Sunday, November 30, 2014

I Heard the Song

I heard the bird chatter her song~
She sang it proudly, sweet, and strong~
Then back she flew straight into the blue~


Friday, November 28, 2014

Moody Sky

It was a moody sky tonight that offered unusual clouds, winter birds and a hawk, plane streaks and planes, trees, lights, and the moon. I sort of love it.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Marble and Chisel

I might just be swallowed up in the beauty, 
literally just outside my back door. 
Pink winter skies in their pale pale skin is always gorgeous, 
but when you add in the powdered mountains, 
the beauty really culminates.



[W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... 

No longer the canvas and the pigments, 

but the marble and the chisel. 

~John Burroughs, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Pretty Bales

A couple of years ago, I wrote about bales of hay and how I love the look of these rolled up bales versus the rectangular ones. It turns out that we do have the pretty rolled up version here, and just nearby. I couldn't resist posting these pretty bales, as we say good-bye to autumn this year.


Saturday, November 22, 2014

Mortar and Stone

Some words that I am loving right now. 

Mortar & Stone
All around us
The ground is opening up
With a terrible thirst
And it's swallowing down
All the hope in this town
Of the way that we were
There's a smoldering pile
Where there once was a life
Where there once was a home
Now the only safe place
Takes a village of strength
We can't do it alone
We're not going down
When the wolf comes to blow
If we build our house
With mortar and stone

Stones are the ones that we love
And they're gathering up
Forming a wall
And the mortar within
Is the time that we've spent
To set it in strong

And it's a daily build
Always some cracks to fill
Always some hole in the roof
Letting the rain get through
And when it just won't stop
The creek is rising up
Running over the banks
Can't keep the flood away

But when the water recedes 
We're still standing right here
If we build our house
With mortar and stone

We're not going down
When the wolf comes to blow
If we build our house
With mortar and stone

Written by Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn
Copyright The Gullahorns Music, ASCAP, 2014


House in the Field - Pastel Painting - by Victoria Ryan
 ("the wise man built his house upon the rocks
and the rains came tumbling down
the rains came down and the floods came up
and the house on the rock stood still")
-southern folk song

Thursday, November 20, 2014

In A Word

I was given a gratitude journal tonight and thought it would be fun to write what I'm grateful for since I have much to be thankful for. So, in a word, something I am grateful for tonight is Rest.
What are you thankful for tonight?

My Autumn Prayer (repost)

I raise my cup to fall, 
To blessings given one and all. 

The harvest bounty laid, 
Before eyes and hands 
Bent in Grace.
~Bookish Kind

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Little Winter Friend

I saw my little winter friend

Just lighten on a branch today

He rested only for a moment

Then was off again to play

SOURCE
I believe the bird I saw today was a dark-eyed junco. 
I vow this will be the winter to get some bird feeding supplies 
For my winter-window-watching pleasure.

The Kind

Artist - Thomas Saliat

 The Kind

You're the kind that others
Turn away from when you speak
I know
I know

There's nothing you can say
That holds attention
On the street
I know
I know

The words are there but
Will not come the way
You want them to
I know
I know

Pen to paper seems
The way for thoughts
To be conveyed
I will
I will

Write my soul for
All to hear
Though they don't want to
I would
I would

Give two cents to
Know your thoughts as
I write
I write

What's in my soul
What's in my heart and mind
You will
You will

Hear my words unspoken now
The same as if
I spoke out loud
To you
To you

And maybe you'll
Still choose to walk away
From me
From me

That's okay I understand
You may not have the time
To stand and 
Hear me
Hear me

Speak my last word to you
Goodbye 
Goodbye

(2 minute essay on words, apparently, and on not being heard, who knew - they just spilled out)
From Webmaster Grade

Friday, November 14, 2014

Home Library

A gorgeous little library with a view.
Source: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-create-an-athome-library-in-any-home-no-matter-how-small-201868

"Shelves in the closet" indeed!

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Misunderstood

Misunderstood

Life used to be a breeze

A sigh,

A petal on the wind

Gone by,

Blowing in the noonday sky

Was where you would find me


But times have changed

I'm not sure when

Or how

It happened

To me now,

These storms have stirred up

Misunderstanding around me


A word was whispered

In my ear

It's been awhile

Maybe years

And now the wall between us

Stands and no one says a thing


I'm not quite sure

What happened then

Or who it was

Who first changed skin

Now you seem to me to be

Stepping away even more


Since you've changed

Towards me

Can you expect I will

Not see

And not change too

After all I'm only human

And feeling small


I only wish that things

Could be

Mended and bridged

Between you and me

It doesn't matter what I do

You scorn each branch I offer you

Now it ends and now you see

The wall is only yours to free

We all build up walls and have misunderstandings
And it's really a part of life's ups and downs.
It's nice when you find the exact right words
To say to a friend that share how you feel
About the walls. At least that's how
It happened for me here.

A Mother's Prayer

~ a mother's prayer ~
the angels heard you coming tonight
and welcomed you with wings to fly
they held your hand and whispered
things that only those in heaven sing
the roads pave gilded and refined
you are heaven's now, but always mine
I say goodbye and through my tears
remember days, minutes, years.
i've known you well through
these hard days
i know by heart the many ways
i love you

-written for macie, 2013

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Walden in the Fall

Sometimes when you venture out, just past your own backyard, you discover that Walden really is nearby, 
closer than you even realized. 
And Walden in the fall is just amazing.
I am not sure why autumn wakens me as it does. 
My step is lighter, and the beauty of the earth just deepens, until you almost ache from seeing it.
Are you aching for more? I am.

Layer
upon
layer
of
grace 
just 
standing 
there