• flowers,  haiku,  Plants,  writing/reading

    Always Remembered

    Xerochrysum bracteatum – Strawflower

    amazing gold and yellow
    their scent brightens the mood
    remembering you

    ms

    Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my mother’s death. I found myself spending time in the afternoon at the CSU Trial Gardens which is not the norm for me. I love how we can be lead to do certain things or be in a certain place because of that whisper from deep within. These strawflowers excited me because of their amazingly gold and yellow colors. I know nothing about them so when I returned home I did some research on these lovely flowers. From the Farmers Almanac website I found that strawflowers represent someone or something that is “always remembered.” Maybe those who have died really haven’t left us but are always with us, whispering from deep within us.

  • grass,  landscape,  Mary Oliver,  Plants,  poems,  poetry,  writing/reading

    A Poem and A Photograph

    Every day
          I see or hear
                something
                      that more or less

    kills me
          with delight,
                that leaves me
                      like a needle

    in the haystack
          of light.
                It was what I was born for —
                      to look, to listen,

    to lose myself
          inside this soft world —
                to instruct myself
                      over and over

    in joy,
          and acclamation.
                Nor am I talking
                      about the exceptional,

    the fearful, the dreadful,
          the very extravagant —
                but of the ordinary,
                      the common, the very drab,

    the daily presentations.
          Oh, good scholar,
                I say to myself,
                      how can you help

    but grow wise
          with such teachings
                as these —
                      the untrimmable light

    of the world,
          the ocean’s shine,
                the prayers that are made
                      out of grass?

    Mindful by Mary Oliver
  • clouds,  grass,  landscape,  Plants,  sunsets

    Pink and Gold

    The most beautiful things in life are not things.
    They’re people and places and memories and pictures.
    They’re feelings and moments and smiles and laughter.

    Unknown

    I read yesterday something that resonated with me, “… nature heals. big time.” I know I go to nature for healing of many things. There is a solitude and silence there not found in the city. But the quote also caused me to reflect on things I do to help me move through any troubling state I can find myself in. When I feel anxious it’s time to walk or hike. When I’m angry or resentful I can let go of those thoughts by “taking a photograph.” When I get caught up in mental chatter I find relief through “meditation and quiet.” When confusion and the need for discernment ties me in knots then I can untangle myself through “journaling.” All of these simple things I can do at any place but nature is such a pull for me. Loved the gold and pink I found last night in these two images.