For Crimson’s Creative Challenge 134
Gathering Clouds
Clouds from the north
a gathering din
changes are coming
storms moving in
don’t rightly know
when it hits the shore
but skies are a changin’
like never before
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
For Crimson’s Creative Challenge # 133
The Gift of Tiny Things
It is, I think, the tiny things
that often give soul it’s wings
the humming bird in darting flight
fills the heart with pure delight
dandelion offered from a tiny hand
I’ve never seen a gift so grand
a gentle touch, a quiet smile
a laugh, a joke, and all the while
wondering what tomorrow brings
life is lived in the tiny things
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
For Crimson’s Creative Challenge 132
The Power of Water
By the power of water, pure and clean
the world is cleansed of negativity
a hillock adrift in the torrent stream
all that remains of her broken dreams
the Great Mother’s voice whispers
“come child, let me dry your eyes
you aren’t sad because it rains my dear
it rains because you cry”
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
It’s easy to love a sunrise. The promise of a new day, bright, vibrant colors transform ordinary clouds into enchanting abstract patterns. Yes, it’s easy to love bright colors. It takes a special kind of soul though to love a lead-gray sky. I do because I see. I see the divine in a tiny bit of clear quartz among the gravel bed. I see the promise of eternity in the monochrome grayness of a cloudy day. I spend my days trying to be open to everyday epiphanies, the magical mundanities, of an ordinary life.
In nature I find gray everywhere, perhaps because it makes such a perfect backdrop. Perhaps because it’s everywhere. Perhaps because it is the middle of the road, half way between black and white, like the color of my hair, old enough to know better, but still willing to take a bash at it.
For Sunday Stills where our color challenge is Gray
Here gray concrete paving stones provide a backdrop for a young black swallowtail with brilliant wing stripes in Jiujiang, China
A white-faced Heron stalks his shadow in New Zealand
Gray mist hangs over the pavilion at Lulin Lake on Lushan Mountain, China
Vast gray depths and composition of a cloud formation in Rapid City, SD, USA
“Tall buildings no bigger than blocks on the floor
Wellington afloat on the harbour haze:
You think of how most men spend their days
In offices as cramped as elevators…”
Well weathered words of wisdom on faded gray planks of Wellington NZ waterfront.
If we were having coffee this week, I’d confide in hushed tones that I’ve never liked the color black for a wardrobe choice *insert shocked gasp*. Black is technically the absence of color and frankly, it washes out my already pale complexion. Then, I discovered all the infinite possibilities of gray. It has become a staple neutral of my wardrobe.
Ah well, I’m off to ponder the questions of the universe including the antics of the gray dove outside my window.
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
For Sunday Stills where our prompt is “water.” Oooohhh, water, I love water. I believe in another life, I was a mermaid, or a Hawaiian princess, whichever, maybe both. I have swam in every kind of water from lakes to rivers, to oceans, to really big puddles (Salton Sea). I can’t pass a puddle without stomping in it and I can’t pass up an opportunity to stick my feet in every sea, lake and river I can. I am also, partly, a water sign …. oh yeah!
Above, the great tide pool adventure in Florence, Oregon. I love the Pacific Northwest coast line, so rocky and graphic and full of adventure.
Farther south, turtles swim in Hanauma Bay on the island of Oahu, Hawaii
Still farther south, the Southern Pacific Ocean, off the coast of New Zealand. Hmmmm, these are all pacific ocean shots. What else can I come up with.
How about Stirling Castle on Loch Lomond, Scottish Highlands
or Urquhart castle on Loch Ness, why yes we did go hunting Nessie while there. 😉
There’s oceans and lakes, how about falls? … Opaeka Falls on the island of Kauai
or the Middle Fork of the Willamette River near Oakridge, Oregon
Salmon swimming “upstream” at the fish hatchery near Oakridge, Oregon. I love this shot we had so much fun at the hatchery capturing unique photo ops. These are fingerling salmon about 2 inches long already learning to fight the falls.
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
Welcome fellow spoonies and other sentient beings to another edition of
Spoonie Retirement. The week has gone by, as weeks tend to do. After the hub-bub of the last few weeks it’s been nice to relax a bit.
Above buttermilk skies in the morning, here at the Ranch
If we were having coffee this week, I’d wish you a happy Beltane, then I’d brag that all of our de-winterizing is done on the RV and we’re ready for Spring. Hang on just a minute … this is summer weather! We seem to have by-passed spring this year. Two weeks ago we had snow, this week we have highs in the 80’s. Summer craziness has already begun here at the RV park. Sections of the park that have been closed all winter are open once again and are fully occupied, as people come out to celebrate the good weather. Humpffff, good weather in deed, too hot for my liking.
Trees bursting with buds
As Spoonies, Superhubs and I both suffer from temperature intolerance, and it changes. In the winter I find 59-60f perfect indoor temps, in the summer I’m freezing at 68, sweating at 78. Yeah, I have a teeny tiny thermal comfort zone. So while two weeks ago I was putting on extra sweaters to keep warm, I am now stripping off layers and wandering about in shorts. Symptom management requires constant adjustment. Regrettably, I also loathe air conditioning which complicates things a bit more. Don’t misunderstand me, I still USE the A/C, I just don’t LIKE it.
Lilacs are already in leaf, blooms can’t be far behind.
Like a lot of Spoonies, a sunny day can wreak all kinds of havoc with my immune system, triggering flares from my feet to my eyes. This is the time when simple, easy meal plans involving little to no cooking become essential to our well-being. Big batch oat porridge, prebaked frittata cups and fruit with or without yogurt are breakfast basics. Lunches are salads and wraps. Dinners are mostly foil wraps, outdoor grill or “slow cooker” meals.
With heat intolerance, the main problem we face is afternoon fatigue, so we plan around it. Chores, exercise, and activities take place in the mornings. Once 3:00 pm hits, that heavy, can’t breathe, can’t move, OMG-I’d-die-but-it-would-take-too-much-energy fatigue just crushes the life out of you. A cool shower in the afternoon will revive enough spoons for a light supper, movie, and bed. On the menu tonight, greek chicken casserole. This low carb version is “baked” in the slow cooker with side salads or microwaved vegetables from our local organic coop. Hope you’re having a wonderful week, do come join us at the weekend coffee share hosted by Natalie for sips, quips, shots and talks.
Stuff I’m watching and doing today
til next time ~Have a Blessed Beltane ~JP
For Crimson’s Creative Challenge
Through the Lady’s Eyes
Everywhere I go I seem
to find
the Lady’s spirit watching me
Look now, can you not see
the Lady’s face within the tree
or the
feminine forms etched in stone
nature’s hidden ghosts
abiding grace of form
now
look through her eyes
and you just might see
all this world was meant to be
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
Frank is our host at dVerse for haibuns this week. We are asked to focus on the present moment for our haibun. Life is made up of moments, precious, terrifying, beautiful moments. Once in awhile, it all comes together and for just that moment, life is perfect.
Perfect Moments
Standing on the overlook, gazing at the fairytale landscape below. Orange and yellow stones painted with the colors of the setting sun, and the azure sky. You wrap an arm around my waist, and the moment is perfect.
I watch as the shadow of a butterfly dances across the floor, refracted through the sun and glass. Blending with hospital floors and furniture, forming abstract shapes. A cloud passes over the sun. I lose the shadow dance. The doctor walks in. You are alive. My heart overflows with gratitude, and the moment is perfect.
Spring warms the flowers
the wind filled with promise and
blessings not yet known
Til next time ~Find your perfect moment ~JP
For Sunday Stills – celebrating kids and pets
“The time has come,” I thought today
“to ponder many things
like kids and pets and photographs
and why the wild bird sings”
I find myself in a bewilderment. Kids and pets … hmmm, I have no pets, and I generally don’t post pictures of kids (even my own). So that leaves me with those beautiful souls with whom we share this little blue world. I love the feeling of awe when I encounter animals in their natural habitat. I say a little prayer of thanks and treasure the places where the wild things are.
Above, a juvenile big horn sheep in Zion National Park, Utah. They sometimes come down from the higher elevations to feed and pose for tourists.
Here American Buffalo at Custer State Park in South Dakota. You don’t realize how truly huge they are until you experience them up close.
One harried momma duck with a passel of ducklings in Christ Church, NZ. We watched them cross the path heading for the pond, and laughed and laughed and laughed at Momma scolding and herding the brood. Yes, the comedy of motherhood is universal.
My precious little puff balls – Great Horned Owlets in our big pine in South Dakota. I think these count as both pets and kids. We watched them all summer grow from tiny bits of fluff to the day they stretched their wings and set out on their own. They were no longer cute little babies but full grown, gasp inspiring, raptors.
The Three Amigos in the Marlborough District of NZ. In a field full of spring lambs, these little guys found themselves a hill to defend. 🙂
Til next time ~Meet me where the wild things are ~JP
Checking in with the Weekend Coffee Share. Do come join us for quips, sips and shots.
Well it’s been awhile, the past couple of weeks have been kind of whacky here at Chez Spoons. There were 7 medical appointments, 2 vehicle maintenances, highs in the 70’s and highs in the 30’s. Yes, that’s spring in the Black Hills.
April began with storms moving in and fabulous cloud patterns.
If we were having coffee this weekend, I’d do a little more bragging about our daughter who recently graduated nursing school. She works (by choice) in the ER. Says she likes the adrenaline. Whew!
I’d tell you about how exhausting it is to have back to back to back to back doctor visits each of which involves 2.5 hours of driving (round trip). Phew! Good news on all fronts. LADA (type 1) diabetes is stable and endocrinologist says “whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.” Pulmonary function is down but still well within normal range. Unfortunately, eye pressures are back up in one eye so we’ll be returning for another pressure check next month ;-p. Dyshidrotic eczema is keeping me from walking very much, but to offset the disability, I’ve taken up chair aerobics. Yes, you can get a pretty good cardio workout in a chair, keeping the pressure off sensitive feet.
Grass coming up everywhere, greening the landscape.
And then, another snow storm. All told, we got about 4 inches which melted in a matter of 2 days.
Most of the snowfall melted on contact with the streets and walkways, clinging to the grass and bushes.
And then, just like that, the wind shifted, the snow melted and blue skies returned … for awhile.
Oh man! Check out the hair … memories … arggggg
Til next time ~Stay Wild Moonchild ~JP
