keeping it simple....reflecting on life with pictures and poems in the Japanese tradition of Zen
1358. every time….
1357. what a sky!
1356. old shoes
Like Zen, the art of haiku asks that we pay attention to what is right here, right now. In both, the focus upon everyday life becomes a means of transcendence. Use the ordinary to elevate the ordinary.
1355. sneak preview
I’ve been having fun working on my next origami art. Here’s a sneak preview. It’ll be Elephants, nothing but elephants as far as the eyes can see! 🤩
1354. wondering….
1353. delicious!
Here’s my story: It’s been hot! Last night after the sun went down, I walked around the neighborhood feeling the heat; came back home, sweating.🥵 This morning, I can finally open the windows and turn off the noise of the air conditioner. Fresh morning air—a cool breeze rushes in….rain puddles in the driveway reflecting trees on the other side of the street….birds scampering across the ground pulling worms, chattering. Overnight: 97° to 68°! What a difference a day can make. Delicious!😋
1352. a little tipsy
1351. making the most of it
There are times I just don’t know what to say. This morning is one of them.🙃
1350. away from it all
1349. he said, she said….
Last morning by the sea in Barnegat Light before heading home to the city, thinking ahead….
1348. whew!
1347. daydreaming
1346. wow!
It was a hot, sunny day. Walking slowly around the neighborhood, I saw a great number of orange daylilies leaning out from a very long stone wall. Pausing to admire and wonder….hmm, how many?So I walked to one end and began counting, moving along, step by step, inch by inch, all the way to the other end, and ending with 851. Wow! While these beautiful flowers bloom only for one day, it’s said that a mature clump can produce 200 to 400 blooms over a month, or more. No doubt, this mass of daylilies could easily produce thousands! Here’s a closer look:
1345. now and then
Weather forecast: HOT! HOT!! HOT!!!🥵
Now and then it’s good to look back at the way things were.😘
1344. Bonnie & Clyde
This week, I’m cat sitting Bonnie and Clyde. A very handsome couple, don’t you think! These two cats are the sweetest, funnest, most affectionate brother and sister you could hope to adopt. My upstairs neighbors did just that.
Now the original Bonnie and Clyde were American criminals, serial bank robbers and killers, who went on a crime spree during the Great Depression from 1932 to 1934. They were a handsome couple too! There’s an Academy Award winning movie made about their crime spree, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. It’s a good one.
1343. a sunny day
Off to a running start. Some of us walk, some of us run, some of us drive. That’s what makes the world go round.
1342. the last laugh
It’s plain as day that in the end after all is said and done….trees will have the last laugh! 😘
1341. smorgasbord
1340. elephants
1339. twilight
1338. by the sea
1337. 1946
Feeling grateful that my mom and pop brought me to America. I couldn’t find a picture with me in it—that’s my brother—but it’ll do just fine. I wanted to post a picture of my parents and, one more time, to say thank you for giving me life.♥️
1335. shore traffic
Slowing down at the beach…. I was just telling Dan—it’s nice not to have to do anything but sit, not to have to be anywhere but here, enjoying the sand and the surf and the sky. He agrees.
1334. chopsticks
Feeling right at home.😊 Good morning from Cape May!
1333. is-ness
Nothing fancy. This is life. It is what it is. Things simply are what they are. Or as Zen master Shunryu Suzuki was fond of saying, “things as it is.” That’s life.
1332. what’s in a name
1331. Sunday morning….
1330. elephants
Greg’s a grandfather now. His daughter had a baby, her first, and named him Judah. Cool name. I’m making an elephant totem to hang in his room that he may be blessed with the fine qualities of these majestic animals. Strength. Intelligence. Loyalty.
1329. what if….
1326. rock star!
Outside the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts there sat a piano waiting to be played. So he rolled up the keyboard cover and sat down to play. He’s no Elton John for sure, but who cares!😘
By the way, the Elton John movie, Rocketman, really rocks with story and song.
1325. nothing fancy
1324. going green
At the feet of abandoned turbines and towers made by man, native grasses and shrubs and flowers growing green. Like it or not, Nature always wins out.
1323. out of this world
Yesterday we drove to Bethlehem, PA and walked around the 10-acre campus of the former Bethlehem Steel company. I was awestruck by the structural grandeur and corrodent beauty of what had once been one of the world’s largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. I almost couldn’t take it all in—iron and steel, endless walkways all the way up to the sky. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It was pure art, marvelously magnificent!
1322. morning offering
1321. good eye!
Walking along the woods, we were shooting the breeze. I stopped and pointed 30 feet away, deep in the shadows, a silhouette….”Hey, look, a squirrel!” Closer, 20 feet away….”No it isn’t, it’s not moving.” Closer still and still not moving. I clicked the shutter one final time just as it jumped and disappeared. A chipmunk.
“Good eye!” she said.
1320. what if….
I paused, looked up at those trees and thought for just a moment, what if….so I brought them home. Green is green and white is white—sometimes things look prettier in black and white.
1318. always
Appreciating every day events. No need to travel far and wide to see something of beauty and wonder. Truth is always at hand.
1317. pretty funny
A spider is a spider is a spider—but not this one. It’s a Spiderwort. What a funny name for a pretty flower. When I was little, I was afraid of spiders. I still am—but not this one.