Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

Rain

 

A shower at the end of the day and I am still lovin' this rain!

The trees are sighing and happy,

just like me!

 

 

 

 

Do You Speak Balmerese?

 

If you don't speak Balmerese, try not to over think it...

 

 

 

Balmerese is the native language of the people who settled in Baltimore, Maryland. Hon Fest coming up in June!

The Bridge Tender

 

 

If the obstacle in our path is a drawbridge, a radio transmission 

is all that is needed to clear the way.

 

Other barriers demand more of us.

Sometimes it is merely a sitting still long enough for a genuine faith

in our own talents and goodness to arise.

 

Then doors open, and bridges too!

 

 

 

 

 

Big Storm

 

 

Change is in the air...

 

A big storm - thunder and wind and rain - the air clears,

the fires are out and the smoke disappears.

 

Everything changes.

 

 

 

Photo shot through an airplane window!

Susan B.'s Hey Ku's

 

 

 

 

The green of summer

in her coat's full array

shading and protecting

 

 

The calm of morning

Before the clock begins to dictate the day

Such a sweet pleasure

 

 

 

 

Bird songs welcome from distant branches

My love and I find sensitivities emerging

As we delight in cabin time

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poems by Susan Bradley, photos too!

 

Thanks Susan!

A Sunday Treat - Late Poetry Submissions

 

This First Poem is by Hannah Watson and is her second poem to be published on Laine's Blog. (see Hannah's Page, April 25th, 2012)

Thanks Hannah!

 

 

 

Cherish Your Life

 

Love life as much as it loves you.

 

Wind that cools as the sun beams to warm you.

Birds singing you a lullaby as you gently fall into a deep sleep.

And as winter turns into spring,

you soar like an eagle and catch a ledge

when you thought you were on the edge of despair.

 

Life is short.

 

Cherish it while you have it.

No matter what happens, do not throw it away.

A kingdom of gold lies in wait for those who manage to stay.

 

Others might long for the chance that you would toss away,

so cherish your life while you may!

 

 

 

 

 

Winning Streak

 

 

Poker with the girls last night (not pictured here!),

and you know you're in good company when you offer to lose

just to balance things out and the dealer says,

"Oh, no, we'll pick your pockets clean next time, don't worry!"

 

The yin and yang of life.

Sometimes you win

and it feels really good!

 

 

Sculpture of card players found in apparent scrap yard in Key West, Florida

I Never Imagined

 

It didn't occur to me to imagine what the earth looked like during the eclipse the other day.

 

 

Shot from the International Space Station, this photograph was my favorite

in the APOD's (Astronomy Picture of the Day) gallery of Eclipse photos. 

 

A really different perspective!

 

 

 

 

 

"Eclipse from Orbit"

Credit: Don Petit, NASA

 

Morning Glory

 

 

Good morning, Glory!

 

 

 

 

Wild Morning Glory climbing on my deck!

The Dragon

 

 

Standing on a ridge on an isolated stretch of beach on Cape Cod, my shadow is cast on the retreating waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

 

I call this photo The Dragon, following the mythic thinking that the only dragons that need slaying in our lives are our very own shadows.

 

Have I finished slaying my dragons?

Probably not.

 

But they are not as powerful as they once were

and

I am not as fearful.

 

 

 

Not Yesterday's Moon

 

A fullish moon through the trees.

 

Yesterday, the new moon eclipsed the sun, late in the day.

It happens.

Rarely!

In all of the sky, our little satellite comes clean across our star.

The three of us, the earth, moon and sun are perfectly aligned.

 

Pretty cool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every Little Bit...

 

 

The rain clouds were flirting with us all day yesterday.

Little rumblings of thunder, some lightning, and a gentle shower here and there.

 

We don't mind.

Every little bit helps.

Even if the rain is coy,

it is very welcome and lovely.

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, just before the rain.

The Patience of Wood

 

 

The patience of wood -

standing long and tall as a tree,

then never letting go of wondering how the river will feel and sound and taste,

once the loving hands that bend the planks finish their work.

 

 

Wooden boat workshop in Welaka Florida.

Blowing Off Steam

 

 

The earth is blowing off steam.

Did she ever imagine that one of the species that she spawned would be self-destructive?

 

Every 8 minutes, like a mother trying to control her frustration over her children,

the valve opens and steam escapes.

 

"Will these children ever stop fighting?"

Pshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhht...

 

(Meanwhile the dog is stealing everybody's lunch!)

 

 

This geysir is in Iceland where the word geyser originated!

 

Can You Fly?

 

 

A young hawk sitting on a car roof in the parking lot.

Patient and fearless, it watches me as I watch it.

 

If the hawk could ask me one question, what would it be?

 

"Where are your feathers?"

 

"Can you fly?"

 

or

 

"Is this your car?"

 

 

 

Welcome, Little One...

 

 

What secrets do you know, little one, secrets too soon forgotten?

Where did you come from?

Where were you 10 months ago?

What do you know?

 

Oh my, you almost smiled, not even one day old!

Welcome.

Welcome to this crazy world of ours!

 

Already you have brought much joy.

So much more to come.

 

Welcome, little one.

 

Welcome!

 

 

 

Photo by Eszter Bujdosó Fike, baby too with Dad, Shawn Fike!

Look Out!

 

Looking up can sometimes make you feel dizzy.

Same with looking down, especially when the tide is swirling around your feet.

 

I once heard some words of wisdom from someone who was learning how to hang glide,

it went something like this:

 

Look where you want to go,

and not where you are going.

 

That's really good advice when you want to stop doing the same old thing,

over and over again.

You want to change your thinking and shake up your life.

 

Look where you want to go and go there!

 

Dust off that old thinking and give it a nice pat on the back and kick it out the door!

Who cares if it makes you dizzy!

 

 

 

Spanish moss dancing in some huge Live Oak trees in Welaka, Florida. 

Send Rain

 

50% chance of rain...

Not on my walk...

Maybe later?

 

The frogs are singing, calling in the rain.

It could be tonight.

 

 

Two surfer girls at St. Augustine Beach.

In Gratitude For All

 

Friends and family decorate our lives with their love and generosity.

The really good souls will hold onto you in the bad times as well as the joyful occasions,

and bring good food to the table.

 

Given the opportunity, those who love you the most

will make sure that if they're going to throw you into the pool with all of your clothes on,

that it is in the deep end

and lots of folks are watching!

 

In gratitude for all.

 

 

 

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

 

 

A Good Night, Moon!

 

Lots of folks came out to the beach to watch the moon rise on the 5th of May.

It had to climb out of the haze before we could get a good look at it though.

It was worth the wait on a breezy evening turning into night.

 

A good night, moon!

 

 

St. Augustine Beach

 

Think Like a Tree...

 

If you were a Banyan tree and could send roots to the earth from your "branches"

that could shore you up for your journey,

how strong you would be.

 

Confident and grounded!

Beautiful too!

 

 

Head to the Beach

 

Some days you just need to head to the beach.

If it's a 3 hour drive or just around the corner,

it's the only thing that will soothe the soul.

Sand between the toes and salt air...

hmmmm...

Life is good!

 

 

What Do Big Birds Do?

 

When I first observed a Great Blue Heron land in a tree,

I was, to be honest, shocked!

You'd think that it would have been a no brainer,

it is a bird and birds do have a tendency to sit in trees...

but such BIG birds?

 

One time while crossing the Chesapeake Bay in my little boat,

there was a Great Blue Heron riding a channel marker.

It was spinning clockwise - aroundandaroundandaround -

and then counter clockwise - aroundandaroundandaround!

Our approach didn't phase her, she just kept on spinning!

 

Big Bird at play!

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Have the Time?

 

Have you ever noticed when you meet someone who has a child who is differently-abled

that they have a certain serenity about them?

They are calm and seem to be more present somehow.

 

It's a gift to see them and to be reminded to take time a little more slowly,

to look around and see what's happening in the neighborhood of you.

 

 

 

Clock found in the courtyard off St. George Street, near the City Gates, St. Augustine, Florida.