Smile of the Moon

I love the moon in all her mysterious phases and often I can't help but try to capture the allure of her shine through the darkness. I particularly love the smiley moon... the crescent glow of mouth that reminds me to laugh more, to smile more and notice the loving smiles of others, and also to find humor in the darkness... and let it lighten up my mood. No matter what is going on I can be sure that when I look up and notice the moon, she will whisper to me in loving words... and on "new" nights when she seems to have disappeared, I have faith that she is still there, and will come back when I need her loving encouragement.

Playing Around with Fantasy

If I had to pick a single hobby that brings me joy beyond compare... one where I can completely lose myself in the moment, it would be photography. I usually take my camera everywhere, even on my daily walk around the block. I have missed a lot of great opportunities by not being prepared. You would think I would want to learn everything there is about the camera I have, but I am impatient and dyslexic and can never get past page 6 of the manual. It doesn't matter that I don't know what an f-stop is or what aperture means... I have more fun just playing with the fancy dials and leaning from mistakes. You would think the picture icons would make photography idiot proof... but the picture icons don't tell the whole story. When I see something that is photo worthy it really excites me and sometimes when I see something without my camera in tow, it will haunt me and I will come back to the scene and start snapping away. Then it's a race home to upload and review. Some photos are good enough not to be altered... but mostly I love playing with software and re-coloring or distorting what I snapped to put it in line with what I "saw." I have an active imagination and I can play with my photos for hours on end until they tell the story of some faraway place that I can mostly recognize in my dreams.

A Stroll in the Park

There is a little park across the street from my daughter's home where I walk my baby grand daughter on most days that I care for her. She is only four months old and usually decides to nap as I stroll her past the pines, the beeches, and the willow trees that line the walkways. Sometimes she will wake with sleepy eyes as a red winged blackbird shoos us from a treetop, but often she is oblivious to the team of robins that appear on the school soccer field as if they are in play. From this little vantage point surrounding the pear, the cardinals have a field day trilling back and forth as they hide in the bushes... but a patient eye can always spot them in their red feathered finery. I even love the beautiful dandy lions that spread like a rash over the green grass of the fields. On close inspection they are as beautiful as the finest flower and they seem to love the company of the purple henbit that also color the spring fields. Every day I find a new species of tree or flower or weed to investigate, so I may share all this knowledge of Nature with my beautiful grand-daughter.

The Beauty of Spring Leafing

Spring is my favorite season, especially as I look to the woods behind my house at dusk. It seems that in the span of one week, the bare tree branches spit out their little buds that seems to explode into those beautiful spring green leaves overnight! Just one warm day (recently it went to 88 degrees) and the bees come out of the woodwork, the leaves seem to grow right in front of your eyes, and the birds are singing their little hearts out. I especially thrill at hearing the trill of the Carolina Chickadees as they call each other from their perches in the trees. I also like to watch the studly antics of the male sparrow who woos lots of ladies in the hemlock tree in front of my house. He puffs himself up and tweets, and when a female comes by they are suddenly flapping together towards the bushes. I have seen him with six females in a hour and yet he can also be seen dutifully assisting with building of various nests for the children he fathers. The squirrels are hunting their buried nuts (and my planted bulbs, oh well) as well as chasing each other in pairs around the trees. Frolicking is rampant! As I take the time to watch all this spirited energy around me, I am very thankful that I have the time to enjoy the delights of this wonderful season.

Celebrating Holidays

Greeting from my bunny Otis, who celebrated Ostara with my husband and I two weeks ago. Though he took a sniff at my colored eggs, he got much more excited by his feast of baby carrots and dessert of blueberries. He is my current "baby" as my children are grown and starting families of their own. None of them currently share my Wiccan beliefs and they celebrate the more traditional of the Christian holidays, but they are accepting of my ways nevertheless. I have always told them the importance of finding one's own way to be in the world, and to seek in the Socratic tradition of "question and challenge." Once you do find your way, I stressed that it is also important to be accepting of others for the sake of kindness. I am proud of my children and often they tell me that they are proud of me! So as they celebrate the Easter holiday, I will celebrate the wonderful diversity that exists in our big extended family.