Overnight

Full of budding promise for weeks, it took a deluge to bring this little maple into its glory.

A dark and stormy night has a way of creating drama.

A Deer's Eye View

If I remember to look, almost every day around twilight several deer walk across the back edge of our property -- between the fence and the creek.  They are well camouflaged, but as they calmly walk across, their movement is eye-catching.

This photo is taken from the vantage point of the deer, looking over our fence up to the house. This is what we look like to them.  The vertical spindles of our screen porch are barely visible.  I'm glad we blend in.  Once the leaves fill in, they may not see us at all.

Down to the Wooky Hole

When we moved here seventeen years ago, we built the fence on our side of the creek, instead of across it -- all the better to keep the dogs from running off.

Walking through the gate into another realm~

The best seats in the house~

Inside an Orb

Capturing the late afternoon light down by the Wooky Hole, I was surprised by the green edge of the sunlight and the rainbow-hued rays.

Looking Even More Closely

"We are here, we are here, we are here!"

With a nod to Dr. Seuss, that line is what first came to mind when I looked more closely at this new moss.

Remembering to dive in, and to consider the bountiful in the seemingly mundane, checks perspective today.

After the Storm

In a sudden storm last night, the wind howled, branches battered the roof and thunder shook the house.

This morning brought the gift of this sunrise.

The Actual OA

Remembering this wonderful Angel, every day, but more this time of year, I still feel so sorry for anyone who didn't have the chance to meet her.  She cared about everyone she came across.  She sought and found good in the flawed, the abandoned, the misunderstood.  She stopped everything to listen to a stranger's tale.  She accorded each person the dignity they deserve.  There's no greater inspiration, and I was so lucky to be her daughter. Her light was brilliant, deep and warm.

As I look for light in the world, I'm looking for her.

Blooming

Fleeting, lacey blossoms recall an earlier chapter.  Working, walking, living amongst a sea of pale petals by the Tidal Basin each Spring was one of many wonders from my time in the city.  Only in retrospect is the value and significance of those youthful moments revealed.

Reclaimed Wood

These trees were felled, along with many others, in the span of only a few days.

More houses took their place.

Discarded, like rubbish, in the no man's land along property lines, they were forgotten.

Many years have passed.  Now they're refined, their bark long shed, the trunks now burnished and smooth upon the forest floor.

Little by little, nature reclaims them.

Today We Climbed a Mountain

The outward journey enhances the inward.  There are no words.

Framing

A full composition:  evergreen wax ligustrum is juxtaposed with indigenous branches beyond.

Looking upward never disappoints.

Sunbeam

Though Spring has come, the sun is still at a late Winter angle, peeking through from the side as I remember to look up.

Greening

The branches in the forest are still bare, so the bright sunshine coaxes the creekbank flora back to life.

The fish bask in the warmth, until I get too close.  They retreat to their cavern.

Gratitude

She sends cardinals.

Amid the constant ebb and flow, in this moment there is peace.

Thank you.

Budding

Three weeks early, it seems the change of seasons is upon us.

The ash trees keep their old leaves all winter, but soon they'll begin to drop as the fresh green supplants them.

Ellie senses the coming change.