693. the fly & I

just sitting

palm in palm and thumb to thumb

a fly

*

 a fly—

on my knee, on my arm, my shoulder

breath by breath

Yesterday I took my car for an oil change and annual inspection. It took a long time—more than four hours—because  it needed work and then they were waiting for three new windshield wipers to be delivered. I waited outside in the shade in cool breezes then decided to meditate to pass the time. A fly kept me company. 

(This isn’t a picture of the fly or my car, it’s totally unrelated—i just like it!)

692. best friends

on a rainy night

talking to myself….and there

i was

*

some things aren’t true

and yet they’re no really false,

they just are

I love a good conversation—when thoughts are flowing back and forth free and easy and you’re talking and listening heart-to-heart. There’s nothing like being your own best friend. 

(I took this picture watching a scene from, “My Neighbor Totoro.” This film has won numerous awards. It’s a story of a professor’s two young daughters and their adventures with wood spirits. It captures the joys of simple rural living. If you enjoy Japanese animation films, it’s a good one to catch on dvd.)

691. isn’t it amazing?

lifting my eyes

meditating on the sky

lifting me

When I look up at the sky, I’m amazed. I could shoot the sky everyday and never be bored. It’s the same sky and yet it’s never the same sky. It’s amazing!

690. up periscope

two eyes

watching the sun go down—

up periscope 

 

At sundown, the lights go up.  Down and up, up and down….that’s life. 

689. teacher’s pet

 

stretching out

 deep in morning practice

ahhh…

(Mikey and me on Zoom, photo by Mar.)

Here we are, Mikey and me practicing yoga. The name of this pose is, “Paschimottanasana.” That’s a big name, with big benefits. It calms the mind….relieves stress….stretches the spine, shoulders, hamstrings…. stimulates the liver, kidneys, ovaries and uterus….and can help improve digestion!

 

688. looking back

driving home

i caught a glimpse of seven deer

in the dusk—

*

looking back  

not a word was said, and yet

so many eyes

 

I’m glad that I slowed down….all eyes were on me. It was too dark for that picture. This picture is of a little deer I glimpsed in the woods one day. It was looking back at me the way deer seem always to do whenever I look at them. This may be true for you, too. I wonder, could it be that this deep looking is offering something important for us to think about, or are the deer simply slowing us down for a quiet moment or two.

687. on a mission

barreling its way

across the rocky trail

cross-trekker

*

outa my way!!

heading for sweeter ground

yellow bugger

I love it when I discover new things—at least for me, they’re ‘new.’ This little bugger, about 2 inches long with a shiny black head and two white dots for eyes, was covered from one end to the other with spiky yellow hair and several longer black spikes like daggers sticking out near its head and hind. Fascinating!

I confess I have a love/hate relationship with bugs. I love seeing them on my walks through the woods but I hate seeing them in my apartment. Bugs are bugs…. can’t live without them and don’t wanna live with them!😆

686. he & she! 😆

he: “listen to me,

this is important”….she:

looks the other way

 

Do you think he might be feeling ignored? Have you ever wondered…is it me? or something I said? do I have bad breath or b.o.?😆

685. hope

maybe

the world will grow kinder

eventually

(“Hope” — 5-1/2 x 8-1/2” — mixed media paint & paper)

The blue sky above and the green waters below, the sun and the moon, rocks, pebbles, and wings that fly. It’s all God. Mary Oliver once wrote, “Maybe the desire to make something beautiful is the peace of God that is inside each of us.” A garden, a home, a family….a song or dance….a poem, a painting, a piece of silk. Everything that we do, or even say, is an act of creation. Something as simple as a sincere, deliberate smile can be a powerful creative act. It can light up your world and the world around you. Try it!😊

684. standing guard

in a museum

the guard in black and white 

standing guard!

Do you think she might be practicing a standing yoga pose, a variation of tree pose?

683. I see you

taking a picture

someone taking a picture 

blue hair

Sometimes the best pictures in a museum are not on the wall.

682. a moment of silence

there goes the sun

wishing him a fond farewell….

au revoir!

 

I don’t know exactly what a prayer is….maybe it’s something as simple as watching the sun go down.

681. i am a tree

the god of dirt

said to me, just be yourself

you’re beautiful

*

just be yourself

you do not have to be good

you belong, you belong

 

“I Am a Tree” — 9 x 7” — Gouache

Everything is Beautiful song lyrics. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=everything+is+beautiful+lyrics&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

680. three monkeys

three monkeys

no mouth, no eyes, no ears

wishing

*

wish upon a star

makes no difference who you are

dreams come true

* 

no longer 20

and way more than 70

still dreaming

Everything in life began as a dream. Without dreams we’d all be lost. 

After all these years I’m still folding paper. What is it about folding a simple piece of paper that can give new life to a tree and create a world of boundless possibilities. Origami activates and engages the mind, opens a doorway to curiosity. Wasn’t it Albert Einstein who said that curiosity is one of the higher faculties of the mind. And didn’t he have a brilliant mind! 

Dreams plus action makes life happen! 

 

679. thank you, moon….

at sundown 

the crow calls calls—

flying home

 

The talk is about money, the news is all about dying and disaster.  At the end of the day, sometimes all I need to do to keep things in perspective is to go outside and look up. Thank you, moon.

678. livin’ the life!

Ahh, this is the life

sitting in my easy chair

watching life go by

 

As for me, I go around all day looking for pictures to take—trees, birds, bees, cats, dogs, flowers, the sky, all kinds of people, also oddities & curiosities. I’m livin’ the life, too.😘

677. turtledoves

who would have thought

it could be so easy to fall—

in love again

 

It can be so simple if you’re willing. Just make the time, create an opening, and communicate.  That’s it: time….open space….quiet conversation. Keep the conversation going. 

676. making honey

don’t be afraid

to make your own honey— 

just dive in

“Just living isn’t enough,” said the bee, “one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” 

(Hans Christian Andersen was talking about a butterfly. I borrowed his words for my bee. 😘)

675. going out to the movies alone

do your own thing

sit back, put your feet up

just be yourself

I like going out to the movies alone.

“Every woman should have the luxury of growing older, growing into her own skin, settling her emotional debts”— Robyn Carr

674. sleepless

no moon in sight

only crickets and cicadas

chanting

Unable to sleep, making the best of it. The repetitive sounds of cicadas and crickets on a dark night feels like endless chanting, reminding me of the ancient Chinese scholars who practiced the fine art of poetry writing and reciting poems on quiet moonlit nights, alone.

673. hallelujah!

5am

it’s raining on the tin roof

hallelujah!

 

After weeks of intense 90° temperatures, waking up this morning and hearing the soft sounds of rain and the click-clacking of raindrops on the tin roof was cause for grateful smiles and celebrations. 🙏🏼🥳

672. metamorphosis

what’s happening?

looks like everything is melting….

hey, that’s me

Having fun in the Funhouse! 

671. hello kitty speaks

the past is the past

and here and now is your life—

enjoy it!

Instructions for life:  

Be present!  Let things go!  Celebrate!

670. summer fun!

sun blazing

blackbirds splashing in the pool

frosty on my chin

After a visit to the Barnes Museum in the city, the sun was blazing, the birds were splashing, and I was eating a Mr. Frosty dripping down my chin.  Cooling off!

669. angel

no,

she isn’t an angel….

or is she?

Angels can fly because they don’t take themselves so seriously”—GK Chesterton

A sunny day in the shade, sitting under a beach umbrella, I watched this lady bug creeping it’s way along the edge of my chair. Careful not to move in the wrong direction or rollover and harm it, I lightly blew on it hoping to coax her to fly away. She did. Then she returned, landing like a feather on my shoulder. Again I coaxed her and she flew away. And, you guessed it, she returned one more time….smiling my day.

How is it that angels seem to appear just when you need them….where do they come from, where do they go?

668. cat tales

heat got your tongue?

just turn around and walk away

one step at a time

 

Before too long, you’ll be complaining about the cold!

667. sign of the times

“what’s so funny

‘bout peace, love & understanding 

….sweet harmony”

One day walking through the woods, these three little stones appeared on the trunk of a fallen down tree. What does this mean? Who did this? Why? I wondered. Later on, I remembered the Elvis Costello song, “Peace, Love and Understanding.” It was written more than 40 years ago, lamenting the world’s troubled times. It could’ve been written today. Life goes on.
 

To read the lyrics or view videos of Elvis Costello singing this song, click on the link below.

https://www.google.com/search?q=peace+love+and+understanding&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#wptab=si:AC1wQDAmhH4WxhqkLyzXLNCgm7uMlL-cwjtGo7YoiLsJI42k1Zt3T5h9PClNLNtt0Z7jv--DSqR4QOzwl5v5Ol72OoqZb9PB1L8nIkiSm1eOCKqrKR_KkCqnyYnI2x3mYQPPs0F5oGDNXzfQxAASjwYi3ngXMGVYv11S33AbZrFinhnuMRNgLUYJ2hK1_FjAmPoI5gQ7TkULCUtpiWfqkeohZT561aV3VPsuk7s-HgyvyS1K_0fj4Qk%3D

666. pinky

hot pink

in the pink, purrectly pink

pink pink pink

I once had a cat, a Siamese cat, with a puppy dog face. She was such a pussycat—soft and loving and so sweet. When things got me down she somehow knew, and would always come close to sit with me and purr….and purr….and purr. She lived with me more than 20 years. Her name was Pinky.

665. making music 🎶

stopping me

so many fishes

not stopping

“Time isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing” Miles Davis

To make the most of your time, try this:  1) put away your phone,  2) listen more than you speak,  3) make eye contact,  4) embrace spontaneity,  5) be mindful.*

*on Google

664. cooleo

full of himself

striking a favorite pose—

like a dandy 

They say that animals do not think or possess an ego, yet sometimes I wonder…. 

Laid-back, full of suave and swagger.  When I look at this cat, he looks right back, gives me ‘the look,’ and thinks himself hot!😼  I think he’s cool!  Willey is so hot, he’s cooleo!

663. here comes the sun

above the rails

looks like it’s gonna be

a hot one🥵

Train tracks run twenty feet behind the house. Off in the distance, an early whistle blows….I look out thru the bedroom window….then look up to see the sky. It’s gorgeous, and stops me cold….later on it’ll stop me hot!!🥵