renewal season during these serious times

post #483
        What I planned to do was to go out today and share new flowers and/or trees in bloom. I was trying to speak to how we have more reason than ever to live in the present. Deal with the day we're in. Pay attention to what are the important things to do and acknowledge our immediate priorities.

        But it has been super windy all day long. This does not make for good photography. So I chose to improvise by choosing photos I have from every year for the end of March -- give or take a day or two from March 29.  I became very curious about what I would discover.

        It so happens that out of the last 10 years, two of them had a lot of snow at this time!  (2018 and 2014)  Two other times I was away, once in Massachusetts with our daughter and her family, and once in England to visit my stepmother there. Also I've gone ahead and included a photo of the extreme wet we experienced in 2015, and some sheep that I loved being with while in Massachusetts.  Part of living well in the present is to go along with the flow, right?

      SO, here's some random photos never necessarily ever meant to be grouped together.

2009  X 2:

earlier photo of the legacy steps

2010   
 

crocus near the house

These used to grow in abundance, close to the house.

Bluets, or Quaker ladies, not out this year yet

 2012:

a good year for daffodils and for growing a granddaughter....

trillium, not yet in bloom but still lovely

2014:

bird feeding evidence

my neighbor, June, on her 80th birthday

big year for turkey visitors -- no dog around the house at this time

 2015:

flood waters at the Forks of the Caney, in Elliott County

very early redbuds

tiny first flowers in the woods -- name to be added as soon as i am absolutely sure of it

        I'll be working more on this post tomorrow, but at this very moment, it's time to call it a day. I'd like to dedicate today's effort to the many members of my Friends Team with whom I talk often, when I can, and who keep me honest and laugh at my jokes. Sometimes I actually forget that I am currently here by myself all the time and trying to do what Andy tells me.  (I guess I should consider our Kentucky Governor as part of my support network!)  May we be a better nation as we become more seasoned, and I hope spring's coming can be a blessing that will nourish each of us. 

from the dark of winter, beauty in the ordinary

post #410
       I want to start out with a photo of where the owl sat on this branch (in the middle of the photo) when we had the "visit" I wrote about last week. I remain hopeful that I might  experience another such visit another time.

This is the hill I had walked down on the way to the owl.  The curve at the top is always a bit tricky -- no way to see what is coming from the opposite direction!

       I seem to be unable to resist taking photos even of the ordinary work of home repair!  Despite the cold, wet weather, some faulty cement outside has now been replaced, and a cement mixer even came to the house!  I was somehow thrilled by the experience of looking over the balcony around the second floor (this is not a big house) directly into the mixed cement! 

All is ready.  (Photo by T.)

This is probably pretty ordinary, but I was fascinated even so. I have always been intrigued by the pouring of cement from trucks that carry on circulating while they drive along.

          Well, it is close to Christmas and a good time to share some treasures.  I so enjoyed the beautiful dolls my friend Melva and a friend of hers make. She incorporated several of them into her family tree this year!  I loved seeing them yesterday.  Maybe she will even be able to use a photo of mine for a note card at some later date! But in any case, once again, I can't help taking a photo. For me it's simply a way -- or a habit --  of seeing more closely. 

         I need to finish this post now, but if I find the one photo I am missing tonight, I will add it soon. I wish everyone a safe holiday season, and beauty when you see it or make it.