Giving ~ Day 5

“Here on the pulse of this new day

You may have the grace to look up and out

And into your sister's eyes,

Into your brother's face, your country

And say simply

Very simply

With hope

Good morning.”

Maya Angelou

From this morning's journal:

Give Away: I have already lost the battle with frustration once today - let out a small scream over something so very minor. There's lots to get done today - both mundane and creative things. Today I give away frustration and stress. Each little gnarly chunk of it.

Give Access: Today I give access to breath. I will remember and remind myself to breathe!!

Give Thanks: Today I give thanks for projects. Projects and productivity. How wonder-full it is to have a home to care for and a creative endeavor to prepare for!

Sharing my Little 

Backyard Critter with

Eileen

Now

"Life is all memory,

except for the one present moment

that goes by you so quickly

you hardly catch it going."

Tennessee Williams


The present moment.
Saying "yes" to the present moment
and surrendering to the now.
We hear it.
We think it makes such good sense.
I know I do.
Not dwelling on or in the past.
Not agonizing over the future.
Nope.
None of that.
Just living fully in the present.
I don't know about you,
but this concept,
like so many that we believe to be fundamental - 
reasonable, good for us, life affirming -
are so much easier to understand than to actually
put
into
practice!

If there's anything that a hummingbird can teach us -
and there are probably lots of things -
it is that notion that something is fleeting.
Something is flying by you so quickly
you hardly catch it going!
It seems very poignant to me when a hummer
settles on a branch in the midst of its busy buzzing about.
And, perhaps, even more so when it seems to pause -
to hover -
in mid flight.

This small,several second,
point of stillness seems to perfectly illustrate
that elusive notion of
'the present moment'

My little Oregon hummer seemed to be showing me,
as one day closed and the next was not yet known to us,
exactly what
NOW
looked like.
And felt like.

I'm oh so glad he paused like this,
just for me...
as if he had plenty of both wisdom and presence to share.




Joining Kat and Tamar

Backyard Beauty

And to add to the whole we-own-a-house excitement,

said house has a flowering tree in the back yard.

Color me delighted!

The pink blooms have lured some sweet song birds to visit our humble abode...

and many enjoy hanging around with us!

Yesterday a dear friend brought me a bird feeder as a house warming gift!!

Watch out little birdies, you're about to get spoiled!

Joining Kim and Kat

Good. Random. Fun. {week 17}

The very best thing about last week?

Two angels

{otherwise known as my children}

spent the day with me and the Ikea directions

and assembled my scrapbook room furniture!!

Over the weekend I began to fill up the storage space and get set up.

This is good!

Oh. So. Good.

Workshops begin again on Wednesday!!

In the random category,

I've discovered an iced beverage that I really {really} like at Starbucks.

Shaken Iced Passion Tango Tea.

Unsweetened.

For someone who doesn't do dairy.

Or sugar.

Or much caffeine...

It's tough to find a "fun" beverage!

I'm being told, from numerous sources, that this drink is just brewed herbal tea over ice.

Since I'm enjoying it so much,

I'm choosing to believe my sources...

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day here in New England.

So I set out to have some fun and find a new walking trail.

You see here the entrance to the "Salem Town Forest"

and a few miles of trails,

some of which border Shadow Pond.

Lovely, right?

What started so well

turned into a bit of a crazy afternoon.

You see...I got a bit lost in the woods.

I think that when I got to this point, where the trail seems to ignore this rock wall,

I should have turned around.

Let me just say that there is A WHOLE LOT of wooded acreage out here that doesn't belong to the town. 

Or, if it does, it doesn't officially connect to the marked walking trails.

Sadly, I had wandered awfully far before I realized I wasn't where I was supposed to be.

Let's just say...

if it was alone time I was looking for, I got plenty of it before I found my way back to where I belonged.

Yup. Well over an hour just me, the pines and the birds.

Note to self: next time, bring a trail map.

Joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Gather Your Strength

It was the first Saturday in January.

The yoga studio was very still. Sun was streaming in through the front window and we were a small group of three. One sweet teacher and two of her {favorite} beginners. There was warmth. A warmth that came not only from those sun beams, but the warmth of sangha.  A warmth created because we were a mutually supportive group of practitioners. Because we gave each other a sense of community and belonging. And of acceptance.

Midway through our time together, there was some rustling and chirping in the tree right outside the studio. Three bluebirds had come to join us. Perched only for a bit, they added energy, support and - yes - even a bit of magic - to our practice on that ordinary Saturday morning. As our spirits accepted this sweet serenade of encouragement, our confidence grew and our bodies found a wee bit more strength.

These past few days, as I've shared the sense of weakness and worry that seems to be accompanying me on our current house-hunting journey, many {many} bluebirds have flocked to the tree that's right outside the window of my heart. And I hear you rustling and singing to me - lending your support along the way. Each text, email, blog note, hug and phone call make a difference.

Thank you - to all of my bluebirds. You help me to gather my strength and rise up.

Joining Kathy for Song-ography
and linking to
Wednesdays Around the World

Oh, I'll be free....

"Look up here, I'm in heaven

I've got scars that can't be seen

I've got drama can't be stolen

Everybody knows me now...

This way or no way

You know I'll be free

Just like that bluebird,

Now ain't that just like me?

Oh, I'll be free

Just like that bluebird

Oh, I'll be free

Ain't that just like me?"
David Bowie

Lazarus

Linking up with Kathy

Black & White Wednesday ~ Winter Berries

A winter bird and her berries.

Horn Pond, Woburn, MA

Join me and share your Black & White shots!

I'm also joining Communal Global for

Wednesday's Around the World

Black & White Wednesday ~ Winter

Winter finally came to New England today.
And this little wintery, forest scene might just be my favorite
part of this year's holiday decorations.



Please join in and share your
Black & White photos!
I'm also linking up with
Wednesdays Around the World

Path Dwellers

shades of gray and brown and beige

now color their world

they leave the trees and
come to the bridges

on the bridges

they find the seeds left by the humans

that share their world

all winter long

their friends leave some treats on the bridges
to ease the winter months

so they come to the bridges to nibble
to pose for the photogs that wander
before they take wing
and return
to add color to our leafless trees




Joining Eileen for
Saturday's Critters

Feathers, feathers and more feathers...

 Saturday was such a GOOD day to be outside.

It was one of those New England days ~ the crisp air, blue sky perfect fall days!

My feathered friends at the pond were out in full force,

enjoying the day right along with me.

 Seagulls and Cormorants

 Wonder what's so interesting??

 First blue Heron...on a fishing expedition...

 ...missed the fish, but came back out of the water shaking his feathers.

I've never seen one of these guys "ruffled" up.

 Second Blue Heron - look at those knobby knees!

There's a new visitor to the pond.

One, seemingly RANDOM, Great White Egret.

It's been all the buzz!

He moved around the back waters, hunting, fishing, swallowing.
While the Heron tends to stand still or move slowly to chase his prey,
this guy moved about much more,
making many more attempts to catch his lunch.

I enjoyed watching him...his movements are more graceful than either the swans or herons.

Ummm....spotted!!

The FUN this weekend, for me, was the foliage.

{Yesterday's post Autumn Woods is proof of that!}

But I never tire of watching the swans...

and set against this autumn gold, they are especially easy on the eyes.

Happy Monday everyone!

Glad to be back in my rhythm and joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Chasing the Heron

Yesterday,

on the way to work,

I spotted a heron standing on the shore of my favorite pond.

It's unusual to see the big birds

on the side of the pond that's close to the road

and on the side of the water treatment facility.

So...

I parked and hopped out thinking I could get a shot or two

of the grand bird and the fall colors.

But as soon as I approached

the heron took off flying!

He flew right past me,

along the length of the pond,

until he found "safer" ground further along the water's edge.

Since I didn't have a zoom lens with me,

I tip-toed as close as I could get...

But we all know they can sense "tip toes" from yards away!

I was able to catch this one shot of him resting in the autumn weeds.

So elegant, with his long legs, neck and beak!

It was fun to wander through the changing foliage
on a cloudy, chilly morning
to try and get a shot of Mr. Heron.

Sigh. I do love the fall!

Needless to say, 

I wasn't able to get very close before my friend

flew off yet again.

I chose to leave him in peace at this point

so as not to be any later to work than I already was.

Oops!

Joining Eileen for

Saturday's Critters

Black & White Wednesday ~ Courage

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;
courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
Winston Churchill

Interesting, isn't it...
When something is true, it's also timeless.
In this day and age of everyone voicing an opinion
{or two or three}
I fear that courageous listening is becoming a lost art.

I want to be someone who can
learn from those who think differently than I do.
I never want to forget to be a really, really good listener.
I want to be someone with strong principles and ideals
who also has an open mind and heart.
The older I get,
the less concerned I am with making sure my opinion is heard
and the more I want to be able to
admit when I'm wrong.
The more I want to listen...
and, yes, listen attentively enough to actually have my mind changed from time to time!






Join us here and share your
Black & White photos!
I'm also linking up with
Wednesday Around the World