forget me not

Many years ago a friend gave me a few chunks of forget me nots. She dug them up with a small trowel after I admired them in her garden, sending me home with some of my own. I planted small clumps of them throughout my garden, where they flourished for years. When we moved, six years ago in the early fall, I thought I had left them all behind. But that first spring I spotted a few scattered here and there. This is their sixth season here in this garden close to the sea, and I am happy to say they are everywhere.

Sadly, a few years ago I got news that my friend had passed away. But come spring I see her everywhere in this garden of mine.

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the warm light of april

“Toad blinked in the bright sun. ‘Help!‘, said Toad. ‘I cannot see anything.’ 
‘Don’t be silly,’ said Frog. ‘What you see is the clear warm light of April. ”
Arnold Lobel - Frog and Toad are friends.

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I sit here wondering what I might write to help with some of the weight of the world we are all feeling right now. The warmth of the April sun, along with the gardens waking up, helps me for sure. I play around a bit with the post processing of this image, taking my mind off the daily news for a few minutes, giving me a break and a bit of hope.

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from the archives

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The rain and heavy wind keep us inside today. I spend time in the archives of my photos to see what the weather was like a few years ago. I play around with tones and light, bokeh and hidden delights.

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"If not for you, winter wouldn't hold no spring, couldn't hear a robin sing. I just wouldn't have a clue, if not for you." ~ Bob Dylan

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What!You too?

“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another
"What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”

― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

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It is amazing to me what one hour of truly being heard can do for my soul. How I hang up and feel excited and full of ideas, allowing the what if’s and maybe’s to fly around in my head without doubt. I spend the next hour outside in the garden, and the hour after that jotting down love notes to myself, giving myself permission to be me, to do my own thing without second guessing.

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seeing through gratitude

“I don’t ask for the sights in front of me to change,
only the depth of my seeing.”
— Mary Oliver

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I come here most days to say something. Something that will jar a memory or at least make me stop and see the beauty around me. Lately a bounty of memories have been surfacing, leaving me a bit melancholy, but also bringing with it an overflow of gratitude and love.

bits and pieces of March

I just don’t think I’m looking for the big moments in life anymore. It’s more the simple ones that make for a beautiful day now. Like the sun rising and the moon dancing and the wind singing and the leaves grooving, and kids laughing and music playing, butterflies twirling, heart-smiles staying … and me being present to witness all these little beautiful things. This is what makes for a happy and peaceful life, I’m sure.
— S.C. Lourie

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March is full of doctor appointments and rain. Both making it hard for me to focus on much else. By month’s end however, things began to turn around. Health issues are figured out and the robins return to eat worms and splash in the birdbath. We check out puzzles from the library, and Percy and I take up coloring in those fancy coloring books. The cherry blossoms take off and I find simple moments taking up space within me. All of this awakening a peacefulness within me that has been absent for so long.

I grab hold of it all.

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