light shadows mask

glorious fungus

"What" I asked "is growing on the compost heap?"  Janet knew!!!  It's a hoot - no really it is

"Scrambled Egg Slime" or Fuligo septica.

You'll like his description - make sure you note the Great Dane reference: Quote:

"The most egalitarian of slime molds, this species can be round, cushion-shaped or bloblike, not to mention yellow, bright pink, red, whitish, tan, or lilac-colored. Likewise, it can grow in leaf litter and wood mulch as well as on plants and logs. And while it can indeed look like scrambled eggs, it can also look like, well, mycologist Sam Ristich once described a large specimen as "resembling the vomit of six Great Danes."

and more

"...it's completely harmless. In fact it's a prized edible in certain parts of Mexico where it's known as Caca da Lune (Shit of the Moon)...."

summer start

Besides feeling like summer with extreme heat we have reached Summer Solstice.

what is real

this is a photograph of flowers made from Mussel shells to look like Iris.  Not real flowers.  And I played with the photo so it looks like a watercolor rather than a photo.  Not real watercolor.  

gifts one is given on a walk

Every walk brings me gifts of sound, color, texture and life.  One does not know where the path will lead and what treats will be there.  This morning Cedar Waxwings and the day before a deer and today scat of  a fox with turtle egss in it.  No wonder I walk. 

intense

Words of wisdom about words

The words of the tongue should have three gatekeepers: 

Is it true? 

Is it kind? 

Is it necessary? 

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

70 degrees, sunny and a breeze  =  perfect Maine day

heading home

abundance

over-whelmed, over- stimulated.  that is JUNE!!!!  

Orioles today and so many other birds that start making calls at dawn and then are in the air and on the ground feeding and in the grasses nesting.  Frogs all night.  Bugs, grasses, wildflowers, spiders.  I get overwhelmed and energied out when we hit this time  

It is exhilarating and almost exhausting with all the growth and natural busyness.

Aren't we blessed with so much around us.

some mornings are breathe taking

beauty and the beast

Sometimes color distracts.  

Without color everything looks a little different.  

Consider the landscape on a moonlit night.

today these please my eye

to be of use

 The people I love the best

jump into work head first

without dallying in the shallows

and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.

They seem to become natives of that element,

the black sleek heads of seals

bouncing like half-submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,

who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,

who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,

who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge

in the task, who go into the fields to harvest

and work in a row and pass the bags along,

who are not parlor generals and field deserters,

but move in a common rhythm

when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.

Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.

But the thing worth doing well done

has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.

Greek amphoras for wine or oil, 

Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums,

but you know they were made to be used. 

The pitcher cries for water to carry and for work that is real.

Marge Piercy

are we expecting miracles?

 Whispers

The woman whispered, "God, speak to me"

and a meadowlark sang.

But, she did not hear.

So the woman said, "God, speak to me"

and the thunder rolled across the sky.

But, she did not listen.

The woman looked around and asked,

"God let me see you."

A star shined brightly.

But she did not see.

And, the woman shouted,

"God show me a miracle."

And, a life was born.

But, she did not notice.

So, the woman cried out in despair,

"Touch me God, please let me know you are here."

 Whereupon, God reached down and touched the woman.

But, she brushed the butterfly away ..................

and she walked on.

this is a reminder that God and miracles are always around us

 in the little and simple things that we take for granted ... 

even in our electronic age . 

 So one more:

The woman whispered,

" Oh lord, I need your help!"

And an e-mail arrived 

with good news and encouragement.

 she deleted it 

Maybe we all need to remember to  pay attention to the small and unexpected  

and not miss out on a blessing

because it isn't packaged the way that we expect.

solitude

In this our busy world surrounded by people and sound and communications and media, 

it is hard to remember the basic need and importance of solitude.  

It is a gift we need to respect in ourselves and in others.

Blessing of Solitude

-John O'Donohue

May you recognize in your life 
the presence, power, and light of your soul.

May you realize that you are never alone,

that your soul in its brightness and belonging 
connects you intimately 

with the rhythm of the universe.

May you have respect for you own individuality and difference.

May you realize that the shape of your soul is unique, 

that you have a special destiny here,

that behind the facade of your life there is something

beautiful, good, and eternal happening.

May you learn to see yourself with the same delight, pride,

and expectation with which God sees you in every moment.

blues

Today and yesterday and the days upcoming -  gray, dark and gray.  

Hard to find color to shot, but the bathroom has beautiful blues.  

Blue was always a favorite, yet others are as rich ---- the many many greens, reds, silver, black, yellows, and purples, pinks.  Maybe living with long white winters makes one  need color, appreciate the gift of color more-- 
maybe more than those that never lack color 
those in tropical paradises full of color all the time.

the walking cat

 Wooley is adamant about walking with us when we take the dogs for an outing and does the whole walk with us in any weather.  Note how soggy she is today in the pouring rain.  
Good and faithful lovely wet Wooley

morning mist

getting out walking soon after the dawn chorus.
A remarkable time to be with the world.