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Archive for the ‘Nature’ Category

N is for “no snow show” …

Posted in Commitment, Honoré, Nature, Winter on March 6, 2013 | 1 Comment »

My friends are too good…I’m sure they are wondering what’s up with me…and short of nothing except I’ve just not been on the ball, I have no reasons or excuses or explanations for my too long and too frequent silences on this blog! I am alive, kicking, not too busy, don’t have computer or Internet problems, am not overwhelmed or even underwhelmed…just haven’t been very communicative on the blog!

Today, here in the nation’s capital, we were supposed to have anywhere from 5 inches to 8 inches of heavy, wet snow! It showed up  just like I’ve not shown up (here on the blog in over a month of Sundays). Everything was shut down: schools, local, state and federal governments, etc. We were all prepared and basically, all for naught . T’wasn’t a bad thing tho’ cause it has been wet and windy all day – not a nice day at all to be out…and for that, we are appreciative. A disappointment in a way – we’ve not had any ‘real snow’ in over a year…of course, we had more than our share in 2010. Way more.

no snow

weather about 8:30 am this morning

All in all, it’s been a quiet, good day for taking it easy, for catching up on a lot of little things here-n-there…like posting to the blog and following through on a commitment. Perhaps today’s not-quite weather event is Mother Nature’s way of getting us to slow down and be more mindful. I like to think so.

It’s good to be back! Hi y’all!

Cheers~

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take twelve

Posted in Connections, Creativity, Just for fun, Laura, Lifeology, Nature, Photography, Summer on June 13, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Mission: take twelve photos on the twelfth of June 2012.

Mission accomplished: during yesterday’s neighborhood walk I captured these shots of our community which speak louder than words:

A couple weeks of daily downpours sprouted these lovelies in our yard.

First leaf on newly planted Mahoe tree!

Sunflowers border our community garden…my favorite flower!

I recognize the corn, green beans, and tomatoes!

Drinking it in…

This made me laugh out loud: ‘Chubby Checker’ corn row…twisting and shouting it’s way outta the ground.

beautiful rows of _________???????

Awwww shucks…nothing sadder than an empty mailbox…

Our community has been hit hard by the recession…

…more and more of these signs are posted every month…

Then there is this to grin at! “How much is that doggie in the window…?”

Home sweet home…#96 ;)

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…let the rain sing you a lullaby: Langston Hughes…

Posted in Connections, Family, Gratitude, Kathy, Lifeology, Nature on April 24, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Curling up with the warm words of My Dears, I realize just how thirsty – literally and figuratively – we each were for a full-on rainy day.  Here in Delaware, Jim and I made sure to do all of our running on that blue-sky Saturday in anticipation of hunkering down Sunday.

Saturday: Paw as Coach to both soccer teams. U6 for SMC & U3 for BEJC. Yes, Sunday morning proved a bit painful.

Then, a lazy wake-up to lacrosse finals, photo triage (oh my…), magazines, Grammy’s spaghetti sauce slow cooking most of the day and Ring Around the Rosie in the afternoon? Is there another word for heaven?

So grateful to be looking out my window at the rain and not my windshield. Thank you.

The photo prep for 31 Days/LOAD 512/LSNED 512 has pushed me into quote mode too. Enjoy…see you next Monday.

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.
Roger Miller

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a full pink moon…

Posted in Honoré, Nature, Photography, Spring on April 7, 2012 | 1 Comment »

I have been capturing a photo of this year’s full moons. As the day approaches, my radar is constantly attuned to the sky. It seems that with the change over to Daylight Savings Time, the moon shows up later, – of course - and not in the spot where I’m used to seeing it: out my kitchen window that faces northeast. So, taking the photo is a challenge ’cause I’m not sure when or where the moon will show up…lately, it’s been in the southeast/west sky.

Last evening, I went out several times to get that photo (and just in case the day of the full moon greets us with inclement weather, I have also been taking a picture of a not quite full moon earlier in the week). After 7-8 attempts, along with trying to remember the best setting for taking night photos on my little ol’ point ‘n shoot, I finally got a couple shots that are keepers. Certainly nothing to get up in the middle of the night to write home about…but this one fills the bill…

I kinda like it, especially the yellow glow cast by the streetlights and the different colors of the leaves…

Next month, who knows what I’ll capture?

Cheers~

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colors of spring…

Posted in Beauty, Color, Honoré, Nature, Spring on March 30, 2012 | 2 Comments »

I have two rooms in my house that I’ve appropriated as studios: one is my sewing/knitting studio and library. The other, my computer/scrapping/art journaling space. This room – which I call Studio B – was originally designated as a craft space until I started working from home and then it became my home office. Now that I’m in protirement, I’ve repurposed Studio B.

March is generally a month when lots of people’s thoughts turn to spring and cleaning…certainly mine have and actually, since Feb 22, I’ve been in a rearranging and purging state of mind. Heaven knows I have too much stuff and it seems, that no matter how many times or how ruthless I am when decluttering , I still have too darned much… Funny, as I was reorganizing, I found an album I created in 2005 documenting a workshop on time management Kathy and I were planning. The album featured a decluttering/makeover of the then office and now Studio B. After several days of reorganizing my studios, yes, yet again, yesterday (Thursday, March 29)  afternoon, I put the finishing – for awhile, at least – touches on the two studios and decided I owed myself a treat: a walk outside.

Tho’ a bit windy, the day was beautiful: bright, clear and very colorful:

Wisteria

Iris

Japanese Maple

Tulips

a tree whose name I know not but I love the richness of its deep pink blossoms...

and my absolute favorite: the dogwood

Certainly a wonderful display of color. I am so glad we’ve been treated to such an early, glorious  spring and actually, I am also glad March is in it’s last few hours. Seems to me  the month has been longer than usual and I’m ready for April!  Have a great week and we’ll touch base again next Sat, April 6.

Cheers~

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…on the First Day of Spring, Mother Nature gave to me…

Posted in Gratitude, Kathy, Lifeology, Nature, Spring, Time on March 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »

...a wild plant a-blooming...

...buds that are leafing...

...and a flock of spider webs in the fog.

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yesterday was AA’s birthday

Posted in Beauty, birthday, Celebration, Friendship, Funny Stuff, Just for fun, Laura, Lifeology, Memories, Nature, Photography, Spring on March 21, 2012 | 3 Comments »

A few years ago I wanted to surprise our friend Antonette with a special ‘on the day you were born gift’ with Mickey Mouse on it—she’s a huge Mickey fan. So I went to the source to confirm her birth-date—her mom!  When she received the gift in the mail she called me and laughed and laughed and said, You asked my mom didn’t you? She always gets the date wrong my birthday is March 20th not March 21st!  So yesterday was the first day of Spring and Antonette’s birthday. I love you no matter which day you were born A! ;) But Jeff and I called her today to sing her happy birthday and laugh together and Jeff asked her, are you going to believe a piece of paper or your Momma?

I know its Spring because our lilies are blooming:

...sooooo gorgeous...

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welcome Spring 2012…

Posted in Honoré, Nature, Spring on March 21, 2012 | 1 Comment »

The Centennial celebration of the national annual Cherry Blossom Festival officially began yesterday,  the first day of Spring. My intention was to journey to the Tidal Basin, along with the millions of tourists, to see the cherry blossoms…as they are in full bloom, and of course, magnificent.

Mother Nature had other plans: we awoke to a bona fide spring electrical storm. So, instead, I settled in for a longer-than-usual Morning Solitude and Quiet Time (MSQT) session and enjoyed:

sipping hot tea and tasting the sweetness of orange juice  followed by the coolness of a ice H2O…

sitting in my chair, surrounded by my Circa journal, iPad, pens, magazines, and books…

listening to the rolling thunder…

seeing flashes of lightning…

hearing the rain’s patter on the skylights…

counting the seconds between flashes of light and claps of thunders…

loving the sound of the pen as it moved across the page, capturing my thoughts and revising my plan for the day…

wondering, still, if a trip to the Tidal Basin might still be feasible …

Though the storm lasted just about an hour, the skies remained grey and threatening most of the morning and early afternoon. So, I went to the library…

...though the bag is from Delaware libraries, I went to a library in nearby Prince George's County Maryland, where I once worked...

…stopped at Starbucks for a free drink (received from my visit last week) and a local CVS drugstore for a box of crayons (for a project  to be revealed in another post someday soon)…

Doncha just love the idea of a new box of crayons? Treat yourself!

About 3 PM DST, the sun broke through in all its glory…but too late for me to hop a Metro train, especially since rush hour was just beginning (read: people were starting to get off work and would be adding to the already crush of tourists on the Smithsonian Mall/Metro and at the Tidal Basin). So, instead, I decided (and needed) to take a walk throughout the neighborhood, to check out the signs of Spring:

the ubiquitous dandelion, of course…

…and lo & behold, some flowering trees:

Could they be cherry blossoms? A quick comparison with Google images suggest the answer is Yes! Yes! Whatever, they are beautiful!  Today, it is grey and misty but I expect it will clear up …so, perhaps I’ll get to the Tidal Basin later …and if not, certainly another walk around the neighborhood is do-able.

Happy Spring!

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life…

Posted in Beauty, Honoré, Nature on February 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

…gets in the way of the best of one’s plans. My dear friend Kathy summed it up ever so simply: what day of the week is it again? Seems that we all got caught up in the motions of living and before we knew it, life had eclipsed the week and certainly, put a small wrinkle on our best laid plans. C’est la vive.

Around these parts, we are so very delighted that Norman’s cataract surgery last Wed on his (one and only good) eye improved his vision from 60/20 to 40/20. Has made a tremendous difference in his ability to see. And speaking of seeing, I was thrilled to be able to see these in the night-time sky over the weekend.

Such a thrill. If you look closely, you can see the crescent moon, Jupiter and Venus.

And I’ll be here next Monday, March 5. Can you believe it’s March, already?

Cheers~

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a place I love

Posted in Authenticity, Beauty, Celebration, Laura, Lifeology, Love, Nature, Writing on February 19, 2012 | 3 Comments »

Saturday began with a  full morning.  I was at work at Weight Watchers by 6:45am and finished by 10:30am. That gave me time to drop off recycling, come home for an early lunch, and get started on Day 18 of my Verb Tribe writing prompt before visiting a friend in the afternoon. This writing journey has been a powerful experience in delving into my passion and resistance in writing and in life—I am hooked! The prompts are written in ten minutes on brown paper bags:

On your bag, write about a place you love. Try to go beyond the surface of it, to show why you love it rather than tell why you do. Dig into your history with the place, the sounds and smells of it. Enjoy the journey there.

After filling my bag here’s what I shared in our Verb Tribe community on Ruzuku (cool platform!):

Writing about my place took me there and filled me with ease.
Here’s what I circled:

resuscitate my soul
sand so fine it squeaks under bare-feet
wide open
reflects my moods
silent, introspective
bright, bold
life happens
the sky as witness
my soul speaks to God
I have come home
reflects my choices
we are all one
I belong

It reads like a found poem—cool, eh?! :)

I expanded on ‘my soul speaks to God here’

“When I breathe in I devour the tang, salt, seaweed, and freshness—I am absorbing God. When I breathe out—I exhale God.”

This captures a moment in the place I love...

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