A spark in the sun,
this tiny flower has roots
deep in the cool earth.
- Harry Behn

This flower, and a star.

Whatever gladdens the mind is

of the scent of the Beloved,

Whatever enraptures the heart is

a ray from my friend.

-RUMI

The Seer

"The boundlessly visible includes but also excludes man. He sees, and he sees that he is being continually abandoned. Appearances belong to the boundless space of the visible. With his inner eye man experiences the space of his own imagination and reflection. Normally it is within the protection of this inner space that he places, retains, cultivates, lets run wild or constructs meaning.

At the moment of revelation when appearance and meaning become identical, the space of physics and the seer's inner space coincide: momentarily and exceptionally the seer achieves an equality with the visible. To lose all sense of exclusion; to be at the center..."

John Berger

The Infinite: dancing from the tips of our fingers through the bottoms of our toes...

"Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping..." Julia Cameron

A Joyful Walk in the Woods

This magical pathway is a section of the AT just moments from my house, and 2 miles North on the trail... I discovered it a few weeks ago when my mom and I did the 20 mile section from Pine Grove to Caledonia and I think it'll be my new walking place. Dancing through the corridor of Rhododendron to the sound of water splashing a few feet away, it feels as though I've entered a sacred grove of the ancients, their wisdom breathing me, from the inside out, wide open and... free.

It's amazing how close adventure is, so easily found around the corners of our everyday world, as we pause to study it from new angles, in different light...

My heart is filled with gratitude for this sacred day.

The Four, no. 20

I found I could say things with color and shapes

that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.

-Georgia O'Keefe

challenge posted on The Four

"...as if she'd passed through some door into a place where she could walk surely on the ground of her life." B. Kingsolver

Moving forward with dreams, taking risks, commiting myself to the living -the dangers of living for even one day!- fully engaged, participating, speaking loud enough to become visible, to say:

"But this is what I value and hold true. This is what I want. And I want to share it with you..."

Please, check out my new web-site, a space for me to articulate what I want and to engage others because living so fully, our hearts wide open, our breathing deep, involves a community of people, engaged in the conversation, helping us to understand and to evolve...

A Joyful (belated) Thanksgiving to all of you!

"Curious, beautiful, wondersome"

My response to The Four's no. 18:

a BELATED macro/mosiac Monday:

The bountiful harvest: August is such a FULL month... These hot peppers one of many delights!
May you fill your bellies with colorful greens and the sweet taste of ripened fruit!

Swiss Chard (Bright Lights) and Kale (Red Russian)

Happy harvest: a rainbow of color for ElK

Friday Greetings

Good morning! I'm off to meet my mom for a bike ride (glad I'm close enough to do that now!) Here's a shot from Lily's water bowl- A flower petal marked with love...

Gifts From the Sun

In response to The Four's no. 13, a challenge by Darlene:

.Sunshine.

Baking Bread

I love to bake, probably because my first "real" job was working in the Harvest Barn at Gould Farm (an amazing place, with many stories... for another time, perhaps) where I learned how to knead dough and braid Challah, make GIGANTIC batches of Zucchini Bread and sweet Pumpkin butter, blend basil leaves into delicious pesto, grind dried mint for tea bags, bottle vinaigrettes for sale at the Roadside Store and, my favorite, churn fresh cream into butter (with a mixer of course...) Rising at 5 am to milk the cows, then showering to pick up my work crew and begin a days work of processing fresh veggies for winter, baking bread and packaging Gould Farm specialities for sale--these were some of the best days of my life...

My favorite bread recipe these days is a spin off from The Tassajara Bread Book's Oatmeal Bread. My measurements aren't exactly precise and I add ground flax seed and wheat bran to the whole wheat flour and oats so it turns out a bit different every time, but always warm to the belly and tasty with a dab of melted butter, occasionally a spoonful of jam...

(a pause and much love for the woman who taught me to bake. Her gifts have stayed with me...)

I've fallen in love with the scent of a milkweed...

hidden in secret places I find-

I will give you the

treasures of darkness

and riches hidden in secret places.
Book of Isaiah 45:3

Mulberry Muffins

To add to the joys of moving, we've discovered we have an abundance of Mulberries and June berries in our back yard! For these muffins, I used a recipe for whole wheat-blueberry muffins as my base, substituting honey for sugar and adding lots of ground flax seed and wheat germ in addition to the whole wheat flour. They ended up a bit burnt (perhaps 400 degrees was a bit high!) but delicious, especially with a mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon crusted on top.

What discoveries have brought you joy today?

Macro Monday

In keeping with the tradition started by Georgia B, a few Monday macro shots and much gratitude to--

my parents, and their continued dedication as they celebrate their 35th year

ELK's bird song and loveliness

the life-giving work etched upon my calloused hands

and these magical colors, glittering in the afternoon light...

I've been missing all of you...

I have been gone for too long! The Four are already up to no. 11, Kirsten's challenge: “Then swing your window open, the one with the fresh air and good eastern light and watch for wings, edges, new beginnings.”
~Monique Duval

As I read her words, this photo flashed before my eyes...
It was taken on a hike with Lily after three days of rain. And scraping paint. Discovering roof leaks. And basement snakes...
Ahh, to be outside again, absorbing the sun into my skin! The morning light and fresh air circled round us like sacred fairy dust, singing songs remembered by heart:

The Four no. 8, Jamie's Challenge

The world held so gently in a tiny waterdrop...

I thought this fitting for The Four's challenge no. 8:

Inside water, a waterwheel turns. A star circulates with the moon.
We live in the night ocean wondering,What are these lights?
~Rumi

The Four, no. 7: Kristen's challenge

(more photos from New Orleans: Bywater)

Challenge no. 7 from The Four:

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

William Shakespeare