Awakened

Awakened

Roving through a meadow full of grasses and daisies, I stopped, looked and listened. Walking deeper into the meadow, a lake appeared. “It’s a jewel! Like the awesome pendant Ricky gave me last night.” Red-winged blackbirds called to each other. Long legged waterbirds stalked the mud at waters edge. Soft winds rustled thick green bullrushes protecting deep water life. It was early spring before bulky brown seed heads appeared. “Cattails, I think.” 

School had taught Shandra about the environment, but a city girl, she had really never experienced anything like this. She’d been to the beach, collected pretty pebbles and walked barefoot on the sand. But that was just fun. Their assignment for their weekend was to not just go to the beach, but walk out in the meadow behind the school. The land that hadn’t been absorbed into the city yet. She took a deep breath of the humid, cool air. It was different? Is it the wet mud smell? Different than wet beach sand. Shandra hugged herself and rubbed her bare arms. “Will the city really destroy all this?” At the beach, she and her friends played volleyball, laughed and loved the sun and water. Here in this meadow she felt like she had intruded, but that she belonged. 

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

~ Albert Einstein

Respect - RESPECT - Theme for July 2023

Roving through a meadow full of grasses and daisies……….

Eventide is when the air cools, the traffic thins and days end….

Saturdays come and go every seven days, filled with…….

Phillip was fascinated by his apprenticeship……

Entertaining them was a stressful situation ……

Communication is tempered by social mores……

Tempered glass bears the brunt…….     

“Just as we expect others to value our boundaries, it’s equally 

important for us to respect the boundaries of others.”

~  Laurie Buchanan, PhD

Attitude Adjustment

Humility  ~ an attitude of adjustment.

Sunshining brightly
Heat lovely and summery
Cool breeze through the trees
Herons chattering in the distance

An evening shift offered at three…

How lovely that I’ve already walked in the meadow!

“Life is the continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations.”

~ Herbert Spencer

This Tree

What is it about this tree?
A photo taken just because each time I passed, this tree seemed to, just barely, nod to me.

In front of the gnarled branches of

old oaks in the Garry Oak Meadow, 
this tree stands straight and tall.

Leaves have yet to make an appearance
Even in full leaf, this tree throws little shade.
Flowers never seem to decorate this tree

Yet a complement to the spreading meadow is this tree’s graceful elegance.

“Of the infinite variety of fruits which spring from the bosom of the earth, 

the trees of the wood are the greatest in dignity.”

~ Susan Fenimore Cooper

Taming the Meadow.....

...... the meadow that spreads through my back yard.

Daffodils, once bright yellow and strong, now have browning edges.

Grape hyacinths - great bunches in the corner by the shed - lightly perfume the air.

Grasses of many varieties, grow tall and strong, beautiful in their disarray.

The camellia bush, full of fading fuschia flowers, also browning, are still beautiful

The sun was warm, sky deep blue.  If there were clouds I must have missed them.

Tuning out traffic noise, 

listening to bird song and buzzing flies,

eyes roving over the clutter of flowers, grasses, and weeds ~

my yard became a beautiful meadow in spring.

Despite walking through my ‘meadow’,

and sitting in the warm sun,

almost all promises to myself were kept.

• an early morning conference call
• meeting notes
• made chicken soup
• candied some ginger
• made my lunches and suppers for the next four shifts
• did up all the dishes as I went
• cut the grass at the front and began on the ‘meadow’
• pulled some weeds.

With lighted hearted good humour, 

stepping carefully, and 

with a little imagination,

my feet carry me anywhere.

It has been a lovely day.

“The imagination is man’s power over nature.”

~ Wallace Stevens

"Summertime....and the livin' is easy.."

(Cue Peggy Lee's voice.)

Writing and revising for the day

Heat too hot for being outside

except for short periods.

Ceiling fans whirring

cats and dogs stretched out

Humid still air heavy 

in the trees

on the meadow

A lazy, productive day

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability.”

~ Sam Keen

Rainy days bring opportunity

Strolling the meadow cancelled today ~ at least for me.

A cool and cloudy rainy day

slowed my interest in daisies and goslings.

My longing for outside air on my skin satisfied when a lull in the rain pulled me out of doors 

to dig in mud, gray and thick with clay, bound in balls around invading grass roots.

A perfect vent for pent up energy.

An afternoon full of kids and balloons with

pizza and ice cream at 

3 year old Madylin’s birthday party.

All ages of family, visiting and sharing stories.

Birthday gifts unwrapped and shown around.

Cups of tea after the party

at a local coffee house shared with

Larry, Dana, and Suze

Home to a ‘Meow Chorus’, kitties and dog fed.

Popcorn and a movie brought this cool, rainy day to a close.

A ballooning of moments to enjoy despite the wet weather.

“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive;

but it is the lightening that does the work.”

- Mark Twain

Life in the Meadow

Mom and pop saw Cleo and I coming 

and hustled their family into the water.

Sadly, only seven goslings today 

but they swam quickly and smoothly 

into the center of the pond.

At the other end of the pond

we were treated to a kildeer’s illusion of injury

Fluttering and dragging in the dirt, 

leading us away from a nest hidden 

somewhere along the shore.

The kildeer mate made lots of extra chatter

Stopped to visit a neighbour and see a wild turkey - 22 lbs fully feathered - shot on an early morning hunt, soon to be food for a family.

Down the hill in front of the house,

blue birds nest in a post bird house.

It has been so amazing, on these early morning walks,

to see and hear life all around

calling

twittering

honking

gobbling

Daisies

Buttercups

Red clover

All alive and vibrant.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is 

the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."

~ Albert Einstein