Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Lunar Eclipse
So many times we are in the wrong hemisphere, or the wrong place on the hemisphere, or there is cloud cover obscuring the view, or (most likely) I sleep through it. But this morning's lunar eclipse was clearly visible and JMM woke me up to see it. Lovely. What a beautiful world.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
They are back!!
The hummingbirds arrived yesterday!! We've had a feeder up for about 2 weeks now just waiting for them. Yesterday morning I was sitting at the table when I heard the familiar buzz and there he was--beautiful little jewel!! JMM put up the second feeder because there will be more coming through. Before the summer is over we will have 4 feeders up. Good thing I bought a 10 lb. bag of sugar.
All is well--the swallows are back and building their nest under the eaves of the porch and now the hummingbirds. I am so thankful for these beautiful birds.
All is well--the swallows are back and building their nest under the eaves of the porch and now the hummingbirds. I am so thankful for these beautiful birds.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Color on a gray day
We are in the gray days of winter lately. Gray skies, gray landscape. But there are jewels of color outside too--we have a flock of 50+ goldfinches around the sunflower and thistle feeders. Occassionally there is a flash of red and a cardinal has landed. The little brown & rust colored sparows and the tiny titmouse add their colors. And once in a while a great squawking blue jay clears out everyone but himself while he loads up on sunflower seeds.
Inside I have a pastel pink cyclamen blooming and my Christmas cactus is loaded with buds to bloom in a week or so.
The gray days make a nice background for the bursts of color. I think it is important to see beauty; often we see only the gray but the color is there for the looking.
Inside I have a pastel pink cyclamen blooming and my Christmas cactus is loaded with buds to bloom in a week or so.
The gray days make a nice background for the bursts of color. I think it is important to see beauty; often we see only the gray but the color is there for the looking.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Pleasant View Schoolhouse
There have been no blog posts, no journal entries, and very little else done since I discovered this beautiful weblog. I've been giving myself a treat every chance I get to partake of the life and times at Pleasant View Schoolhouse. It is a visual delight and a balm to the soul. (If you get started reading it and get nothing else done for the next 5 days, don't say you weren't warned.)
http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com/
http://pleasantviewschoolhouse.blogspot.com/
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Early Summer at OakMeadow
One of these days I'm going to learn how to attach photos to my blog so I I can show you just how beautiful it is here. In the meantime, I'll just keep telling you.
The tomatoes are spectacular this year. We are harvesting all we can eat and the rest I take to work to give away. One cherry tomato plant must have 100 tiny green tomatoes; these seldom make it into the house as they are so easy to pick as they ripen and just pop into the mouth.
The front porch baby barn swallows have flown. (And we have cleaned up the mess of poop on the porch under the nest.) The back porch babies are working their parents to death to keep them fed; there are 4, I think. It will be another week or 10 days before they are ready to fly. I wonder if we will have a second brood like we did last year??
The vitex is covered with spikes of purple blooms but what is really interesting is that as you go by it, the bush seems to be humming and almost vibrating. It is, of course, the bees gathering the heady nectar. I wonder if they tickle the bush as they move in and out of the flowers.
The daylillies are in full bloom. We have some yellow and some orange.
As my mother used to say though, "Into every life, a little rain must fall." And into our lives, the evening mosquitoes have come. No lingering on the porch after dark these days! As they think of me as a food source, so I like to think of them as food for our baby swallows.
Thought for the day:
"Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving." - Kahlil Gibran
The tomatoes are spectacular this year. We are harvesting all we can eat and the rest I take to work to give away. One cherry tomato plant must have 100 tiny green tomatoes; these seldom make it into the house as they are so easy to pick as they ripen and just pop into the mouth.
The front porch baby barn swallows have flown. (And we have cleaned up the mess of poop on the porch under the nest.) The back porch babies are working their parents to death to keep them fed; there are 4, I think. It will be another week or 10 days before they are ready to fly. I wonder if we will have a second brood like we did last year??
The vitex is covered with spikes of purple blooms but what is really interesting is that as you go by it, the bush seems to be humming and almost vibrating. It is, of course, the bees gathering the heady nectar. I wonder if they tickle the bush as they move in and out of the flowers.
The daylillies are in full bloom. We have some yellow and some orange.
As my mother used to say though, "Into every life, a little rain must fall." And into our lives, the evening mosquitoes have come. No lingering on the porch after dark these days! As they think of me as a food source, so I like to think of them as food for our baby swallows.
Thought for the day:
"Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving." - Kahlil Gibran
Friday, May 8, 2009
Beautiful Things
It is necessary for me to have beauty in my everyday life. Beautiful music, beautiful flowers, the beauty of nature. So often it is there unnoticed but I am making it a point to look for beauty. Today's beauty included
The daylillies in full bloom
A flock of barn swallows sailing and swooping through the air
A spectacular full moonrise
What beauty has been in your life recently?
Thought for the Day:
"Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." ~ Rachel Carson
The daylillies in full bloom
A flock of barn swallows sailing and swooping through the air
A spectacular full moonrise
What beauty has been in your life recently?
Thought for the Day:
"Those who contemplate the beauty of the Earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts." ~ Rachel Carson
Monday, March 16, 2009
A beautiful day
Here on the Texas Gulf Coast we are in drought conditions so when it started to rain Friday, there were few complaints. It rained off and on all weekend and we needed every drop but by this morning I know I was ready for some sunshine. It was a perfect day--high of 76 and not a cloud in the sky.
My van was all mud-splattered so I took it to Bubbles Car Wash where it was washed and waxed and thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed inside. It was a nice treat for me as I spend so much time in the van.
I stopped by the library and picked up some books on the way home.
Lovely day.
Thought for the day:
"We can do no great things; only small things with great love." Mother Teresa.
My van was all mud-splattered so I took it to Bubbles Car Wash where it was washed and waxed and thoroughly cleaned and vacuumed inside. It was a nice treat for me as I spend so much time in the van.
I stopped by the library and picked up some books on the way home.
Lovely day.
Thought for the day:
"We can do no great things; only small things with great love." Mother Teresa.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Winter beauty
Our winters are mild here on the Texas Gulf Coast. We seldom have the beauty of a blanket of pure white snow but we do have our own winter beauty. One form of winter beauty is the splendid array of birds that winter here. Here at OakMeadows we have 6 or 7 various feeders for the birds and JMM faithfully keeps them filled and the bird bath filled with clean water. The large oak trees and the other surrounding trees provide shelter for them. This year we have had a tumult of goldfinches; I know I should say flock of goldfinches but there must be a hundred of them and tumult is a good description. We also have more cardinals than usual. Add in the usual sparrows, chickadees, titmouses, bluejays, mockingbirds, and just this morning we saw meadowlarks. Such beauty!! In a few weeks, we plan to drive down the coast to see the lovely ducks & cranes from Canada that winter here.
Another winter beauty this past week has been the morning frost on the grass. It is sparkly beautiful as the sun comes up. Just beautiful.
It is altogether too easy to get so wrapped up in daily tasks that we neglect to see the beauty that is frequently all around. It is easy to listen to the news and become so worried or depressed that we forget to thank our Creator for the beauty of His creation.
Thought for the day:
Rachel Carson:
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson:
It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.
Another winter beauty this past week has been the morning frost on the grass. It is sparkly beautiful as the sun comes up. Just beautiful.
It is altogether too easy to get so wrapped up in daily tasks that we neglect to see the beauty that is frequently all around. It is easy to listen to the news and become so worried or depressed that we forget to thank our Creator for the beauty of His creation.
Thought for the day:
Rachel Carson:
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson:
It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Loss
I am mourning the loss of a beautiful view. For the 4 years we have been here at OakMeadow I have be able to sit in my rocking chair and look across a 2 acre field to the trees along the creek. It is a lovely, restful view but the owners of the property have started to build their house. Now I will look out and see a house. I'm sure it will be a beautiful house but there is no comparison to a field and trees. I think I shall move my rocking chair to the opposite corner so I won't so often be reminded of the lost view.
This brings me to think about all the ugliness we inflict upon ourselves. We cut down a couple of trees to put in another strip shopping center. Like the world needs another gas station, nail salon, dry cleaners... We pave over acres for malls and movies and big box stores. All that was pretty is paved over. There's always money for cutting down and paving over but precious little for preserving or for parks and trails. We are like Esau who sold his inheritance for a mess of pottage.
This brings me to think about all the ugliness we inflict upon ourselves. We cut down a couple of trees to put in another strip shopping center. Like the world needs another gas station, nail salon, dry cleaners... We pave over acres for malls and movies and big box stores. All that was pretty is paved over. There's always money for cutting down and paving over but precious little for preserving or for parks and trails. We are like Esau who sold his inheritance for a mess of pottage.
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