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I’m joining the many who are joining
over here for the August Break.
The deal is…
post a picture a day…or whenever you feel inspired.
Words aren’t necessary…or maybe they will be…whatever feels right.
Sometimes a picture says enough on it’s own,
sometimes it inspires verbosity.
Whatever….whenever…however,
it’s loose…
no rules…
it’s a summer thing.
(the photograph above is of my son Robin and his beautiful partner Jackie, enjoying a sunshine break)
Sending sunny, summer blessings to eveyone!
We don’t have many flat horizon vistas around here, in fact they’re extremely hard to come by unless they involve the ocean. For some reason I’ve been fascinated by photographs with a broad horizon for some time now. Maybe it’s the stark, linear lines that I’m appreciating but whatever it is, everything around here has mountains or hills in the background, which…don’t get me wrong, I love and is beautiful…is just not what I want to play with in a photograph right now.
We were driving from Vancouver to the ferry terminal in Tswwassen last month…a scene I’m very familiar with…when I realized I was looking at a small piece of FLAT horizon! I grabbed my camera and shot this out of the window. I cropped out all the blurry bits at the bottom…and voila, you’d almost think you were on the prairies. I used Flypaper’s new Painterly textures here.
I think a trip beyond the mountains to the wide open horizons…back roads, old farm houses…will be on my trip list soon. The fact that it requires driving over a thousand miles through mountains just to get to flat terrain makes one think twice but I can feel it creeping up on me!
Warm summer blessings to you dear friends,
Love calls – everywhere and always.
We’re sky bound.
Are you coming?
Rumi
I watched these crows sit on the wire and preen each other for at least ten minutes. It was something I’d never seen crows do before and we have a LOT of crows around here! These highly intelligent birds mate for life and I wondered…did his unruly feathers need a bit of sorting out or had she twittered him for a little neck rub?
I like to think they were having a pause in their day…a moment of connection and gentle caring but after reading an excerpt from the book In the Company of Crows and Ravens by John Marzlef (although it was written in 1969) I’m having to consider that it may have a much more practical purpose …
…well you get the idea. Maybe it’s a completely practical function…but I can’t help it, I want to see love everywhere…LOL!
Thank you so much for stopping by and gentle blessings to each of you.
The theme last week at Lens Us Together was Lazy Summer Days.
I discovered this beautiful field of lavender just recently…I had in fact, been driving right past it several times a day, but it was hidden away behind a hedgerow. As I wandered through the rows of lavender, the bees were thick amongst the blossoms and the scent! The scent was heavenly.
Summer days invite lingering.
They are filled with
the wonder of knowing,
and with big deep breaths,
inhaling...
breathing in the healing scents
of sunshine and fresh mown grass,
of blossoms, and sea breezes
and sweet lavender
under my pillow,
guiding my nights,
...my dreams...
toward tomorrow.
I adore natural scents like lavender, neroli, ylang ylang, jasmine and roses. They transport me to happy places, so how could I not bring home a few lavender sachets to slip under my pillow at night.
My summer days have been soft and slow...even when they're busy...
full of gratitude for rich moments like these.
Sweet blessings to all… your visits are so very much appreciated.
The lovely Christina of Soul Aperture is having a birthday “party” and her wish for this day was for links…a simple celebration of links. In blogland, links are a wonderful thing…they connect us, enable us to share ideas, explore new horizons, inspire our creative souls, gather community together and help us extend our appreciation and affection…all through linky love! Christina hosts a “Simple Things” celebration several times a year giving those who join in, an opportunity to voice their gratitude for life’s beautiful and simple things.
And so Christina, Happy Birthday to you and thank you for the beauty and simple joy that you extend so freely through your photographs and writing. Simply put, you make a difference! And thanks to dear Se'lah for letting us all know, so we didn't miss the party!
…and while I eat my yummy slice of birthday cake and sip my Earl Grey tea, I’ll jot down my list of the simple things that are bringing me joy right now…
…sunshine…oh bliss!
…fresh blueberries with just a tiny dab of cream
…a friends’ visit on a sunny day…sipping tea on the patio and enjoying soft afternoon breezes
…the smell of fresh basil
…waking early to watch the dawn while the world is quiet and still
…a friend’s healing hands and her intuitive gifts
…collecting shells on the beach for a creative project
…anticipation of yet another outdoor concert later this week
…drinking water from one of my mother’s sweet tea cups (the saucer is long gone). It sits by the sink just for this, and I think of her with every cupful.
…visits from a small spotted fawn
…planting peonies and dreaming of next year’s blossoms
...feeling loved
...
so simple,
so precious.
I’ve been busy, but it’s been a good busy. Summer has finally arrived on this western island and I’m embracing it with a gratitude that comes from surviving a long cold spring.
There have been moments of busyness…(the driveway was paved…finally!)
and moments of bliss…
…and beauty.
There’s been time for fun, swimming here…
…time for watching the float planes come and go
...time for relaxation, enjoying an evening concert here
…and so, much more.
Despite summer’s late start, it’s looking up!
My brain is more on "outside" mode these days so as long as the sun is shining, I'll be away from the computer more than usual. We're beavering away at all the landscaping projects, but taking time for fun too.
No one has ever described me of being work obsessed!
I'm always ready to drop everything at a moments notice if someone asks me out to play.
How about you?
Can you drop that vacuum or that trowel and run off to play when a friend say's "lets go"?
We rarely hear the inward music, but we're all dancing to it nevertheless.
Rumi
Today…five random photographs from the archives, that never made the cut…
…me and my hairy friend…a tarantula
…banana’s hanging next to our table in the dining room at the lodge in the cloud forests of Panama…they were just hanging there for eating and bird feeding!
…new spring growth bursting from a branch
….colourful rings carved from the Tagua nut (Panama)
…and a beautiful single peony (I didn’t realize that peony’s could look like this…I thought they were all big and fluffy!).
Thanks so much for stopping by…happy, relaxing, summer blessings to all as you enjoy your weekend!
The day is almost over but I thought I’d post this video of journalist Tom Brokaw explaining Canada to Americans (recorded just before the winter Olympics).
Canadians are just learning to wave their flag and toot their horn…as you’ll hear in the last minute of this video, we’re so much better at apologizing!
Blessings to everyone today on this first day of July!
