Mockingbirds-Painting by Je’ 11 X 14, gouache We often take small wonders for granted, just because they are so small and common. One small, common wonder around here is the mockingbird. I was sitting on a bench at sunrise recently, when a mockingbird landed nearby and began his routine, issuing perfect bird calls of every … Continue reading
Just a reminder: Relax, the world is going to keep spinning and beauty is all around you.
How is your week going? Good, I hope. Seriously. I’m moving websites soon and they tell me I can stay in touch with all of you. I certainly hope so. I’m moving because WordPress puts ads on here and I have no idea what they say, but I fear they may be as classy as … Continue reading
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. 🙂 This is a true story; best when shared.
While we in the West insist on dividing stories into “historical fact” and “superstitious nonsense” neither category is as airtight as we would like to think. As a Christian, I am not about to start worshipping nature deities, but I agree with those Christian literary geniuses J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis: stories passed on for … Continue reading
In my quest to find something wonderful in my tiny garden every day, yesterday was easy. A hummingbird visited a sunflower, shining green, wings beating so fast they were a blur. “Oh, you beautiful thing,” I whispered. I had the same urge as I had when I observed bejeweled tropical fish in the wild, the … Continue reading
Pastor Pat, who was a farmer before he was a preacher, once said, “If the world seems dark, if life stinks, if you feel like you are always going in circles-try taking your head out of your butt.” I know it’s not the kind of sermon you might hear in a fancy church, but Pat … Continue reading
In my quest to find a wonderful thing every day in my tiny 10 X 25 garden plot, I was somewhat disappointed that for the first time, no dragonflies were around. The Annual Dragonfly Convention must be in session somewhere deep in the swamp. Then I noticed that one of my tomato plants was skeltonized-chomped … Continue reading
Aren’t our imaginations wonderful things? To travel through space and time in our own imagination, to see the beauty in a raindrop clinging to a leaf in early spring, to feel the cold mist on our face kicked up by a deep forest waterfall-just by looking at a picture. But our imagination is a double-edged … Continue reading
Here I go again. A friend called me to his home to lecture me about giving things away for free. He correctly pointed out that I am relatively poor (“poor” is always a relative term.) I promised him that I would try to reform and sell stuff, so here is my happy compromise: I am … Continue reading