Wandering, Wondering

Listen to the trees as they sway in the wind.

Their leaves are telling secrets. Their bark sings songs of olden days as it grows around the trunks. And their roots give names to all things.

Their language has been lost.

But not the gestures.

Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

I was very happy this morning to wake to a fine weather day.

Breezy with some clouds, but blue skies means the dust has cleared and that is a very good thing.

After not walking for the past week, it was time to wander and explore again.

Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time or the last time. Then your time on earth will be filled with glory.

Betty Smith

I noticed that a couple of my crocheted hearts are still right where I hung them.  One is off the beaten path and the other in clear view.  I wonder if they've been noticed at all, or is everyone too busy doing whatever they're doing to truly pay attention.  I see people glued to their phones even when they are walking and that truly boggles my mind.  To me, getting outside means connecting with nature.  My phone goes with me purely for photo opportunities and nothing else.

The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight.  The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.

Julia Cameron

Have a wonderful Wednesday,

Insect Perspective

Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.
Henry David Thoreau 

Ever since last week's full moon, our weather has been unstable, never knowing what it will be like from one minute to the next ... windy, dusty, cloudy, rainy.  Since my senior boy is on spring break, there's been no mad rush out the door in the morning so I have enjoyed these slow days of staying home puttering around.

When the weather cleared some this afternoon, I spent time tidying my balcony garden, watering plants, and taking notice of all the garden visitors.

 

From a bee to a teeny, tiny fly ...

And a hover fly which is like a helicopter the way it moves.

It finally sat still long enough for me to get a good look head on.

Quite a quizzical little expression, I'd say.

This spider seems to have snagged one for lunch.

When I take pictures outside with my iPhone, I never know what I am going to get, so to see the detail on this spider is pretty amazing.  I sure couldn't tell what he looked like ... believe me, my phone got closer than I did.

This gecko was spotted from the kitchen window, while I was inside and he was out.

Jingles loves to go outside but doesn't like me to shut the door on her.  But as long as there are geckos around, the door must remain closed.

I've not walked at all this week so am hoping that tomorrow will be nice enough.  I don't mind a cloudy day, but the dust can certainly stay away.

Best wishes and blessings.

Happy Easter!

Weather wise, we've had dusty, cloudy conditions the past couple of days.  Even now as I listen to the wind blowing outside, I'm not sure if it wants to rain or if there's a dust storm going on.

Since it was an indoor kind of day, I did a little crochet.

And tried a healthy carrot cake recipe from the blog Chocolate Covered Katie.

Not sure what I did wrong as it looks nothing like the one she made, although the taste is fine.  I did miss the step where it says to let the wet ingredient sit for at least 10 minutes or overnight, so I think I will try again another time and see if I get different results.

I hope that wherever you are in the world, you are having a lovely day with family and friends.

Easter blessings,

A Perfect Spring Day

Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I was working, there would be days when the sky was blue and the temperature so perfect that I would bemoan the fact I had to sit in a windowless office behind a computer screen.

My co-working friends would agree that we should play hooky and go for a cup of coffee alfresco.  Of course, we never did (unfortunately).

Well, today was one of those perfect days.  And since I'm no longer employed, I fully intended to extract every ounce of Vitamin D (and joy) I could.

After dropping my son at school (and dealing with some crazy traffic), I stopped by The Secret Garden project.

I had previously taken some of the yarnbomb pieces home to wash and this was the last piece that needed to be reattached.  Without my even asking, our friendly garden keeper who is from Bangladesh offered me a helping hand.

Perfect!

My next stop was the beach where I was surprised to discover that it must be ladybug season.

They were everywhere.

On my newspaper.

On my yarn.

On my hook.

Even on me.

I crocheted a little granny square for the bench.

Left a little love behind.

And then took a walk along the beach where I found more signs of love all around.

A quick run home to get something to eat and then I was back out the door for an hour long walk.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watering plants on both balconies, making lunch and a few other household duties, plus a little crochet.

The perfect ending to the day was when my husband called to tell me to run outside to see the moon which resulted in a walk around the neighborhood.

March's Full Worm Moon is bright and beautiful.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Day of Happy

To promote happiness as a universal goal and aspiration in the lives of human beings around the world.

The United Nations

Last week I received a package from a friend in San Antonio that contained a sweet little set of Peanuts Gang happiness cards ... just in time for International Day of Happiness.

Some things that made me happy today ...

A beautiful morning for crochet at The Secret Garden and a little yarnbombing with donated yarn.

A morning walk.

Pretty blooms.

And leaving a little love behind.

Start an epidemic.

Spread happiness around.

Peace and blessings,