Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

Who Decides?

 

 

Sunset behind them,

daybreak ahead...

What will tomorrow bring?

More kindness, less worry,

sunshine or rain?

 

All's Well

Sunset sentry,

overlooking the St. John's River.

 

All's well with the world.

 

 

Great Egret, Welaka, Florida

Our Lives are Blooming!

 

There is a saying that - 

"Life is what happens to us while we are busy making other plans."

Life in all of its messy perfection, like wildflowers by the side of the road

that escaped the boundaries of the perfect garden years ago to create another version of Eden.

 

Here it's wild phlox.

Up north it might be a stand of crocus or wild violets

whose origins go back (along with ours) through the generations.

 

Perhaps if we could see with knowing eyes,

we'd be assured that our lives are blooming - 

just like the wildflowers by the side of the road,

and that we are right on time.

 

 

Safe Journey to All Travelers

 

 

May we all be as lucky as the sailors who took to the sea

on the ship protected by this strong and gentle woman.

 

May the storms that surprise us, swiftly run their course

and fair winds bring us safely home.

 

 

 

 

Vine to Wine or Before the Beginning...

 

Everything has a beginning a middle and an end.

Sometimes the beginning is obscured by secrets or lies,

but it is still there, somewhere.

 

The middle is the fine tuning of intention.

If you are a grapevine, it's simple.

For humans it's fraught with trial and error.

The middle contains the maturing as well as the fumbling.

 

The end?

Well, the end is the end.

 

For grapes, it's quite simple and possibly delicious.

If you are a human, it's just about the biggest mystery there is -

besides of course the beginning, or right before the beginning...

 

You might say that the end isn't the very end and the beginning isn't the very beginning...

I guess that the middle is the only thing that we can know for sure!

 

 

Muscadine grape vines and wine at the Log Cabin Farm and Winery in Welaka, Florida. 

Pollywogs Coming

 

 

The day after this close encounter there were little discs,

about half the size of a dime, floating in the pond.

Several days later,

they were swimming and the little pond was host to hundreds of tadpoles or pollywogs!

 

After a few weeks...

back legs, then front legs, and the tail disappears.

 

Before you know it, they are hopping out and about - tiny toads!

It's one of nature's greatest shows.

 

 

Sage, It Doesn't Make You Wiser...

 

 

Sage has been around since ancient times and used for a variety of ailments over the centuries,

including in a potion to ward off the plague.

 

In this window box is one of the ornamental varieties of Salvia.

 

Modern Chinese herbalists have found that salvia miltiorrhiza helps to prevent heart attack and stroke

and may thwart bone loss and the development of Alzheimer's disease.

 

I was hoping to discover its ability to make one "sage"

but that doesn't seem to be in its dossier.

 

Oh well!

It is pretty and it does add flavor to life!

 

 

Looks Like...?

 

"Definitely looks like his father!"

 

 

Photo by Paula Post. Shot at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.

Happy Spring!

 

 

How tightly wrapped are you?

 

Will you unfold into something big and beautiful

when your time comes?

 

Most definitely!

 

Happy first day of Spring!

 

 

 

Hibiscus

 

 

Hibiscus, the state flower of Hawaii was once commonly called good night at noon

because it blossoms for only a short time!

I like that, "good night at noon!"

 

Some days are like that.

 

 

From the book Garden Flower Folklore by Laura C. Martin

Our Inner Hatchling

 

Nestlings are so very vulnerable.

This little one endured severe thunderstorms, only to be stalked by a crowd of noisy crows

and survived that too.

 

Nature provides lots of drama for her creatures.

Perhaps we all have a nestling within us...our inner hatchling.

 

It's the part of us that has come through the storms

and evaded or slayed the scary monsters -

sometimes with grace and other times not -

but through it all have come to trust the deep instinct to grow stronger and to thrive.

 

Spring is upon us - a good time to acknowledge our strengths

and our connection to the fragile new arrivals.

 

After all, we were once just like them.

 

 

Let's Toast Our Friends

 

Let's all put on our dancin' shoes

And wear our shamrocks green

And toast our friends both here and there

And everywhere between.

 

 

 

Shamrocks in St. Augustine! We now have two Irish pubs in this Spanish town!

An Irish Blessing

 

 

Lucky stars above you,

Sunshine on your way,

Many friends to love you,

Joy in work and play. 

Laughter to outweigh each care,

In your heart a song.

And gladness waiting everywhere

All your whole life long.

 

 

 

Shamrock flowers! (May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow!)

Toys in the Window

 

"Hey, who are you?"

"Take my picture, take my picture, ruffruffruff!"

"You are squishing me, Madam."

"Oh, Captain, you know you like it!"

"HELLO, Gorgeous!"

"Want a hug?"

"Don't you think I'm cute?"

"It's hot in here, can you get us out?"

"Ouch!"

"Oh, look down there, what is that?"

"I don't know, but it looks edible."

"Ow, I can't move my head."

 

Creative shop window in Old St. Augustine.

 

The Perfect Day

 

 

What can you do with a perfect day?

Go for a walk, breathe, smile, get out the hammock, listen to the birds.

Whatever you do on a perfect day, it works.

Even if you keep dropping things or tripping, it still works.

 

And then comes the perfect night!

 

 

Robin in the tree!

Stay or Go?

 

 

Lately I've been dreaming about sailing,

about taking a small boat out for the day and sharing time with herons and egrets and dolphins.

 

The large boat in the photograph was spotted off St. Augustine Beach,

and she seemed to be making up her mind about whether to stay or go,

sailing back and forth as the tide went out.

 

Stay or go?

Ahh, to be as decisive as the tide!

 

Love Trees?

In St. Augustine, there are several couplings of Palm and Oak trees.

They are affectionately called "Love Trees."

 

I call them "Ouch Trees."

 

 

 

 

A Career on the Water

 

 

 

Not bad!

 

Better Not to Know!

 

 

A black beach.

Beautiful cliffs.

In Iceland, the air is so clear that you really can see forever.

 

Forever - Now that's an interesting word.

According to Webster, 

forever: adv. 1. without ever ending: eternally. 2. without stopping: continually.

 

Can you see forever?

Love forever?

Some say that we live forever, though not physically, obviously.

It's kind of a scary thought - either way!

Live forever, not live forever...

it's probably better not to know for sure!

 

 

Nesting

 

By the time this squirrel was finished with the hammock pillow,

there was nothing left.

There was, however a very comfy nest in one of the oak trees.

In a big wind, small pieces of fuzz would rain down on our heads.

 

Watching nature's critters prepare their nests for the little ones to come is a joy.

Humans too!

 

 

Reflections

 

 

Sometimes a shift in perspective can transform a situation...

 

or help you make sense of a photograph!

 

 

Photo taken at Blue Springs, State Park, Florida

One Crazy Species or You Are Not Alone!

 

 

What do you do when you're feeling off balance?

Do you wriggle one way and then another?

Do you blame some one or some thing?

Was it perhaps something that you ate or drank - last night?

Or something that someone said that threw you off?

 

Do you ever wonder if there is another species on earth that is as neurotic as humans?

What chaos it would be if all the creatures on the planet were constantly questioning themselves!

 

No, there is room for only one crazy species and we are it!

 

So, if you're feeling off balance, believe me when I say this,

"You are not alone."

 

 

 

Except In A Democracy

 

 

Did you see the moon yesterday?

After the sun set, the moon was above Jupiter and Venus in a beautiful line.

 

When I was young, I learned that Jupiter had 9 moons.

Today, so far, they have counted 39 moons orbiting Jupiter!

 

It was the discovery of Jupiter's 4 satellites, (all larger than our moon, and visible with a pair of binoculars),

that led Galileo to agree with Copernicism, which concluded that the Earth

was not at the center of the Universe.

That assertion nearly got Galileo killed, as it was contrary to the trusted knowledge of the day,

that the Sun and other planets revolved around the Earth.

 

Disagreeing with the wealthy and powerful leaders of your day, can be dangerous to your health,

except of course in a Democracy.

 

 

Photo taken while testing Laine's new Digital Elph!

Lion or Lamb?

 

 

Like a lion or a lamb?

What if March didn't show up at all?

What if we went right into April?

Sometimes the months go by so fast that it seems that it could happen.

What would we do without the unsettled weather of March?

What would we complain about?

 

Well, even the Supreme Court can't eliminate an entire month,

or could they?

No, they wouldn't dare.

Would they?

 

Stop worrying, breathe, March is here and all is well-

for now!