723. keep paddling….


sun goes down
and the shadows creep up—
keep paddling
*
little clipper 
holds steady toward the bridge….
tide lowers down



Life’s interesting. Sometimes it feels like life‘s just one thing after another. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out and it’s smooth sailing ahead, something else shows up. I keep telling myself don’t worry too much about what’s up ahead, it’ll all work out—just keep paddling….




722. brown is brown


….and the butterfly 
fluttering high in the sky
settles down
*
sun on our backs
this butterfly and i….
down-to-earth

 

Yesterday’s butterfly was on blue, today it’s brown. Could be it true?….we’re all here in the same boat between heaven and earth, just living life, doing our best, one day at a time, this time around. 

I can’t be sure which part of this dream is me and which part is the butterfly. 




721. blue is blue


….and the butterfly
floating on velvety wings
out of the sky
*
blue is blue
the butterfly flutters by
then floats
*
floating
no longer fluttering,
at peace….

 

This butterfly, floating no longer flying, brought me to a place of peace. 





720. what a world!



all those fishes
racing this way and that way—
what a world!



I’m standing on a little wooden bridge at Robbins Park, looking down into the streamlet, and thinking:  man, just look at them—all those fishes, their frantic frenzy….and then I’m thinking, how come they never crash into one another….😆




719. serendipity




so long, my friend
thank you for a fun time
see you next year!


The carnival finally closed down for another year. Last night at sundown, I walked through the church grounds to take a few pictures. I took this one not knowing anything about the history of clowns. The view simply caught my attention. I thought it might be a thought-provoking juxtaposition of images. Little did I know that it would be a perfect illustration of an historical fact: Clowns have been long been around, since around 2400 BC. They held socio-economic and psychological significance and, traditionally, the roles of priest and clown were held by the same person. 

What a coincidence!




718. good morning!

 



squawk squawk squawk! 
squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk! 
squawk squawk-squawk! 


It’s early Sunday morning and I hear the crows outside squawk-squawk-squawking…. I don’t have their picture, so this one will have to do. Good morning, have a great day!




717. YAY!—BOO!


under the big tent
hands, eyes, ears at-the-ready….
BINGO!



(At the Oreland Carnival)

Up there at the front of the line, the Bingo Barker holding everyone in suspense like the lion tamer with his lions. Used to be that the only people who wanted to play bingo was little old ladies, but then last night all these young teenagers joined the crowd….and when one of them won the big pot, they all roared!!





716. life is a song


the church tower rings
the river below runs by….
night and day
*
every day
there are songs in the clouds….
this poem is my song


 

Looking off into the distance quiets my mind enough to hear the river down below running by….and to see the music in the clouds up high.  Could it be that all of life every day, all day and all night, is one long song. 

I read this once: Every day passes whether you participate or not. If you are not careful when you come to the end of your life, you may have only regrets. 

I tell myself: Make the most of today every day, make every day your song. Sing…. just do it!




715. getting high



up and up
high above the trail below….
tiny thriller!

 


Smaller than an inch, this tiny green soul perched itself at the tip of the top and curled and curved it’s entire body, contorting itself in space like a circus aerialist. I stood there a long while fascinated, imagining the fun it must have been having getting high.




714. come to the carnival! 🥳



the sun goes down
and the whole town lights up
it’s so much fun! 🥳



It’s 9/20/22 and no one’s staying home tonight in Oreland, PA! Everyone young and old is at the annual carnival tonight. Tons of fun for the whole family—especially children. I hear the howls and screams of a thousand smiling faces on ride after ride. I see games galore and prize after prize held tight in happy arms. Tons of food: funnel cakes and cotton candy, fried Oreos, cheese fries, chicken, sausages, burgers and dogs, ice cold drinks and just for the grown-ups there’s beer and wine and BINGO under the tent!

Come to the Oreland carnival September 20-24, 2022 





713. zoom!



hey, look….👀
do you see what I see?
zoom in!

 


unblinking 
in a universe of green….
a turtle 





712. the peacock & I



the peacock
strutting onto the stage
strikes a pose




Another fun picture from the Grounds For Sculpture.


 


711. ahh, yes….


resting my feet
sitting still like a statue
imitating life




Nearly 30 years ago Grounds for Sculpture was founded on the former New Jersey State Fairgrounds. Today nearly 300 contemporary sculptures are sited across 42 landscaped acres. Included there are six indoor galleries. Over time, more than 700 artists have had their work on view outdoors and in the galleries. Every year the landscape of trees and plantings and ponds is expanded and new sculptures added. Visiting the Grounds is always a treat. 

I am a Jersey gal, grew up in Trenton, and for a time lived just outside the entrance to these fairgrounds. As a kid, I remember roaming around day after day exploring the grounds during the off-season and discovering the many wonders there. I loved it.




710. the big picture


friendly reminder
to open your eyes and arms 
 for the big picture




 


709. the house and the clouds



some days
i look out at the trees and clouds and
sky, and see blue
*
other days i look
down at my feet and the earth
and see the rust
*
it’s all beautiful
the house where I grew up
and the clouds




Sometimes I catch myself dreaming of far away things that I don’t see what’s at my feet right here and right now.

(On the grounds of the Woodmere Art Museum there is installed a rather large slate patio, each piece of which is unique and interestingly beautiful. I took several pictures there and meditated on this one.)




708. blood moon



center stage:
the bare chested man
getting covered

 

My first experience in a tattoo parlor. There was so much to take in with my eyes. What impressed me most was the mellow undertones of voices and images quietly penetrating the air. No, I didn’t get tattooed but, hmm, maybe a tiny flower somewhere….





707. willey rocks!


there’s willey 
doing what willey does best:
being willey 
*
ah, yes
it’s a cat’s life for sure….
meow!

 

As far as he’s concerned, everything’s all about Willey! He’s always on top of things—Willey’s the Top Cat! Willey Rocks!






706. wondering….



summer tree
dotted all over with red
oh, christmas 

 

Many days I have passed by this tree at the edge of the woods with its red and green leaves. Day after day standing tall between heaven and earth, enjoying the sun and the moon rising up as the night owl sings. Does it breathe, I wonder, breathe slowly and deeply?  Is it happy to be alive, in love with life? How old is this tree, I wonder, is it older than me? How long will it live, how much longer? Is it singing, I wonder, if I stand here long enough will I hear it’s holy song?





705. wow….look at that!



artful people
getting a flashy eyeful
head to toe




I can always have a good time at an art opening. 
Even if the art doesn’t grab my attention and inspire me, the people sure do!






704. reflections



looking down—
up is down….down is up
reflections 
 *
the sun shining through
between the green and the blue
chasing shadows
*
the fish and i 
going everywhere and nowhere
out of time




Standing on the bridge gazing down into the water, losing all sense of time….





703. orange sunshine



still alive
after the long hot summer—
Bigfoot

 

….like I’ve said before time and time again, you never know what you might come across walking through the woods.  My foot is pretty big, a lady’s size 9 or 9 1/2. This mushroom is bigger than big—WOW!! 😃




702. wandering


empty or full?
everything comes from nothing
waiting for the sun
*
standing still
looking out at emptiness
what’s next?



Open spaces allow the mind to rest, to roam, to wander and wonder. An empty mind is an open mind.

Herman Hesse, in his later life chose to live as a hermit, settling in the small Swiss mountain village of Montagnola. There he published, “Wandering,” a collection of essays and drawings which can be read as a meditation on his attempt to begin a new life.  This book was one of his favorites. (it’s one of my favorites, too.)





701. milkweed



milkweed seeds
more beautiful than money
oh, butterflies

 


This is a picture from nearby Andorra Meadow which has a proliferation of milkweed. Monarch butterflies feed on milkweed.  Once a familiar site across North America, Monarchs are now classified as “Endangered.” These and other native pollinators, like bumblebees, depend on the milkweed plant for their survival—and so do we. One in three of the foods that we eat depends on pollinators: apples, almonds, oranges, peaches, tomatoes, berries of all kinds, coffee, lemons, grapes, cacao, and MORE.





700. selfie


eye-stopping,
backpacking gladiator
in gold lame 




There I was eating breakfast in the diner—eggs-over-easy with bacon, rye toast and tea—when she walked in wearing a long pleated skirt of gold lame shimmery as the sun on a summery day. She was like a gorgeous Roman gladiator. I couldn’t take my eyes off her! 😆





 

699. hooray!


all night long
 rain upon rain upon rain
feasting my ears
*
today’s forecast:
heavy rains all day long
hooray!


Raindrops woke me up last the night. I couldn’t sleep. What a treat!




698. tailgating



in the dark
gazing up at the night sky
BOOM!




Driving home….chasing the BOOM! BOOM!💥 of fireworks, finding a perfect place to pull over, pull up the tailgate for a chair, settle down and just look up and listen on and on, getting my fill of sparkles and booms, happy as a kid again….you never know what the day will bring!   
Happy Labor Day!
 




697. smiling



what’s this?!
another curiosity
smiling 


 

Day after day, time after time in the same old woods, it’s never the same old, same old. There’s always something interesting to see and explore….leaves, trees, birds, bugs, rocks and stones….even an occasional skull!





696. walk on


traveling light
heading for wide open places—
moving on

 


I like this picture, it speaks to me and reminds me of an old U2 song. (Here’s a good video of it—you may need to back up to the beginning of the video.)










695. tall tales


tall tales
so many stories to tell—
tattoos



Hey wait a minute…. Walking along the trail something had caught my attention. I stopped and turned around. Wow! Tatoos, look at all those tatoos! 

This old tree was etched with hearts and letters and numbers and symbols all around and all the way up it’s a long, long body, like a sentinel giving witness to so many lives passing by in time and thru time.





694. have a bright day!



hey!
good morning, enjoy your hike,
have a bright day!




Have you ever been reading something and then all of a sudden some word or words jump out at you off the page? That’s how it felt when this leaf  sitting on an old fallen tree caught my attention with its glow and seemed to be talking to me, wishing me well and have a bright day!