Singing Along the Journey

Photography

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
Read More

Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
Read More

Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
Read More

April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
Read More

Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
Read More

Contemplating the unexpected…

I owe the phrase of this title to my friend the Rev. Kathy Guin. Sometimes, others can see so much better than I can, even when I know that I see something. Sometimes it is through the eyes of others that we actually can see what we are doing, and a little bit about why we do it. I was just surprised by the presence of a light, dainty, pink rose after weeks of a Washington-style heat wave. I mean, I was only able to write, "As the hottest stretch of summer continues, all over the neighborhood, the roses have decided to bloom again...this little one is mine, on a…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
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The sky shall unfold…

Sorry, all I can hear is the words of the old Dottie Rambo song, We Shall Behold Him. I don't know, seemed like a Pentecost sky to me....glory peaking through to let us have a wee glimpse of just what is possible if we embrace the brightness that seems just beyond our grasp?
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Squirrels gone wild…

I have come to learn that there is a lot of drama going on if you just look up. That's the truth of living in a kind of urban forest. The cicadas are driving the squirrels crazy. I've seen many a squirrel throw down (literally) in the forest canopy since they arrived. I don't know what's going on here, but this little creature was on the highest of high alerts and making the most appalling noise about it. Oh well, even a squirrel needs to have some fun on a Saturday.
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Focus?

Our beloved Gracie, the first of our beagle fur children, used to do a trick where she balanced a treat on her nose to the command, "Focus, focus, focus." She was only released to eat the delicious morsel one of us spoke the command, "Eat it up!" There were so many reasons that she was known as "Gracie, the wonder dog." Last year, at this time in #pandemiclife I needed the camera see for me. I could sense the world around me but I couldn't focus at all. The camera focused for me. This morning, I find myself complaining that the camera simply can't capture all that I can see.…
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April 29, 2020: A Rose is not a Rose

And this morning, I offer you my first rose. I have been puzzled, as I walk, by the difference in timing of the flowers all across the garden displays in my neighborhood. Everything is at least a month ahead this year, yes, but not to be too obvious, a rose is NOT a rose, is not a rose….if you know what I mean. Some have been in full bloom since before Easter. Others, like mine, are just beginning to show their beauty.     In honor of my new pink beauties, I’m going to strive to follow my mother’s advice and bloom where I’m planted. May some new bud of…
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Fog. Literal fog. Well, maybe…

It is Monday morning and as I walk to breakfast with my eyes firmly fixed on the dark-sky-slipping-toward-light ahead of me, I am thinking about fog.  I am, after all, in the Bay area and there is plenty of it.  I'm actively resisting pulling out my phone to try and capture what I see all around me, because I know it cannot be done.  What I see defies at least my current level of photographic talent -- the subtle puffs of white, still clinging to the hill tops and valleys as the sun, painting its tell-tale deep pink stripes across the still grey-black sky in its attempt to chase those…
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