New post on Dreaming Existence . Hop on over and see my new space. Stay awhile. I’d love to see you there!
Cheryl
Category: Garden of Delight
Old Man #Photography
Old man, take a look at my life…
I’m a lot like you…
I need someone to love me…
…the whole day through.
Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that’s true..
Old man, take a look at my life,
I’m a lot like you were…..
Seeing these moss- bearded ancient trees brought to mind an old favorite song of mine. You are amazing, Mr Young.
*Beauty, courtesy of Mother Nature and the tender care of Florida Sugar Mill Gardens friends..
Repose
Repose:
a state of rest, sleep or tranquility..
a state of resting after exertion or strain..
a place of rest…
peace, tranquility…
lack of activity…
cessation or absence of activity, movement, or animation..
to lie at rest, to lie dead, to remain still or concealed…
to take a rest, to rest for support…
What place is this, such promise be
where soul finds peace, tranquility?
Thus waits the cool and shadowy balm
that fills the troubled heart with calm.
Where time stands still, they lay their fears
and soft, the light will dry their tears.
Sweet rest, for hope doth thus suppose
salvation found in sweet repose.
Cheryl KP
Copyright words and image 2019
The Garden Party #conservation #photography #nature
Whenever I feel discouraged, which seems to be a lot these days, I go outside. Nature never changes its course. It doesn’t whine about the weather, but behaves accordingly. It doesn’t beg for attention because it is too busy trying to stay alive.
There is much comfort in watching bees going about their business or taking awhile to sleep in the folds of a blossom. Watching bird couples scout for food and then share what they find with each other speaks to cooperation and partnership better than any human interaction I have seen lately.
I can feel the trees breathing from where I sit, far beneath their branches; and I cringe to think how ignorant are those who can’t accept that we need their presence for the very oxygen that we enjoy. It’s not simply that we can’t all get up and run to a rally or pledge large sums of money to conservation efforts. The heartbreaking truth is that so many turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the fact that this world is dying beneath the crushing weight of our careless humanity.
It is the same philosophy that addresses the messes left in a grocery store or a discarded half full shopping cart. The “Oh they pay someone to do that,” theory to support apathy extends to global and political problems. The idea that “nature will take care of itself” or “we’ll leave that to the experts” is a copout of the worst kind. Will someone clean up behind you at WalMart? Most of the time. This issue is not about ‘someone’ fixing things. It is about the plague of disregard that is spreading its fingers insidiously over the world.
They are right about one thing. Nature will take care of itself. If Biblical history is to be believed, it once rained for forty days and forty nights to cleanse the planet. If Science is to be believed there have been other catastrophic weather purges since the dawn of time. Make no mistake. Earth will survive, and no matter how many guns you have stashed, no matter how many properties you own across the globe or how much money is stacked in the digital memory of your bank account, it will not save you from Nature’s unraveling.
Well, we started out with a bang and perhaps we shall end with one. Or maybe just a collective surprised whimper.
I love my little piece of Nature and will do whatever I can to preserve it. It think I’ll start by having a party..a garden party. Here are a few of my guests!
Y’all come back now, y’hear?
The Ugly Bug Ball..
The weekend blessed us with mild temps and no thunderstorms. I showed my gratitude by going outside as much as possible.
Just look what I found!
There were also birds and chipmunks and squirrels and oh! I even had a hummingbird visit me while in the back yard. It was too elusive for my camera though.
I saw so many beautiful things I just wanted to dance!
Apparently so did my little furry friend. Be careful where you step this month!
We loved this movie when I was a kid…
I you haven’t been there already, stop by Dan’s place and have a cold one. Better leave off the glass though..just ask Dan.
If you Build It They Will Come…
especially if you have a bird bath and a sprinkler! 😀
Happy Friday my friends…
Come to the Cone! #flowers #photography
Since we lived in Costa Rica I have been addicted to photographing all things small-those magical wonders so easily passed over and subsequently ill appreciated.
It was a simple thrill for me to photograph small gardens where butterflies fed on the nectar of cone flowers as bees gathered golden treasure to spread from bloom to bloom before returning to the hive in a world where the secret life of insects played out while we went about our own doings, all too often oblivious to such miracles.
I simply had to have cone flowers in my space this season; and although they are in pots, I am nurturing them to welcome all small creatures who come to pay homage to The Cone.
Here are a few of the earliest visitors.
Now, if you are waiting on the edge of your seat for the scientific facts about these small wonders, you should relax, sit back and remember that I am merely the eye of the photographer who draws attention to these tiny treasures. I am not an entomologist. But I would like to learn more about these insects. Maybe when I finish taking photos….
As the World Falls Down..
Of late I have been avoiding the overwhelming feelings that wait at my heart’s door. The tap, tapping of despair, frustration, anxiety and disappointment wait, torches held high and voices crying out, to rouse my soul into complete and utter fear over what is becoming of this world. While there has always been chaos and disorder on the outside, beyond the borders of this country, I had a sense of things being generally alright in my own little space of it. Perhaps it was naivety or willfull ignorance, or a bit of both. Now that disaster seems determined to invite itself upon us here in the ‘land of the free’, and with my advancing age, my sense of well being and security grows less steady.
So, since there is limitation to what I can do ‘out there’, I turn once again within. If I can create harmony within my soul, find peace in my own being, and create at least a small space of beauty to retreat to, then there is one iota of positive change in the Creator’s world.
Hubby and I have been working hard to get our little garden thriving and are hoping these sweltering days don’t prove stronger than its will to survive. It has become a nice little haven for me lately. I hope we all have a brighter, more positive week ahead.
David Bowie has long been a favorite of mine and Labyrinth remains one of the best musical family films ever made.
Enjoy!
Thank you Mr Bowie, for being brilliant. We miss you!
In the Garden #SoCS
When the noise of existing
becomes so loud that the
cry of my soul is muted
and the tears I shed
wash over my heart
as the anchor of despair
pulls me beneath
a sea of dark sorrow,
I remember why I came
to this spinning orb,
Wonderland of diversity-
the challenge of survival
a prime directive.
When all that remains is
living, my need slips into
perspective once more
as Illusion slinks into
the shadows of desire.
Sunlight tingles my skin,
a cool breeze kisses my face
as all of Existence whispers
to my weary being,
”Breathe, rest your mind
and join us in celebration
of this brilliant moment.
Time vanishes when
life is measured in
glorious being.
Can you see it?
Can you hear it?
Can you feel the
drumming of
Nature’s heartbeat?”
I can. I do. And all pain
melts into a river of
the Forgotten once more.
Go outside today. Open your eyes. Your ears.
be silent and wait.
Allow yourself to be healed.
Don’t just pay lip service to relaxation and rejuvenation.
Have a truly #Free48!
Thanks to Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt ‘lip’. Visit her place for other great posts and read about this and other fun blog prompts on her site.
And if you had bad service as a consumer this week, check out Dan’s bar post for this week. Customer Service is alive and well in Hartford!
Nature’s Face/Photography/Poetry
At times I trudge through my life, sometimes with steps as light as air, yet often as though pulling lead balls chained to my ankles; still, I find constant comfort in the face of Nature. We have had a dreary sort of Winter, although the holidays were bright and full. The unrest in the world is palpable, carried on the chilly wind and hanging in the raindrops that seem endless on every weekend that comes around here in Georgia.
Yesterday was a reprieve and I was determined to find solace in the free blessings and gifts of Mother Earth. The message in her soul is always the same, so clear and encouraging, sometimes more so in those arenas made by humans to showcase her handiwork.
We are here!!!
Each face is as unique as our own, their expression and exuberance so real you can almost hear their voices singing for the change of season. I believe Nature’s joy in Spring is contagious. Can you hear them?
We raise our voices to the Light
And waking fresh from Winter’s Sleep
Sharing the warmth of beginnings
Smiling
Spring tiptoes in on velvet slippers,
Peering around dark corners and waiting in the shadows,
lest the jealous heart of Jack Frost linger to nip her nose
or sting her toes…
Would that I could soar and fly
on dragon wings into the sky.
the bees might envy me-
I say…
Excuse me, Sir, are you going my way?
Alas, my human body is bound
upon this thawing, sacred ground
called terra firma.
but..
My dreams can fly!
As I peer into the laughing face of Sunshine, teasing us from moment to moment..
With Nature as my muse, you see?
But vigilance and care must reign
or all was labor thus in vain.
We must not let the forever sun set on the Creator’s gift.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
It tolls for thee and me and we,
but never they…
For Nature always finds a way…….
Today’s images brought to you courtesy of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, an ever evolving transformational vista of living beauty, located right in the heart of an enormous, bustling city. It can be done when we nurture the spirit of life and give her room to blossom!
Happy #Free48 everyone.
Dreaming Reality 
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