(Raindrops on tiger lilies. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Beauty awakens the soul to act.
~ Dante Alighieri
Earth
(Symbol in the trees. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.
~ Edward Weston
(Moon and elm. All photos © 2009 by Robin)
Two large elm trees on our property will be coming down as soon as the weather is warm enough and dry enough. They have succumbed to Dutch elm disease. There is no saving the trees as they are quite dead.
(Sun and elm.)
While out on my walk yesterday I took (too) many photographs of them as it seemed to me that these beautiful giants deserve some sort of recognition. They provided shade for us during the hot summer months and a frame for many a gorgeous sunset. Walking near them on a windy day is now a dangerous proposition as branches and large chunks of bark come flying off at amazing speeds.
We would normally leave the trees to die and come down on their own, providing a home for some of the wildlife. However, they’re located near my vegetable garden and I’ve already been hit by small pieces of bark while out there looking around. I’d hate to have half the tree come crashing down on me while I was weeding.
What did the tree learn from the earth to be able to talk with the sky?
~ Pablo Neruda
(Feeling small. Photo © 2009 by Robin)
Sometimes during the day, I consciously focus on some ordinary object and allow myself a momentary “paying-attention.” This paying-attention gives meaning to my life. I don’t know who it was, but someone said that careful attention paid to anything is a window into the universe. Pausing to think this way, even for a brief moment, is very important. It gives quality to my day.
~ Robert Fulghum
More photos and a bit about this morning’s hike at Life in the Bogs.
(Sunlight & shadows on snow. Photo © 2009 by Robin.)
Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrong, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind.
~ Leonardo Da Vinci
(Photo © 2008, 2009, by Robin)
Whether you know it or not, one of the most important relationships in your life is with your Soul. Will you be kind and loving to your Soul, or will you be harsh and difficult? Many of us unknowingly damage our Souls with our negative attitudes and actions or by simple neglect. By making the relationship with your Soul an important part of your life, however, by honoring it in your daily routine, you give your life greater meaning and substance. Use your experiences — all of them — as opportunities to nourish your Soul.
~ Elisabeth Küebler-Ross
(Photo © Robin)
It depends on us… Another year lies before us like an unwritten page, an unspent coin, an unwalked road. How the pages will read, what treasure will be gained in exchange for time, or what we find along the way, will largely depend on us.
~ Esther Baldwin York
I’ve been away for a little while, off having fun with family and friends. If you’re interested in some of the details, visit me over at Life in the Bogs sometime in the next day or two. Don’t go today though, as I don’t think I’ll get to it.
(Dunes. Ocean City, New Jersey. September 2008. Photo © Robin)
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle. Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.
~ Walt Whitman
Note: This is a repost, although I’m not sure that’s the correct term. I’m “restoring” Bountiful Healing, one old post at a time after having privatized most of them when I thought I might be finished with this blog.
I’m sitting in a hotel room on the eve of my 50th birthday, having gotten one of the best gifts of all — a weekend visit with my granddaughter and her parents. We went to watch her at her swim lesson this afternoon. I am always surprised by how such simple things — watching the Exquisite Emma swim around in a pool or play dress-up or any of the thousands of other things she does in the course of a few hours — can fill me with such love and delight.
I noticed today that I’ve started telling stories. Stories about my childhood. Stories about my teen years. Stories about my young adult years. They just started popping out, these stories. As if I suddenly want others to know something about my history (while I still remember it… !).
I told at least three or four stories today. I even taught Emma to sing a song her father made up when he was a little older than she is now. It was a song about riding a ferry across the water to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We were taking a mini-vacation, and as we waited for the ferry to arrive, C made up a little song which he sang over and over and over… and well, we heard it a lot. It’s a catchy little song, one that qualifies as an earworm because once it gets in your head, it doesn’t want to go away. Emma picked it right up and sang her own version of it.
(Is that payback, do you think? lol!)
Anyhow.
It’s snowing like crazy, here where it shouldn’t be. Not that they don’t get some snow in this part of the world once in a while. But not this kind of snow. This is more like the snow we see at home. I took a quick look at the radar and see that it’s snowing like crazy at home, too. I hope the cats and sitter are enjoying it.
Last night a friend gave me a book for my birthday. It’s the first of the “50” gifts: 50 Things To Do When You Turn 50. I already finished my list of 50 things I want to do, but I’ve flipped through the book and now I think I’ll sit back, relax, and read a little of it. The first essay in the book was written by Garrison Keillor, and is titled “Stop Complaining.” I read it last night a few hours after receiving the gift. Good advice: Stop complaining. He’s right about that. I’ll be back with a quote or two, no doubt, after we get settled back home.
If you’re looking for a connection between the photo and this post, I don’t really have one other than the photo and quote were sitting in my drafts folder, ready to go. But I guess there is one other possible connection. The white sand and the white snow.
Otherwise, I just used this as an excuse to ramble a little. And to mark this milestone in a small way. I’ll be leaving my 40’s in a little under 2.5 hours.
50 is going to be fab.
(Path at the back of the pond. November 2008.)
Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult…
~ Og Mandino
You can find the music here.
The photo above was taken a couple of weeks ago. It looks nothing like that outside now.
(Today’s view of the pond and visitors.)
The ducks are back, and the pond is starting to freeze. I guess that means we won’t be avoiding winter this year.
I think the wooly bear may have been wrong.
(Wooly bear caterpillar. October 2008. Photo © Robin)
The other day Bo at Seeded Earth mentioned the wooly bear caterpillars. I hadn’t yet seen any this month so I went out on a hunt. Lucky me, it was an easy and successful hunt. I found one crawling along the back of the house.
As Bo wrote, legend has it that the wooly bear caterpillar can predict whether or not the upcoming winter will be mild or severe. The wider the middle brown band, the milder the winter.
There’s a great webpage about the wooly bear and its weather forecasting abilities here.
Every year in October, in a town not too far from where I live, they hold the Woolybear Festival. One of these years M and I might make it up there to attend. Just for fun and giggles.
According to the wooly bear pictured above, we’re going to have a mild winter.
I’ll let you know if this particular wooly bear’s prediction is a good one or not. So far, it has been a pretty mild autumn. Only two real frosts and one day of snow. Up until the month of February, when winter has pretty much worn out its welcome, I kind of like the snow so I hope winter isn’t too mild.
P.S. For those interested, I’m NaBloPoMo‘ing over at Life in the Bogs.
Bountiful Healing 