The End is Only the Beginning

So Autumn is heavily upon us here in the northern midwest state of Ohio. I usually don't like the Fall season. It portends colder temperatures which I don't like and also the ending of flowers and meadows which I love so much. Fall actually brings me a bit of anxiety with it's process of ending the summer revelry...

But this photo is intriguing for me. I see it as two youngster leaves eager to join in the Fall festivities. Even before the older, elder leaves have begun their journey into wintertime and their next incarnation, the young leaves have jumped into the spirit of the season with full force.

What does this mean for me exactly? I'm not totally sure. Something about eager anticipation, the rush of youth, trust in the future, unconditional acceptance.

The juvenile leaves aren't afraid of the ending which Autumn signals -- they have embraced it as the beginning of an adventure into the unknown.

Lessons from a Grasshopper

You've gotta start somewhere... Just do it... One step at a time...

I watched this grasshopper for several minutes as she negotiated the challenge of the vertical obstacle she wanted to overcome.

Of course she could have jumped using all the power of her back legs. She's very good at jumping. But in this situation jumping would have led to a nice headache.

So instead, the grasshopper slowly and carefully stepped off of the piece of wood while reaching with her front legs.

She then used her back legs, the jumping legs, for support only. The grasshopper steadied herself for a few moments, with her jumping legs stilled, until she found her bearings and felt comfortable.

After some time the grasshopper felt strong enough to release the back leg of support and grasp the wall fully with all four of her legs.

She then scrambled up the wall and jumped over it to be rewarded with the open patch of grass on the other side.

Mutual Curiosity

I love my suburban backyard wildlife habitat....

This little chipmunk was so brave to peek around the fence slat to see what I was up to as I wandered around the backyard looking for photo-ops. She/he seemed to be saying, "Who are you? What are you doing? Do you have a family? What are you all about?"

Or maybe it was I who wondered those things about her/him! :)

Cycle of Renewal

There is pretty much nothing better than fresh fruit or vegetables right off the tree/bush/vine or whatever.

I took this luscious photo, "Apples in a Basket" in Russia, at the dacha house (summer cottage home). The dacha only has electricity and no running water. We spent our weekends there during my time in Russia and I loved every minute of it. This basket was filled in preparation to take back to the city so we could eat apples all week long.

My morning ritual at the dacha was to wake up and go outside to the "outhouse" and then pick a fresh apple right off the tree to eat as my morning toothbrushing session and breakfast appetizer.

As I walked the land and chomped on the fruit, knowing that when I was done I would throw the core onto the compost heap to later become sustenance for new growth, I relaxed into a calm sense of the tangible cycle of renewal of which, in my own small way, I was a part.

Cultural Eating

Well, I love eating in any case but cultural eating is even better! It's an adventure to try to new foods and explore new tastes.

This plate of Russian food was very tasty. I don't really know what everything was except that it was quite good!

(I'm still trying to tackle the Russian photos so hopefully I'll have more up to share very soon.)

A Place of Peace

So, I've been neglecting the blog once again! Right after coming back from Russia I made a quick (and wonderful) trip to Monterey, California. I've been busy!

I am not naturally a, "water person" so the ocean has never really pulled at my soul-strings but I must say that the scenery of the Californian coast is just utterly gorgeous. It's hard to capture it in a photo (but I tried). :)

I was much more soothed by the sound of the breathing ocean than I thought I would be. I always imagine scary and indefinite depths when I think of the ocean but as I walked along it's shores and absorbed it's pulse I felt the calming rhythm I've heard so much about...

Bless the Beasts

I'm back from Russia (I'm sorry to have left you hanging for so long, I should have said that I was going for 5 weeks) and I had an AMAZING and WONDERFUL and INCREDIBLE time and I would love nothing more than to share some of the 2800(!!) photos I took on the trip -- but first I have to share this video with you.

I'm not sure I've mentioned it yet -- really it was only a matter of time -- but the fact remains that I love wolves especially and bears too.

Wolves, bears and all animals speak to our spirits. They are integral parts of the web of life in which we live on this planet and finding respect for them is a basic foundation block of compassion and gratitude.

I'm baffled at how humans can express cruelty to fellow living creatures so remorselessly by stalking them until they are too exhausted to run anymore....

This video is devastating. I'm sorry it is disturbing. It is important.

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.