To Russia with Love

I will be away from the blog for a few weeks since my husband and I are making a trip back to his homeland of Russia.

I love travelling and am very excited to see Russia from an insider's perspective.

I am armed with my camera in hand and hope to have lots and lots of photos for the blog upon my return!

Until then...

The Strength of Pink

When I was a girl and a teenager one of my favorite colors was pink. I know that is stereotypical -- for a girl to like pink -- but I fell right into the stereotype and had no problems with it.

In my twenties that changed. I felt pink was too "soft" whereas I needed to be "hard" in order to make it through college and out in the world. I started wearing darker colors and pink was set aside.

Ever since turning 40 a few months ago the color pink has, not so quietly, been making a comeback in my life. I've been drawn to it again and finding more ways to bring it into my life with my clothes and other items.

I am ready to soften. For my first 40 years I have done the things "they" expected of me. I can now return to being who *I* want to be. I know I can take care of myself -- I've done it. The softness of pink does not make me vulnerable...

Sunday Meditation -- The Future Is Just around the Bend

Theory in Action

Ever since I was a little girl I was entralled with experiential learning. I remember hearing the information about where milk comes from but until I went to a farm and actually *saw* the milk coming *from* cows it just didn't make sense to me. Maybe I like to see the proof of what I'm told is true...

Another of those examples, where I become intrigued with the reality of what I was taught to believe is true, is about flowers and pollen. I heard, learned and "know" that birds, bees, insects and any other small critters transport pollen from flower to flower in order to fertilize them but until I truly witness it with my own eyes the notion seems like just a lofty ideal.

But it's true! This little green bug was calmly travelling from day lily to day lily as I snapped his picture. He didn't mind me and just kept going along with his business. I figured he was drinking nectar from the heart of the flowers but until I uploaded the photos and looked closely I didn't see that he served another purpose.

If you click on the photo you can see more clearly the pollen stuck to his antennae that he takes with him to other flowers.

Little Sparrow

Potential

"And the day came
when the risk to remain tight in the bud
was more painful
than the risk it took to blossom."
-- Anais Nin

Right Timing

We've been watching a Robin's nest out our front window for a few weeks now. We somehow missed the construction of the nest but we were there to see the fledglings begging for food and the two parent birds tag-teaming as they rotated bringing worms to the chicks.


Now the progeny are getting bigger. One at a time each of the three baby birds perch on top of the nest and practice spreading their never-used-before wings as they watch the devoted process of the parents leaving and returning to the nest over and over to bring them food.


I can sense the anticipation of the one courageous youngster who claims the top-of-the-nest position. As the parents fly away she follows the adult bird's movements with her eyes. Her body even attempts to mimic the behavior but at the very last moment she holds herself back and stays safely ensconced in the nest for a little while longer. She is learning what needs to be done but is not quite ready to do it.


And that need to wait is natural and understandable. The bird trusts herself and her instincts and she understands that she will feel and know when her right time to take action has come. And it is at that right time that she will spread her wings, follow her parents away from the nest and fly...

Sunday Meditation -- Dock to Eternity

Morning Glory Mornings

There are few things better than waking up on a Saturday morning in the summer time. The fan is gently rotating overhead, the sun is curiously peeking through the blinds and the birds are happily sing-songing as they search for worms and food.

I wake up feeling like a Morning Glory -- bright-eyed and eager to face the day's activities. Errands, cleaning, fixing, mowing....it's a long list but in the summertime it's a welcome way to pass the time throughout a day that is sunny, warm and inviting.

Butterfly Posing

This gorgeous Yellowtail butterfly sat there and posed for me so beautifully yesterday. It must have been soaking in the sunshine since I don't think there was any nectar for it to drink from the green leaves on which it was resting.

Although I don't know much about the habits and behavior of insects (or other creatures in nature) I still enjoy it all very much!

Beginnings

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
-- Alan Cohen

Wordless Wednesday

The Grounding Colors

For many years I have been attracted to the colors green and brown. The "earthy" colors and tones that make me feel grounded and stable. My living room is full of green and brown (and a splash of blue too -- for the sky).

Spending time in nature and seeing the real greens and browns is the most grounding experience of all. Breathing deeply, when out in nature, I breathe in stability, calm and peace.

Out from Hiding

Yesterday I went to Forest Hill Park in the morning and not only did I see a baby fox (of which I wasn't, unfortunately, able to get a photo) but I also saw this gorgeous deer. He was walking slowly and didn't seem to be too frightened.

I am still so amazed that my urban park is so wild. I hope the animals I see there are able to survive. It is quite a small space where they are trying to live.

Any glee I feel at seeing them is tempered by worry that they are so encircled by humans and city life.

Sunday Meditation

View from a New Mexican ant's perspective.

Pretty in Purple

Nature's Fireworks

Happy Fourth of July -- to those who celebrate it!

Breath of Country Air

I love seeing traditional country scenes. I live in the suburbs so country scenes are a not an everyday occurence for me.

Country scenes bring me a sense of peace and simplicity and without saying a word they remind me to just breeaatthheee.

Deeper Meanings

So I have a confession to make -- I love macro! I love how the tiniest details become apparent and even obvious where once they were lost within the larger vision of the, "whole."

Seeing too many details can sometimes become overwhelming but at other times it keeps me humbled as to the intricate and complicated deeper level of things. There always seems to be, "more" than what I see upon first glance.

It's a lesson for me in not being judgmental. Judgments are quick and easy. Judgments are the quick glance I cast to my world. Digging deeper, looking closely, seeing the more intricate and complicated parts may take more time and effort but in pushing beyond the initial judgments I am able to see more of the truth.

Delicate Morning Dew

It's amazing what you can see when you get up early and get out into the world. I've always been an early bird -- waking up at, "the crack of dawn" is my natural rhythm --and when I take a camera with me the stillness of the morning hours is exaggerated so that the littlest things I might never notice otherwise become larger than life.