November 9, 2015

We are blessed to live in such beauty.
 


October 15, 2015

October 11, 2015

busy elsewhere while fall has arrived

Fall Autumn
is about
transition.
Greens turn brown, yellow, red, orange
and leaves change color and fall
and plants blacken in the frosts.

It is exciting and sad.
My heart has never been totally excited with summer GREEN, and growth.
That is me. Each of us has a place of comfort.
 
Fall is different, many colors and changes that make you stop and say WOW.
This is more me.  I love when the woods open up and I can see deep into them.
For me, Summer is too hot and too humid.

Fall is not.
BUT
Fall also means that WHITE is not far behind 
and that means shorter colder days.

No season is perfect or imperfect
and the long and the short of it is
God gives us what we need
each and every day
and 
bitching about the cold or the hot is not going to make it warmer or cooler.
Accept what you can not change and ENJOY the day that is today.
Fighting the river does not work.


 





September 12, 2015

I love my own pictures ~

How egotistic is that?

These caught my eye for one reason or another.
It is all about catching that moment.
That is what makes me happy.
For each here, dozens got deleted.
Nothing earth shattering, but it doesn't need to be.








August 28, 2015

blue skies


Each year I take this shot of the mountain and the queen anne's lace and the blue skies.
 


August 13, 2015

sunflowers make me smile

these lovely sunflowers are part of this week's farm share.








July 31, 2015

July 30, 2015

with nature a sense of real

I find the world of late almost terrifying.  

People mouthing insanity. 

Civilization fraying.



 the web of life being pulled apart.




I have felt this for years.

It has accelerated drastically of late.

It is only in being with nature that I escape the madness 
and
find a real feeling of peace.

July 28, 2015

spiritual organization

 Sense of Order: Cultivating Contentment


‘For years I have suspected that in happy and fulfilled lives domesticity 
(means: home life or devotion to it) and spirituality 
are invisibly 
but inexorably 
(means: can not be influenced by persuasion, can not be altered) connected- one a golden thread, one a silver filament- 
which, when woven together, create a tapestry of contentment. The 

Shakers, a religious communal sect that flourished in America during the mid-nineteenth century, invoked a prayer each morning 
for the grace that would enable them to express their love of God 
through their daily tasks- tasks as simple and mundane as making a bed.

Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed by outside circumstances- 
worries about money, concern over a sick family member,
or anxiety over prolonged business negotiations- 
instinctively I turn to homegrown rituals to restore my equilibrium. 
There is an immediate emotional and psychological payoff 
to getting our houses in order. 
We might not be able to control 
what’s happening externally in our lives but we can learn
 to look to our own inner resources for a sense of comfort 
that nurtures and sustains. 
I have even noticed that there is a direct correlation 
between the days when I’m feeling depressed
 and the days when the house is in disarray.
 I suspect that I’m not alone. 
“It’s not the tragedies that kill us,” 
Dorothy Parker once observed,”it’s the messes.”



If you feel constantly adrift but don’t know why, 
be willing to explore the role that order- or the lack of it- 
plays in your life. No woman can think clearly when constantly surrounded by clutter,
 chaos, and confusion, no matter who is responsible for it.
 Begin to think of order not as a straight-jacket of “shoulds”
 (make the bed, wash the dishes, take out the garbage) 
but as a shape- the foundation- for the beautiful new life you are creating.
 It may be as simple as putting something back that you take out, 
hanging something up that you take off, 
or teaching those who live with you that they must do the same
 for the common good of all.

There is a Divine Order- a Sublime Order- inherent in the universe.
 We can tap into this powerful source of creative energy when we are willing to gradually cultivate a sense of order as to how we conduct our daily affairs.
 Invite Divine Order into your life today and a more serene tomorrow will unfold.’ –

Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance A Daybook of Comofort and Joy 

July 27, 2015

arrangements



in my photo albums there is one called 

Flower Arrangements.


  It gets bigger and bigger. 

 I find great pleasure in these. 

 I enjoy them while they are with me 

and the pictures allow me to re-enjoy them time and again. 






Such a cheap fix.

July 19, 2015

on knowing



  
Sometimes you need a wake up call to realize
 that you need to tune in and pay attention.

My stomach was bothering me for quite awhile early in morning. 
My bowel movements were strange. 
Very uncomfortable ~ I knew this was not normal 
and needed to be dealt with, yet I put it off.

Lyme's and the antibiotic were the wake up call.
The antibiotic I took made my stomach feel worse
 so I researched the war going on in my body.

  
  Antibiotic was killing the bad along with the good.
Probiotics, good bacteria needed!!!
I learned that I needed to replace and add to the good.
Makes sense.
I worked overtime at this because I felt lousy,
could not eat, was losing weight.

 I started in pill form, yogurt and fermented sauerkraut, kumchi. 
Holy cow what a difference 
 iIt made and continues to make.  
I no longer have the nightime pain I was suffering.
My bowels are changed.
It has made all the difference in my gut. 

 Then I researched the gut and probiotics.  I
 found a book by a Johns Hopkins Dr who explained 
the whole gut all 30 feet of it, The Inside Tract.  

The whole process which is highly complex
and every step important.
Not only is it important to put in good food, 
but more important is that this must be properly absorbed. 
 AND that starts by eating slowly, quietly, attentively and chewing,

 CHEWING step one that I and so many others don't do well.
I often eat and read too
 Suddenly I realize my plate is empty 
and I don't remember the taste, 
did I chew? was it good? how fast did I go through that meal?  

I am clueless.  I was not there. 
 I was in the story, not at the table.
Why bother to eat if you miss the beauty, the smells, the taste?

I eat with friends in a restaurant
 and we talk and eat and suddenly I realize I finished
 the sandwich, salad, soup and no memory of the taste or how fast it was consumed.

If we miss the first step, this chewing, the rest of the process is out of wack. 

Once the food is in our system, much goes on all the way through the process
and one important part is the constant war between good and bad bacteria 
which we can help win by increasing the good.  
There should be 5 lbs of good stuff. 
 Amazing huh.  
Without the good probiotics, tummy has problems
 and that was what was going on in me obviously 
until I learned about probiotics. 



 The medical community has found a second brain in the gut..... 
gut feelings anyone?  

This digesting of food resulting in elimination
 is not something we pay attention to sort of like death. 
 It happens and we just don't want to discuss it!  
It is at our own peril that we ignore it.



Did I chew, did I taste
or did I chat my way through this meal?

The Buddhists eat in silence. 
Savoring.
Makes sense

July 13, 2015

favorite things

wind

and 

shadows




Things you can see and not see.


July 3, 2015

dragons in the yard



Anything that eats the bad bugs is my bestest friend.

And anything that has wings that looks like stained glass

thrills my soul.

July 1, 2015

finding unicorns



I believe in miracles
 and fairies,
 angels,
 little people 
and things most don't.  

Unicorns are something I whole hearted believe in
 and magic. 


 I have been trying to spot a unicorn forever. 

 I have decided that it is like spotting a meteor. 

 Timing. 

 Meteors are out there. 
 We even get notice that they are going to be where one can see,
 but because of one thing or another, we don't get a sighting.

  Same with unicorns. 
 If I am watching the lower field at 3 am
 and they are feeding by the yurt, I am not going to be seeing them. 

All good things in time.