On this hillside
a favorite place to reflect on the past week,
or set priorities for the coming week,
or work out a tangled plot line for a chapter.
[First Posted: August 26, 2013]
Foxglove Moments
Foxglove is the name of my property, five acres overlooking the Lewis River Valley that was covered with the wildflower when I first moved here in 1996.
Occasionally stumbling across the miraculous.
[First posted: August 18, 2013]
Home from work, I sit by the pond,
comparing notes with its inhabitants.
I completed my To Do List;
they didn't get eaten by raccoons;
all is well.
Their pond presence reminds me
not to worry about tomorrow,
that there is only this moment,
right here, right now.
Always only this moment.
And that it is enough.
[First posted: August 16, 2013]
As the butterfly bushes go,
so too go the butterflies...
I note time's passage,
measured in increments of beauty.
[First posted: August 13. 2013]
The problem:
Squirrels were eating far more of the birdseed than the birds.
So, I researched online for “squirrel-resistant bird feeders,” consulted with neighbors, sought advice at the local feed store.
Yes, there were ways to safeguard the birdseed from the pesky little critters and make them go away. Hooray!
Then I realized that I actually enjoy watching the squirrels more than the birds. The little arboreal acrobats have caused me to laugh out loud at their antics.
Birdseed seems a small price to pay for such entertainment.
I suspect this is true of many of my “problems.” Adjust my perspective on the situation, and I'd find there’s no longer a problem to be solved.
Heading off to work this morning with reframing on my mind…
[First posted: August 15, 2013]
After eleven months of being the bane of my hillside existence, blackberries become a sweet blessing.
(I’m sure there’s a life lesson here.)
[First posted: August 13, 2013]
[First posted: August 11, 2013]
Early Monday morning as the light was coming up, I was surprised/delighted/amazed
to find a large owl sitting in the tree outside my window. He did not fly away, even as I edged out the door, even when my camera's flash went off (hence, the red demonic eyes.) He simply stared at me.
I felt in the presence of royalty--and not the tacky British kind of royalty, but a true eminence imbued with stately grace and quiet dignity; a sublime majesty,
royalty possessing the nobility of the natural world.
Or maybe it was a demon disguised as an owl. I don't know, it was early.
[First posted: August 7, 2013]
I live on a hill overlooking the Lewis River Valley,
in a small house crammed with books.
Family and friends joke that it's not a home--it's a library with a bed.
At least I think they're joking.
(Email from Kris Rose: "Not joking.")
[First posted: August 6, 2013]
Sunsets
stopping us amid our busy-bee lives,
getting our attention,
reminding us what's important.
[First posted: July 30, 2013]
