Natural Health

I think gazing at this lovely arrangement of flowers is similar to gazing at a fish tank full of fish -- it lowers my blood pressure!

Sunday Meditation -- Misty Morning Sunrise

Splash of Color

This daisy (and more like it) are what I see out my dining room window. It's part of my neighbor's container garden that is set next to her vine-covered house. She is gracious to let me explore her garden for photo-ops!

Keeping Watch

This papa (or mama) goose kept a keen eye on me while its goslings pecked around under the water for food. While other adult geese around dove below for food this vigilant one did not. This goose took it's job seriously -- that of protecting the gaggle.

Balancing of Opposites

I'm not exactly sure why but I often seem to be intrigued by the combination of flowers and stone. I think it's something about the "hardness" and "softness" that come together and are made better (or at least more interesting) because of the pairing.

When they are together the flowers are not seen by me as, "too delicate" and the stone is not seen as, "too sturdy." Together they create a balance and each aspect is valuable and necessary...

Cushioned in Pink

Another pleasing shot I got at "my" Forest Hill Park.

Drama in the Sky

I've been meaning to get this picture uploaded since I took it a couple weeks ago. Oh, the drama of it all! Clashing cold fronts and warm fronts, interplay of dark and light, producing winds and rains and sometimes lightning and thunder.

But behind it all is the steady blue sky and shining sun waiting patiently for the lower altitude drama to tire itself out...

The Charm of Simplicity

I've returned to exploring my suburban backyard. These delicate little flowers are back in force. (I need to learn the names of the things I see!) Each flower is only about the size of a pea.

I love getting down on the ground to see them up close and to see the world from their perspective. Each tiny bloom looks so sweet to me. They have soft blue and pink coloring and could easily be overlooked if only viewed from afar.

Close up though, each flower takes on its own space and unique place in the universe. Each flower is no more or no less allowed to fill and participate in that unique space than any other flower. The petite blossoms simply are...

More City Oasis Wonderfulness

I am loving my local Forest Hill Park and since today is a gorgeous June day I will go there for another walk a little later on.

Just thought I'd throw up another photo from a recent walk. I'm not really sure what this specific representative of flora is called but upon further inspection it is quite intriguing with it's multitude of baby buds swaying in the summer wind.

New Growth from Old

Yesterday on my walk through my new favorite place, Forest Hill Park, I came across an old tree trunk that was no longer a tree. It had been cut down (or fell down) so that the remaining trunk was about as tall as I am.

Although the trunk was no longer the huge tree it surely must have been once it still has its old kick in it since it is sprouting out some new growth.

I love how nature can just, "keep on going." It takes a hit, like being cut down, but doesn't give up entirely. The urge is to continue growing no matter what adversity it faces...and survives.

City Oasis Meadow Flowers

I have an urban oasis city park called, "Forest Hill Park" located about a mile away from where I live. This park was given to the city by John D. Rockefeller many years ago and at that time it was stipulated that the park always remain as such. I've been walking the paths in the park for years but last year I found a dirt trail path hidden in the woods.

When I walk the dirt path there is a ravine and a brook at the bottom. There are water falls and hidden corners. When I am immersed in the woods I can not hear any of the street noises that are invariably still going on around me. It takes me about an hour (at a fast pace!) to walk the entire trail. It is amazing to me that this slice of quiet nature is tucked within the bustling suburb/city.

Luminous Lupines

Baby Squirrel

Ever since we started started making an effort to feed the squirrels a few years ago we have been raising families of them ever since. It's alternately the cutest thing I've seen and annoying when they persist in urinating on our porch...

Anyway, this little guy was trying to taunt the dog but it was still too young and scared to really make an impact. Give it a couple more weeks and it will be almost as big as a cat (we breed very large squirrels here in northern Ohio!) and will certainly give the dog a run for her money!

Through the Fence

I've been working on what I'm calling, "Property Exploration." This is where I scrounge around the limits of my suburban property looking for photo opportunities. I am exploring what I have right in, "my own backyard" instead of thinking the grass is always greener somewhere else.

This is working on the specific lesson in photography that HOW I see is more important that WHAT I see (and of course this lesson can be applied in a broader sense to my whole life!)

I am taking the time to look again, to look more closely, to look with more curiosity, to look with a sense of wonder, to look and be grateful....

View from My Kitchen Window

This is what I see when I'm doing dishes in the early morning hours of spring.

It's my neighbor's gargage and his old fence that are nestled together with a blooming lilac bush.

Such a pleasing sight!

Sweet and Delicate

There was a bumper crop of Lilies of the Valley this year. I'm not sure what the weather and climate did just right but the conditions must have been perfect to produce the plentiful beautiful flowers I had.

I've been tempted to pull out this row of Lilies of the Valley since for the past five years they weren't producing much of any susbtantial blooms.

And then this year I was completely surprised by an abundance of gorgeous and healthy flowers.

It's another lesson about patience and even faith. I don't seek out those learning opportunities very often so when they come to me unsolicited (and I am a aware enough to pick up on the message being sent to me!) it certainly must be important.

I'm glad I didn't pull out the Lilies of the Valley.

Staring Match

This gorgeous squirrel sat there and stared at me like it owned the tree. Of course in her world, from her perspective, she does "own" the tree!

Spring is all around me now. The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing and the critters are coming out from there underground spaces.

The feeders are filled and my backyard suburban ecosystem is entering the busy season. I am content.

Dogwood Blossoming

It's that time of year again -- when the Dogwood tree in my front yard starts blooming. It will have small buds ones day and then be bursting forth with blossoms the next.

The blossoms always appear to me to be yearning for sunlight and attention. I have no problem giving them attention since they are so front-and-center out of my bedroom window!

Spring mornings when I open my blinds and the Dogwood bloosoms greet me remind me of why I mustered through the dreary winter all those months...

Hidden Treasures

For many years now I have seen this knot in my backyard crabapple tree. It was something I just took for granted and didn't think much about.

But the other day I went over to it and looked more closely. To my surprise I saw how interesting and detailed it is. What from afar was only, "a knot" up close became a container of lines that formed an image.

I see a being with frizzy, excited hair standing on end who is dancing in the sunlight.

Can you see it too? What do you see?

Code Yellow!

The finches are back in full force!

I had been waiting to get the finch feeder back up and in action until the grass/mud dried a bit (selfish of me, I know, to keep the birds waiting just to keep my shoes from getting muddy) and now that I have put the feeders back up the little yellow members of the backyard community are back in great numbers.

The males are already almost fully yellow but there are some other birds (either young males or females) that have a more muted yellow coloring.

I love these finches because they are a pretty strong little bird! They will fight with each other when they need too (the females are a little more demure) but they always remain a sense of dignity. They sit at the feeder as if they are the sweetest thing and just keep pecking for their thistle. Only when provoked to give up their perch do they do some defending.

And in addition, the finches have such a lovely song that they sing and they do it from the tops of the tree branches of the crabapple tree like a clear and present beacon of optimism. The little finches whistle their sing-song melody with all the confidence of a bigger bird as they call out to whoever is listening. -- I know I am!