Small is Beautiful

I have flown from my nest temporarily...I am guest posting on this lovely blog today. We are talking about passion...go have a look!

But I do want to write a little bit about my current thoughts, and the direction I want to take on this blog of mine...

I have been thinking about the world we live in, how chaotic things seem to be, how destructive we humans can be to ourselves, to others and to our fragile and precious environment ... Maybe I am oversensitive, but I can feel the weight of it on my soul. And I've been thinking about what I can do to counter it, because I am well aware that what I focus on expands.

Let me just say that I am also well aware that there are many many kind and loving and compassionate people all over our beautiful globe who are making things better each and every day. Amazing things happen every day. But why do we hear so much more of the negative? Why is the news so over-saturated with stories of doom and gloom? It gets me down sometimes, you know?

I know that I can't change the world no matter how many lightbulbs I turn off, no matter how many containers I recycle, no matter how frustrated and down-right devastated I feel with the human race and its capacity for cruelty. But, I do have the ability to change my mindset and put my focus on all that is positive and nurturing. And I can share it with others, so that we all feel a little less of that negative weight on our shoulders.

For the month of May, I want to share a daily project with you. Each day, I will post one beautiful thing. One photograph, one movie, perhaps a few words, some days maybe no words...One thing that reflects on what is good and true and beautiful to me, in hopes that it will carry itself forward and fill you up with goodness. I want to create a ripple effect. And I invite you to share with me what brings you peace within the crazy. What makes you happy? What allows you to tune out the negative and absorb the beauty?

My first post will be May 1st.
Perhaps it will be a month long project, but it just might become a much longer journey on this blog. I am hoping it will turn the tides within my thought streams, and bring you a tiny touch of happiness as well.
Please come with me...

Homes for Birds and Other Things

Right outside my front window grows a small rhododendron tree, which has become home to a hummingbird family. I'm not sure if this is the same hummer that I photographed in the snow not too long ago, but I have grown attached to her and feel as though I have become as protective to this wee little nest as the parents that tend to its tiny contents. I didn't want to disturb her, even to take a quick photo, but hummingbird nests are so tiny and well hidden, and so precious....this was a gift I just had to capture. This calm and patient little creature is going to make a wonderful mother. The eggs should be hatching any day now.

It amazes me how neat and tidy their nests are, and how the lichen from the supporting branch has taken root and surrounded this little cradle of spider web and moss. It looks as though moss can have many more uses than just a soft carpet for forest creatures. It can even make boots soft and fuzzy once again. ;)

Please come on over and visit The Four. We are back! Spring has inspired us to begin again...we will be posting a new quote and set of photos every second Sunday. I can't wait to see what beautiful things we collect together over the coming months.

A Poem for Dreamers

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, one night sailed off in a wooden shoe;

Sailed off on a river of crystal light into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going and what do you wish?" the old moon asked the three.
"We've come to fish for the herring fish that live in this beautiful sea.
Nets of silver and gold have we," said Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song as they rocked in the wooden shoe.
And the wind that sped them all night long ruffled the waves of dew.
Now the little stars are the herring fish that live in that beautiful sea;
"Cast your nets wherever you wish never afraid are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three - Wynken, and Blynken, and Nod.

So all night long their nets they threw to the stars in the twinkling foam.
'Til down from the skies came the wooden shoe bringing the fisherman home.
'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed as if it could not be.
Some folks say 'twas a dream they dreamed of sailing that misty sea.
But I shall name you the fisherman three - Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.

Now Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes and Nod is a little head.
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies is a wee one's trundle bed.
So close your eyes while mother sings of the wonderful sights that be.
And you shall see those beautiful things as you sail on the misty sea,
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three - Wynken, Blynken, and Nod.


~Eugene Field

The Sound and the Fury

There's something about a wind so strong that it almost knocks you flat over sideways. So much power. It makes you feel so small and insignificant. It fills you with awe and complete surrender to any sense of control you think you might have. We really truly are at Mother Nature's mercy.

Usually I like to watch these kinds of winds from the comfort of my living room window, but today I went out and felt myself drown in it, and it was so amazing. I walked down to a favourite beach and listened to the water roll over the small stones. It is such a satisfying sound...kind of like bubble wrap or ice crackling in a glass. It almost sounds as though the rocks are hollow. To an ant's ears, it must be forbidding. I wonder how many stones are on that beach? There is a finite number...a number I will never know.

I think there are just as many knots in my hair now. ouch.

Rambling on Green Trails and Blog Posts

It's getting late, and gravity is pulling on my eyelids... but I wanted to share some pictures of Thetis Lake, a most beautiful, greener than green place that I hiked with my friend and her dog Triscuit today. In the bottom photo, doesn't it look like some glittery mystical creature is hovering just under the surface of the water? Anyway, this is usually a quiet place, but today it seemed as though every dog in Victoria was trouncing along the trails, creating little canine traffic jams every so often. This was positively blissful for Triscuit, as were the muddy streams and mossy off trails. I don't think I have ever known a happier dog. Ever. And that kind of happy is contagious. I am still feeling the effects, hours later.

But I am sleepy too.
It is time to hit the pillows and let go of this perfect Sunday.

I owe you all a visit. You know me...always falling behind. I have come to realise that this is how I live my life. It's not just a blogging thing. I am always connecting and then retreating, never really finding a happy balance, but constantly flowing toward or pulling away from the world. Perhaps that is a kind of balance in itself? I don't know. I do know that I need a lot of down time, a lot of quiet space to recharge my batteries... I just have to make sure I don't cave dwell for too long....for that is not happy-making.

So I will put on my social butterfly wings (mine are removable) and let the breeze carry me in your direction over the next few days.

Happy March, everyone! xo