The wind is blowing.
Again.
Or, maybe, still.
I thought about taking pictures of new leaves today.
But the tree branches won’t stay still.
So these pictures from Saturday’s stroll will have to suffice.
Posted in response to Cee’s FOTD challenge.
And because flowers and leaves always bring a smile to my face.
The Crab Apple visible out our back windows is gloriously pink. So I took my camera when my beloved and I went for a short stroll on Saturday.
Since I had the camera I paused to take pictures of the white blossoms along our street. I have no idea what they are and am to lazy to try to find out. Just want to enjoy the colors and shapes and textures.
Posted as part of Cee’s Flower-of-Day Challenge.
I’d like to say that I’ve read more since stay-at-home orders were issued in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. But I haven’t. I’m a reader at heart and have continued to read at about the same pace.
Two of the four books pictured have not been shelved because they each have something I might quote in a sermon someday (if I ever preach again!!) and I wanted to make sure I wrote them down somewhere. Here’s the somewhere.
KINDER THAN NECESSARY
“If ever single person in this room made it a rule that wherever you are, whenever you can, you will try to act a little kinder than is necessary–the world really would be a better place. And if you do this, if you act just little kinder than is necessary, someone else, somewhere, someday, may recognize in you, in every single one of you, the face of God.”
From Wonder by R. J. Palacio (pp 300-301)
HERE TO WONDER
I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ast. And that in wondering bout the big things and asting bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, he say, the more I love.
From The Color Purple by Alice Walker (p 283)
AN INSULT
Dune has a funny insult somewhere in those 863 pages. But I didn’t mark it and I can’t find it so I guess you’ll have to read the book yourself!
MOTHERS AND SONS
I read Pachinko after reading Dune and was struck by the complex relationship between a mother and son in each book. Very different genres but rich portrayals of the people in each.
+++++++
Be kinder than necessary, friends.
And take time to wonder.
My quilting friend across the street has two cats – Bonnie & Clyde. Clyde nearly always greets me at the door; the one time I had a camera with me he was much more interested in what I had in my hand than in having his picture taken (above). Bonnie typically ignores me but had just enough curiosity to sit up to see what was going on (below).
My sister’s family also has a Bonnie & Clyde. Not cats, though. Dogs.
All the dogs at that house are loved, but the favorite is clearly the English Bulldog. I was taking pictures of my nieces and nephews last fall when one of them insisted I take a picture of Gus.
So there you have it – a few pictures of animals that are keeping some of my favorite people company during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Posted in response to this week’s Tuesday Photo Challenge.
It’s a week late for Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Glass. But other than being late, I couldn’t think of a reason not to share.
The bowl of water was on our worship (aka kitchen / dining room) table for a virtual Maundy Thursday church service. We were supposed to be remembering the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet (see John 13).
But my mind wandered to Nancy’s challenge and to the shadows made by her glass mixing bowl. Click here to see for yourself!
Three types of glass are visible in both of my pictures: the bowl, the flower vases, and the living room window. The bottom picture also has reflections of the dining area windows.
Look around! What shadows and reflections do you see in your corner of the world?
“Oh, they’re back,” I thought as one Canada goose stood at attention and honked at me to stay away. Another was floating in the run-off pound. A third was sitting on the nest. Canada Geese don’t seem to ever fully leave this area; my thought had to do with the nest.
It’s a sign of hope. The pond used to be an excellent place for a goose to raise a family. Four or five years ago there would be six or more goslings there. Occasionally the parental units would stop traffic to march the young ones across the street to the larger neighborhood pond.
But then a medical building went up just south of it. And now new condos are being built to the west. I saw the geese and their nest a year ago. But never did see any goslings. Hope springs eternal.
The nest was my first thought for the Tuesday Photo Challenge of HOPE. So I grabbed the camera when my best beloved and I headed out for a walk yesterday. One Canada goose was on the nest; a pair of mallard ducks was nearby.
The walk itself – with proper physical distancing from whoever else might be out – provides a bit of hope in this era of COVID-19 pandemic. Getting out of the house to enjoy sunshine and blue sky is as much for our mental health as it is for physical well-being.
An annual sign of hope are swelling leaf buds. I marvel at the variety. Here are a few pictures from our corner of the world on the last day of March.
Another LQQK 