I SEE

 One of my all time favorite quotes:

"Nobody sees a flower, really

It is so small

We haven't time,

Like to have a friend

Takes time."

~Georgia O'Keefe 

 

 That word to SEE or to be SEEN has really come to sit with me lately. Over Easter I heard the story of Mary finding Jesus in the Garden and she SAW him and knew it was him. I imagine Jesus felt safe to show himself to a good friend. How often do you talk to someone and feel you are not seen? You open yourself up to be seen by this person and yet they turn it on to themselves. This has sat heavily on my mind the past few months and I have noticed this all to often. It saddens me.

When we look beyond the chaos and craziness, what do we see? Do we see fear, insecurity, sadness, and hurts? What lifts us up from these feelings when we are truly SEEN?

One thing I decided to do for myself is to see people in my life; so in October I started inviting one person at a time to come for tea. I wanted to give them my attention and really SEE them. I am realizing after some months now that people want to be seen and to see you, but with the craziness and distractions of life we don't take the time to SEE, really SEE what's on the heart. Tea has given me this gift, an opportunity to sit with someone and SEE them. It is an intentional time set aside to SEE those that are important in my life.

 What do you do to SEE someone or on the other side to be SEEN? How do you feel when you are not SEEN by someone you consider important in your life?

 

Last week I had several opportunities to be with a friend or two over cups of tea and nibbles. What a delight to sit, savor, and truly see special people in my life.

 

Yes, it takes time. Yes, it takes planning. Yes, it takes stopping/pausing and truly listening with the heart. If more people truly took the time to SEE our world would be a better place. Take that pause, look around you, and see that "flower" or person around you that needs some time to be SEEN.

Sending love to you, dear friends!

Have a great weekend!

A Gift for You - A Flower and A Poem

 

No April Words

There are no words for saying

How wistful is the push

Of April through the budding

Of a lilac bush.

There are no notes for making

A little elfin air

Of new leaves on a willow;

No phrase to compare.

With tapering blue hyacinths;

The first white butterfly;

With plum trees misted sudden

Silver on the sky.....

One may only listen--

Hand at throat-to rapture

More lyrically lovely

Than any song may capture.

~Kitchen Sonnets by Ethel Romig Fuller

And April comes soon to an end with flowers once again blooming in the garden.

Rain clouds still sit in the sky to water them.

But soon the sun will shine and I will be happy.

I have been pushing a bit and some days I dance in the sun.

Socks on my toes will soon go in the drawer.

And I will savor warm toes.

 

Enjoy Springtime this week, even if it is in your soul and heart.

Earth Day should be Earth Every Day

 

 

I don't know about you, but I keep lists. One of my list is things I want to do with my one and only grandchild. About 3 years ago Catharine Creek on the other side of the Columbia River in Washington State went on my list. I had heard that in the spring there were many wildflowers. You know I love flowers!

 

Finally yesterday, Earth Day, we made it on this adventure. It was a perfectly gorgeous day, just right for a hike. Can you see the river below?

We were greeted by this hill and though you can't see it in the picture, it was covered with tiny flowers.

 

Can you spot the little woodpecker on the snag? I was quite a distance, but I had to try to capture him.

A gurgling stream enchants me. If there had been a bench right here I would have sat for awhile.

One of my favorite wildflowers, the Camas Lily.

A Bird, came down the Walk

By Emily Dickinson

A Bird, came down the Walk - 

He did not know I saw -

He bit an Angle Worm in halves

And ate the fellow, raw, 

 

And then, he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass -

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass -

 

He glanced with rapid eyes,

That hurried all abroad -

They looked like frightened Beads, I thought,

He stirred his Velvet Head. - 

 

Like one in danger, Cautious,

I offered him a Crumb,

And he unrolled his feathers, 

And rowed him softer Home -

 

Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam,

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon,

Leap, plashless as they swim.

 

 

For me to spot some butterflies just made my day!

 

Leaving the creek area, along the road a waterfall was spotted.

In my family we have a joke, "it is a Stella picture". 

Now Stella was my mother-in-law and most of her pictures were snapped from a moving car and blurry.

Well from being snapped from a moving car I don't think it was too bad. Ha!

For me, this was the perfect way to celebrate our earth.

Now this is something we should celebrate and cherish every day of the year. Our earth is precious and worth caring for.

 

Happy Earth Day and Earth Year!

Hoping your weekend includes a visit to enjoy our earth outdoors.

A Gift for You - A Flower and A Poem

“You do not just wake up and become the butterfly" 

-Growth is a process.”

― Rupi Kaur, The Sun and Her Flowers

 

Do you dream of being a butterfly?

Spread your wings and fly.

Do impossible things.

Dance!

Sing! 

 

Hoping you had an amazing Easter, dear friends!

It's Apple Blossom Time

 

If you have been following me for awhile you will know that a little historic apple orchard calls to me every spring and I must go! I go for the blossoms, blushed with pink. And I go for the peace and quiet of just walking there. It seems that very few are called to visit there; so I usually have it to myself for awhile. It restores my soul from the cold winter. It just makes me smile. And I remember as a young girl walking under similar blossoms only in another time and place.

This time my "live-in gardener" walked with me. But really I think we each were in our own bubble of memories and contemplation.

"The apple blossom is also symbolic of long life, and "it stands for the concept of life continuing, even after we endure a 'death' during the winter of our lives." 

I didn't know this until I started writing this post. 

Apple orchards include memories of family gone, but not forgotten.

With this visit I took some tea in among the blossoms. A single table sits there just for me. At least that is what I tell myself.

The day was a bit chilly and a warm cup of tea was just what we needed.

I breathed in the scents of blossoms, soil, and grass all around.

I savored the moments.

Even the dandelions scattered in the grass made me smile.

Apple Blossoms

I sit in the shadow of apple-boughs,
 In the fragrant orchard close,
And around me floats the scented air,
 With its wave-like tidal flows.
I close my eyes in a dreamy bliss,
 And call no king my peer;
For is not this the rare, sweet time,
 The blossoming time of the year?

I lie on a couch of downy grass,
 With delicate blossoms strewn,
And I feel the throb of Nature's heart
 Responsive to my own.
Oh, the world is fair, and God is good,
 That maketh life so dear;
For is not this the rare, sweet time,
                                 The blossoming time of the year?                                  

I can see, through the rifts of the apple-boughs,
                The delicate blue of the sky,                          
And the changing clouds with their marvellous tints
 That drift so lazily by.
And strange, sweet thoughts sing through my brain,
 And Heaven, it seemeth near;
Oh, is it not a rare, sweet time,
 The blossoming time of the year?

~Horatio Algers Jr. 

 

Have a terrific weekend, dear friends!

Celebrate spring time and the blessings of Easter.

A Gift for You - A Flower and A Poem

  Let it Be

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

And in my hour of darkness
She is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be

Let is be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the brokenhearted people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer
Let it be

For though they may be parted
There is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer
Let it be

Let is be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Yeah, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let is be, let it be
Let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Let is be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

And when the night is cloudy
There is still a light that shines on me
Shine on 'til tomorrow
Let it be

I wake up to the sound of music
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be, yeah

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Oh, there will be an answer
Let it be

Let it be, let it be
Let it be, yeah, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom
Let it be

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: John Lennon / Paul James Mccartney

 

 

What a difference a day makes.

The top picture is yesterday and the lower one today.

Some days we just have to learn to "let it be".

My word for this year is "be" and this is indeed is a good learning experience.

In times of trouble just "let it be".

Sending love from the snowy Pacific Northwest.

A Dress and Some Words

 I love nature in many forms,

but I also have a love of fabric in different forms.

Recently I visited my favorite antique mall.

I was drawn to notice fashion and words.

This first dress reminded me of something my mother would have loved wearing to tea. It was a peachy pink, her favorite color to wear. Do certain things remind you of your mother?

The details of this dress in the back waist just made me smile. The wearer wouldn't even be able to see it, yet she decorated herself for others.

My grandmother would have worn something like this as a young girl. Could you imagine wearing this to a concert?

We are indeed warriors, champions, fighters, and queens. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Now this is my era. Crinoline's just made a young girl want to twirl and dance. All the better to have ruffles on the chest and a hat to dip just in a flirty way. If you look closely you might see me in the mirror.

So look again if you missed me sitting in the corner of your eye. I am the one smiling to myself in the mirror, the one with the camera capturing a moment in time.

Yes, sometimes it does seem dark and then the light comes out to shine on us. When you snap a picture do you notice the differences of the darkness and light?

Notice the light, smile, dance, dip your hat just so, and laugh out loud.

The visit to the antique mall always helps me when I am down and when I need a smile.

The surprises found there remind me of who I am and set me back on track with a laugh that gurgles up from somewhere below and comes out in a chuckle. The chuckle says to me remember who you are and be happy, you are special.

Sending love this weekend. Make it a good one.

A Gift for You - A Flower and A Poem

 

 Haiku for you

Blossoms of Springtime

Flutter softly to the ground

Rain and Snow be gone

~m.miller

 

 

From my cherry tree this morning. Dreaming of dark red cherries, if only those pesky squirrels would leave some for me.

 

Just yesterday I spotted a little bird in my plum tree. As I knocked on the window to say hello, he looked at me with his greedy little beak full of blossoms. It was rather hilarious to see and I wished to have my camera close at hand, but it was for the moment before he flew away with my blossoms still firmly in his mouth.

Ahhhhh! Springtime!

Green!

 

Even as a young girl I was a lover of nature. I would rather be outside than indoors any day of the year. With each growing thing I find outdoors I fall more in love. After reading Forest Bathing a year ago I have fallen more in love each day with the color green, both in nature and in my home. In the spring time I am particularly drawn to green surrounding me. It amazes me to see so many different shades of one color. Even on my watercolor palette I find I have more green than any other color. It soothes my soul and makes me feel peaceful and just plain smile.

 

Yesterday as I walked through my favorite antique mall I noticed green. Oh, I want that chair. Did I say I love chairs too. For someone supposedly "down-sizing" it is still a temptation.

Spring Green

Rumbling in my head

You delight me with such joy

Green grows before me

m.miller

There were many plants in the antique mall too,

a celebration of springtime.

The Enkindled Spring 

By D.H. Lawrence  

This spring as it comes bursts up in bonfires green, 
Wild puffing of emerald trees, and flame-filled bushes, 
Thorn-blossom lifting in wreaths of smoke between 
Where the wood fumes up and the watery, flickering rushes. 

I am amazed at this spring, this conflagration 
Of green fires lit on the soil of the earth, this blaze 
Of growing, and sparks that puff in wild gyration, 
Faces of people streaming across my gaze. 

And I, what fountain of fire am I among 
This leaping combustion of spring? My spirit is tossed 
About like a shadow buffeted in the throng 
Of flames, a shadow that's gone astray, and is lost.

 

Have you noticed the shimmer of yellow green as the trees once again come alive with new growth? It just takes my breath away and I have to stop and notice the glory of springtime. 

 Happy weekend, dear friends!

Notice what you notice!