift they are and not just as a photographer’s subject.

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