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.

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The Imposter, with false feelers on its wings to fool predators
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The Alien with its metallic like body
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The Doppleganger beetle, looking like a small chic cockroach
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See the intricate design swirls on its back?

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….

A Flake/#SoCs

Okay, I’m saying it for you. That’s what many of you will say when you read my post, but I don’t even care. If being a flake means I have faith in something outside of myself that keeps me going in a world gone mad around me then I’d rather be a flake doing life. (Wait, that sounds kind of like a favorite song….) maybe later.

Anyway, according to my favorite customer at the bar and doorscursion expert Dan , the Friday prompt for Linda Hill’s  #SoCS event is to open any book and, with eyes closed, point to a section on the page and write about the word, sentence or paragraph. It so happens that the book sitting beside my bed is one I have been working at reading for weeks now. I say “working at” because these days reading books seems nearly impossible. Between real time work, trying to write my own book, do some creative projects, spend time with hubby and get out to see the natural world and be rejuvenated, I hardly have enough moments to sit and read more than a few pages. I am slowly working my way through Inkheart as well. I love the movie so I suppose knowing the end keeps me from plodding forward more quickly.

Back to the point. I am not a particularly religious person in my later years although I am deeply spiritual in that I am confident that there is a guiding force in my life and there are things that we do not fully understand nor even often consider as real possibilities because our practical brains cannot pick them apart, categorize and file them away as proven facts. Those are the things that intrigue me most. If I had my life to do over again I would have gone into Science just to study Quantum Physics. Or become a photo journalist. 😏

What is the point?, you are saying. I ask for guidance in all things that I do-for Spirit, God, The Universe, to manifest itself for me in ways that give me tangible evidence that we do not walk alone here. This evidence is not for me, but for sharing. In the words of Fox Mulder, “I want to believe!” And,  more than he, I really do.

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This is a good book, by the way. And so true. Many of us feel we are doing a great job in life, just letting things roll, going with the flow, saying “it is what it is” (I hate that one) when we are really just stuffing things into a big old suitcase with aging rusty latches that someday will give out from the enormity of what is inside,  swelling until it must be recognized. Many things should be shared, gotten off of one’s chest and ironed out, even though it might be uncomfortable or even painful. I was raised in a home where conflict was taboo, so learning to have a civil disagreement was challenging. An all out argument used to cripple me. Now I understand that true change and growth never occurs without some discomfort. Sometimes a lot of it.

Again, the point. As I opened the book, I closed my eyes, asking for guidance to find just the right phrase or thought to include in this post. As I scrolled the page my finger dragged a bit and I passed the spot, but scrolled back up where it dragged again.

When I opened my eyes, this was the paragraph. I ain’t lyin’..

So how do I get to this point,” you may ask, “willing to BE, first?” Processing negative feelings throught the Script is the perfect place to start. As you process your feelings you are BE-ing. It will be of great benefit for you to work throught the hostilities and frustrations you may have so you can finally arrive at the place of ‘live and let live’…of BE-ing, enjoying the peace of now.

This is my goal, even before this book or this passage. To live in the now moment, for it is the only one which truly exists. The past is but a blip in our brains and the future is   a mere possibility.

Here is another of my recent moments of requesting presence to be made known. When we took our day trip to Sawnee Mountain Preserve, there is a statue of the purported Sawnee himself at the entrance to the park. The plackard board states that no true image of the indigenous man known as Sawnee exists, so they did an imagined rendition. I took several photos of the statue, my heart and soul asking if the true spirit of the man known as Sawnee or anyone else wanted to be recognized while I was there, to please feel free. This was my photo. I love orbs! I get them a lot. Sometimes they even show up in photos later, after I have already edited and saved them .

 

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Okay, go ahead and call me a flake. But I am a happy flake, a contended and loving flake. I wish the rest of the world would join me in the hope of flakiness.

PS. I never got a green orb before. Green is a healing color. I love this one.

Okay, so now that the song is stuck in my head I am sharing it with you. Please feel free to keep it playing in your heads all day too. Happy Free 48! More to come on that later!

And. Speaking of “points”, have any of you ever seen the production The Point? It is a marvelous work about acceptance and the importance of being different. Check it out! I saw it as a play in high school but they made a movie of it too.

 

 

 

 

Don’t Give Up/#1LinerWednesday

In these past few weeks my will to continue this seriously flawed experiment called humanity has been tested. There have been moments when I have asked my Creator why I am here, feeling invisible, out of place and very much alone.

As usual, a visit to Mother Earth renews my Spirit for another week. I love the symphony of color, light and simple beauty that exists in every living, purportedly ‘unintelligent’ thing. Who needs words when you are surrounded by this?

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My one goal in life is to not leave it with regrets. You just have to choose your battles and learn to enjoy the dance in between. Just look at Nature for direction. She knows how to live. And die.

 

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Guess I’ll ponder things awhile longer….

In All Things/#Inspiration

God called to me today,

”Get up, come out and play!”

 

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The Earth is there with open arms

to dazzle with her mystic charms..

lead on!

 

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Her stewards once of flesh and bone

now rest as dust and ash

immortalized in bronze and stone,

their histories shared for cash

 

 

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Can you hear me?

came the whisper

from the shadow dancing light.

 

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Can you feel me?

Yes! My spirit called to life

as my wounded soul took flight.

 

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Touch me, heal me, fill me.

Let me carry you inside

like jewels of bright eternity

that anyone who touches me

Be comforted when thus to see

your reflection in my eyes.

 

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Angels walk this world

their feathered wings unfurled

as gentle hands that guide us on

and words our kinship leans upon.

 

I thank heaven for these gifts

And free!

 

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Today the Creator smiled at me!

 

CKP copyright words and images

2018

Scenes From a Wedding/Day 2 #SoCS

“In this Kingdom there shall be shots!” And more shots. We killed Mr. Jameson in quick time. 😉

This post is brought to you sponsored by Linda Hill’s #SoCS prompt .

Today’s prompt was dom. Visit Linda’s place for more great posts from talented bloggers.

Back to the Wedding Weekend. I know I left you dangling last time. You will be relieved to know there were no arrests, a few more incriminating photos (which are locked in the family vault for blackmailing purposes later) and we had a fun night. The best thing about Lincoln for me is the variety and uniqueness of the venues that always seem to surface. Being a small city, one can easily hike from one venue to another which,  I would think, cuts down their DUI incidents significantly. However, their auto accident rate is likely substantial as we witnessed first hand…but that was another day.

The place we went to that took us a step back into the 80’s and 90’s was the Arcade Bar. A simple idea really-install some vintage popular video games, skee ball, foose ball and pinball. Put up a bar and open the doors. Even the ‘old folks’ like us love it.

 

Of course getting there is tedious, since we often fly into Kansas City and drive the rest of the way. Even driving from Omaha can be nerve wracking. But the scenery is pretty and the highway pretty much a straight shot. This time of year the colors are just beginning to change to Autumn.

I always love that I can say I have been to Iowa. (But it wasn’t heaven-Field of Dreams reference. See the movie)

We actually spent all of this day doing food preps. And having shots. It was a simple wedding but there are still lots of things to do. They had all worked so hard before we even got there, with family helping to get the yard ready and everyone preparing food. I always love being in the kitchen so it was a bit of heaven for me to be able to contribute. Oh, and Ellie also loves being in the kitchen. We kept pointing her to get out. Tell me, though, how you could resist sharing a nibble with this face?

 

Of course I did! Several times. She is such a sweetie. As are her brother and sister from other mothers…

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Meet Abu and Junebug
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Abu loves a good closeup.

Junebug loves to hide….

It was during the potato salad prep that I found our food blessing for the event.

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Even the potatoes knew it was meant to be…

Willard made his ‘famous’ deviled eggs. Yeah…it’s a family thing.

All in all, a very good day before the big day! That called for a nice, leisurely stroll around the neighborhood at sunset. I have already shared a post about the beautiful church we saw. Here are a few more shots from our walk.

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Lincoln has beautiful tree lined streets and old homes
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The moon making her way into the sky
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You had to know there would be a butterfly!
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Our ‘hotel’ for the weekend. Love this old home.

With such gracious hosts, how could we not have a marvelous stay? They even left candies on our pillows!

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Very exhausted Wedding Planners. Still, we enjoyed some take out Thai food at the end of the day.

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Thanks, Hayley and Ande for being such wonderful hosts in the midst of your own chaos of preparations. The love is so real with you guys. We enjoyed every. Minute!

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Oh, these guys? My number three son, Matthew and his son Noah. This visit was all about some Maw Maw time for me too!

Our next day would bring the rest of the troops in!

Oh, I need to mention again that in another city, number two son and his wife were delivering their baby on this day! 😱💕

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Miracles all around.

Love was defintely dominating the show!

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Speechless/#SoCS

It is with my apologies to Linda Hill and her #SoCS prompt that today’s post is not as fun filled as I normally try to create.. I try to always post things that lift others up or give them a smile.

Sadly, at this particular time, when I hear the word reservation my heart and head are heavy. Since hearing the news about Anthony Bourdain, the word only conjures up memories of watching his great food show Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations with my husband and dreaming of visitng all those wonderful places and having similar experiences as Anthony. He will be missed by so many. That also reminds me of the recent suicide of Kate Spade and not so recently of Robin Williams. All will be missed. So many people lose hope and in a single moment of deepest despair make that decision to abandon the life they were born to live. It breaks my heart for them and for those who love them.

The word reservation also conjures images of the atrocities suffered by the indigenous peoples of this and other countries for decades, a fact that many people still are unaware of or simply don’t care to look at. The issue of our government separating parents from infants has not been confined to illegals over the course of its history. There are still Native Americans seeking their natural families after being taken from them as small children and forced to live in foster homes. These are not myths or justifiable procedures. They are heartbreaking stories of growing up with a sense of lost identity and disconnection.

I have no reservation in speaking from my heart about these things. Life is beautiful in so many ways. I try to always glean the best from every situation and share the perfect moments that I find; however, we must also look at those things which are tragically present in this world and that we can affect with our prayers, with our voices and our votes, and above all else-with our love.

May Peace reign over the dis-ease that is insidiously infecting God’s perfect creation.

1 Peter 3:9-11

9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

10 For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech.

11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it.

I rarely quote scripture these days; but since many use it as a weapon, I feel it is necessary to bring to light the words of the Christ who is being used to commit many atrocoties against his message. I also do not equate ‘evil’ to the traditional interpretation. In my heart evil is fear. When man fears he wishes to destroy. My mother and father taught me as a child that “There is no fear in perfect love.” It makes perfect sense to me, yet it can be a mighty mountain to climb in this life.

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Every living thing has a purpose
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Nature cares not for pride or possession
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We have a responsibilty to care for the planet

Even our thoughts have power, so we must use these thoughts and our words wisely, lovingly and without reservation.

Happy #Free48 everyone.

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What Do You Want to Believe?

One of this season’s most profound and thought provoking episodes of the X-Files calls attention to our ever increasing intrigue, dependence and worship of robotics, electronics and human-less encounters. Watch this clip of the episode; but when you can, catch the entire episode on youtube or the Fox channel app.

While this is not a new concept or fear where artificial intelligence is concerned, this episode adds a new slant on the previous “robots get angry and run amuck” scenario by adding the all-too-human aspect of sarcastic bitter aggression.

Let me just say up front that we are good tippers. We tip the minimum expected for mediocre service and definitely more for exceptional service. Still….it is a ‘tip’. I can still remember my sense of horror as one of my son’s former girlfriends described how she chased a guy leaving the restaurant where she worked, demanding to know why he was such a jerk as to not leave her a better tip. Please don’t misunderstand. I get the emotion. This is a really sweet girl also. What I have a problem with is the new idea that it is perfectly okay to act on every emotion a person is having. We seemed to have skipped the phase of allowing oneself to have negative emotions without judgment and gone straight to venting them all and acting on them. This unleashing explains a lot of what is going on in our country, in our world.

Decorum, discernment, dedication, delicacy and diplomacy are all words of the past. Relics, like me. Like any of us non millenials. I have wonderful sons who fall into (barely) that category but are not in any way typical, as many are not. Still, in too many places, in too many situations, I am seeing the ugly truth of this label-and I hate labels. In the sixties, the idea among many of the youth was to try and connect with the ‘older’ generation, to establish a new level of mutual understanding. In the 70’s we started viewing our parents as real people, joining us in many of our fun times. In the 80’s began the decline of respect for any authoritative roles, breaking down the myth that parents and adults were above reproach and always right. Funny stuff. Ferris Bueller, Weird Science, Bill and Ted, all the John Hughs films. I loved them all for the honesty and laughs. What isn’t so funny is how adults have now  become mere caricatures of their roles in families and have remained so for film and commercial purposes. They are too often portrayed as evil killers, stupid jokes or simply missing in most family situational films.

Oh there is the Family Channel where sugar runs to diabetic level, but that is not what we need either. Add to this lethal concoction the fact that most young parents want above anything else to be best buddies with their kids and…well…you have no parenting at all. Gadgets, film, games, entertainment, video, social media and friends are what are raising many of our newest generation. That leaves Mommy and Daddy free to play as well.

So, who wouldn’t be enthralled by robotic everything? For greedy non-tippers it will be great! No tip for the robotic server. No lip. No argument over the specials….no smile. no  special orders. no banter. no connection. no jobs for the college student, the inexperienced fresh out of high school kid, the art or film student, the starving actor, the writer-come-ophthalmic tech who dreams of being a bartender at night. 😞

So, for Linda Hill’s prompt

Today her prompt was passive/aggressive, which put me into a more serious frame of mind which actually began last night. When you have to go to four different restaurants to get the hosts to even LOOK at you and still not offer service before you end up in a bar where you feel most comfortable, it does something to a person’s TGIF morale.

And, speaking of bars, check out my night job over at Dan’s Place. I love it! Those guys keep me on my toes and laughing all the way home with my tips. That is, until the new generation robifies us all….

Be kind to everyone you meet, for we are all fighting some kind of battle. Love and hugs to everyone on this weekend!

Spring is trying…in all kinds of places. 😊

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