Standing Tall

"Go Big or Go Home"

American Author

I know I'm not alone in my love of sunflowers.

They never fail to bring a smile to my face.

Whenever I see them

I'm reminded to lift my chin up,

throw my shoulders back,

stand tall

and share the light.

SO EXCITED

to be back linking up with Kathy

for

Song-ography

Road Trippin'

We had a crazy/fun month of July.

Two weddings.

Time with some of our dearest friends.

And lots of time surrounded by our precious family.

In order to get to all this fabulousness

we logged over 1,500 milles on the open road!

Some of those miles were spent driving through

beautiful Wisconsin farm country!

The big sky,

working farms

and classic red barns

fiiled our drive with loveliness!

Good thing we love long drives

with great play lists,

postcard worthy photo ops,

and hours and hours of talk time.

Linking up with

Texture Twist

and

The Barn Collective

Road Side Charm

Clear Skies

Old Barns

Mountain Peaks

Hay Stacks

When in Oregon...

we do a lot of driving.

Which is OK

because the scenery is a feast for the eyes!

Here are a few ranch/barn shots

I played with.

Oh, I do love the wild, wild west!

Linking up with

Texture Twist

Simple Pleasure

The setting sun.

Some sparkling water.

And the swans.

They are a local treasure to everyone who enjoys the trails and waterways at Horn Pond.

Seeing them out together on the Big Pond was a perfect end to my Monday.

Linking  up with

Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday, The Happiness Project, Communal Global
and
Wild Bird Wednesday

Today We Remember

this old city
so proud to call her home
cobblestones
cornerstones
monuments and medals
we walk the streets and she's the same,
we walk the streets and she's changed

this old city
so perfectly imperfect
today we remember
today we celebrate 
resilience
rigor
courage and comebacks
we stand together
learn together
laugh
love
and live together

this old city
standing as one
telling the world that
we are 
Boston Strong

{please take a minute to look at DEAR WORLD: Boston Marathon as we remember}

I'm linking up with

Texture Tuesday and Just Write

Now

the big picture isn't finished
i look up, out and around and i don't see spring
yet
colorless
leafless
the softening limbs taunt me
tiny buds play with me as if an elementary school art class has been given markers to dot the sky
i know
i hear emerson
adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience
i know
yet i fail

again and again i remind myself
the bigger picture isn't finished
is it ever?
really?
i watch my children
so many seasons have come
and gone
they're young, but old
kids, but not
breaking ground, showing their colors, more than a bud
not yet a flower
not finished, but flourishing
not perfect, but whole

could it be that the bigger picture is always finished?

always finished...
i look down, i look in, i look closely
i see stems stretch
small petals wink and the tiniest of flowers nod
we are whole
we are safe
in this moment we have all that we need
though we are not finished
though i am not finished
this elusive bigger picture just might be

and i am grateful
for the love
of now

Joining with

Texture Tuesday

and

Just Write

Shhhh....

Joining Kim for Texture Tuesday

a feather

caught on a bramble

broken and frayed

danced on a breeze

and carried me away

Joining
Texture Tuesday, Sweet Shot Tuesday

Beneath the Surface

I knelt down in the snow right at the edge of the pond in order to capture the reflection of the clouds. It was almost 6:00. I'd been out of work for an hour, I was still outside and there was still some daylight left! As I focused on the melted waters, I thought about all that's been churning under the frozen surface all winter long. There's another whole world underneath the ice. A world that's easy to forget about while the snowy, winter white blankets the pond.

Kneeling there, alone with my thoughts, I breathed in the crisp air and felt a tear slide down my cheek. These moments of connection. Of letting go. Of purposed solitude. These moments are vital. Cherished. It is these moments that melt me. That keep me open, and connect me to all the questions that churn inside me. I seem to always have far more questions than answers....which I guess is pretty normal. But these past few months, my 'deep waters' have been particularly turbulent.

Until yesterday.

Kneeling there, alone by the melting pond, I found an answer. It came first in the hint, the whisper of a tiny thought. Churn-surface-melt-beneath...these words invited me to dance with them. A slow dance. A safe dance. With each connection, another whisper and then.......then the melody grew stronger. And an idea was born. Where there had been trouble and confusion, there was now peace and understanding. Clarity.

As I rose to continue my walk, I felt a kinship with this in between season. No longer winter. Not yet spring. All that is hidden under the frozen waters, the hard earth, the barren branches...all that has been churning is ready to burst. I felt ready to burst! I've got things to say to some people. Things to write. A path to pursue.

It's been a long winter. Oh, the actual winter season hasn't bothered me. But the months of troubled waters churning beneath the surface of me?.....well, that "winter" is ready for warmth. For blooms. For spring.

Joining others for

Just Write and Texture Tuesday

Be Still

thoughts swirl

head full 

chasing details, chasing shadows

feelings churn

heart full

gripping worries, catching fears

i seek solace

to empty the vessel

surface drops spilling easily

buckets left

deeper waters

the light

the air

the wind

the quiet

alone

raising my voice

taking shelter

until i am surrendered and

still

Linking up with
Texture Tuesday, Just Write and dVerse Poets

Shhhh.....

"I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields,

that it kisses them so gently?

And then it covers them up snug, you know,

with a white quilt; and perhaps it says,

'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'"

Lewis Carroll

I wonder, as winter digs in her heels, how I'd live the season differently if I were a tree. If my only "work" right now was to rest. If I knew that I was planted right where I belonged. Nothing to hurry towards, no expectation of bloom or fruit. I think I would know that, in this season of shorter days and long, frigid nights, all that was needed was the gathering of strength. And I'd be glad that, as my branches await the longer, warmer, sunnier days to come, my roots can continue to grow in the blanketed earth. The earth that is kept warm. That does not freeze because of the snow that continues to fall.

As I began this year, I chose "tree" as my inspirational word. So I've been watching them closely...and happen to love this time of year when only branches decorate the sky line. I said to my brother the other day that it's not the snow that is a bother...it's that we all insist on plowing right through it and getting on with our "normal" routines. It's so hard to close down, stay in, quiet down and rest. I can be like a toddler who is too busy to be bothered with a nap. Fighting rest, fighting a change of pace. Resisting the quiet. 

Now, I know I'm not a tree. And school, work, travel, fresh air and grocery shopping will continue to be a part of who we all are - even in the dead of winter. But I'm going to take a hint from the trees, and try not to rush the season. I'm going to head outside during today's snowfall and listen to the quiet. I'm going to leave work early if the roads show signs of worsening...and not worry about loosing a few bucks. And, when I wake up tomorrow the sky will be bright blue, the storm will have passed and "my" branches will be snow kissed yet again. Sure...there's part of me (the cold part!) that feels ready for the spring. But I'm going snuggle up under my soft, white blanket...and wait patiently along with the trees.

Sharing today with

Texture Tuesday

and

Just Write

Our Path

path chosen

we'll walk together

side by side

hand in hand

then arm in arm

seasons pave the way

gently, slowly at first

that season of young love, of firsts

of caution 

of exploration

i learn your touch, i know your hand, i hold on

path brightens

we walk with little ones

under foot

swinging between our hands

riding high on your strong shoulders

seasons 

so many seasons

colorful, vibrant

calm, stormy

those roller coaster seasons hurry by

i seek your touch, i treasure your hand, we hold on 

path diverges

we choose our way together

changed as we are

weathered

we choose together

we look ahead

blessings pave the way

and we beg the seasons to grow lazy

to be gentle and slow again

a pause for a flower

stillness

a breath, a moment

the cherishing

i need your touch, i hold your hand, we let go

Linking up with Project Underblog, Just Write, dVerse Poets and Texture Tuesday

This

For this.
For this, I turned off my office computer at 4:50, instead of 5:00.
For this, I cleaned my desk, put on my coat and jangled my keys at 4:55, instead of 5:00.
I was handed one last folder to file
{with my coat on!}
and one more form to scan...
But, for this, I was out the door and in my car at 5:00 exactly.
For this, I hurried along, willed the cars in front of me to "move it" so we'd all make it through the light.
I could tell from my office window that the sunset was colorful.
Dramatic.
And I wanted a few minutes of this light by the edge of my pond.
Even just a few minutes at the end of the day, are exceptionally refreshing.
Like a palate cleanser.
The icy winds were gusty. Bone chilling.
But, for THIS
I braced myself against the cold,
took many long, deep breaths
and a few color-filled photos.
Thank you, God, for this.



Linking up today with
Just Write, Texture Tuesday and Sweet Shot Tuesday

Simply

"No act of kindness,

no matter how small,

is ever wasted."

Aesop

In a world, where glitz, instant fame and social media trending have become actual goals...where selling, and winning and earning seem honored above all else....where what's right often takes a back seat to who's right....and where bigger we're told is better... Yes, in the midst of this world, it was a gift to sit next to my father on Saturday in the back pew of my childhood church, and absorb the stories being told about a friend of ours. About her life well lived.

As Sue was remembered, there were stories of courage and generosity. Of wisdom and tenacity. There was praise for all she did as a wife, a mother, a friend and a contributing member of whatever community surrounded her. But it was the kindness - the repeated mention of the gestures of kindness from a woman who seemed to know no other way - that stood out above all.

Kindness is a quiet, understated and often invisible quality. I think it's easy to minimize it. To down play it...oh, anyone can be kind. It's no big deal, really. Sure, I can be kind...but what else can I accomplish? How can I have a broader impact that just little acts of kindness? Oh, kindness. Simple, available-to-every-human-being kindness. How very misunderstood you are.

On Saturday, from the back pew of my childhood church, kindness spoke boldly through the life of our friend. Kindness announced its presence. Kindness was visible, tangible, noticeable...remarkable. As passionately as the wail of the bagpipe filled the old, stone chapel, so the power of kindness penetrated to the depths of our souls. And we were called to remember.

Not only to remember a life. But to be reminded of a most powerful way of life.

Joining others for

Just Write, Texture Tuesday, & Sweet Shot Tuesday

Gentleness

We don't live in a dangerous area.
It's what anyone would call a "nice suburb."
And yet...
The young woman who lives in the apartment downstairs from my daughter was assaulted two weeks ago. By an ex who's now in prison. And less than half a mile from her place, there was a murder-suicide yesterday. A family...twin boys who hadn't celebrated their first birthday. Both parents gone...rumors are they were going through a nasty divorce.

All I could think yesterday...this morning...was how much I want this world we live in to be a gentler place. For people to be clothed in kindness and to learn and exercise self-restraint.

Today, I'm praying for gentleness. First, that it characterize me. And then for the whole wide world.

"Let the gentle bush dig its root deep 

and spread upwards to split the boulder."

Carl Sandburg

Linking with

Communal Global

and 

Testure Tuesday

Bird's Eye View?

Hmmm....I see some bird seed down there on the bridge.

Is it safe to fly my way down there?

Let's give it a try.

The paparazzi's here....better keep my eye on her.

Hope she wanders off soon and lets me eat in peace!

OK! Got a bite.

It was nice of someone to leave this seed here for us...

it's getting harder to find good food.

She's still watching me.

Food looks good on this side of the bridge too.

Oh no, not this guy.

Wish he'd leave the bird seed to the birds!

At least the paparazzi gal is taking off.

I bet she just keeps taking pictures of the leaves.

"Delicious autumn! My very soul 
is wedded to it, and if I were a bird
I would fly about the earth 
seeking successive autumns."
George Eliot



Linking up with:
Tuesday Muse, Tuesday Around the World
The Happiness Project and Texture Tuesday


Please join me with your black and white photos tomorrow!!