Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

Time to Play

 

 

The ocean righted itself and the surfers came out to play!

 

 

 

 

 

Two days after the storm, St. Augustine Beach, Florida.

After the Storm

 

 

After the storm,

sunny blue skies

and clear moonlit nights.

 

Still lots of wind

and the temps are chillier,

but the clouds are gone for now.

 

 

 

The day after Sandy, St. Augustine, Florida.

Sandy Ground

 

 

Do you ever feel lost or scattered?

Is there really comfort in groundlessness, as some buddhist teachers suggest?

 

In groundlessness, there is nothing to hold onto,

no anchors...

 

Is that the true story?

That everything we hold onto or use to anchor ourselves

is an illusion...about to change or already changing?

Shifting like sand blowing in the wind?

 

If we can make friends with the shifting, squirmy feelings,

without blaming anyone or anything,

 and avoid old worn out patterns of behaviour,

it is somehow grounding!

 

We understand better what it is to be human and vulnerable,

and we have compassion for ourselves, which connects us to others

who might be feeling lost or afraid.

 

It is one of those paradoxes that embracing groundlessness

can help you to feel grounded.

 

 

 

Tropical storm Sandy, blowing the sand at St. Augustine Beach, at A Street. 

Riders of the Storm

 

 

It's a feast for some of us-

as good as it gets!

 

Me, I'd be scared to death!

 

 

 

Kite surfers, St. Augustine Beach, a few storms back!

 

Half of the answer to the riddle: What is the difference between a seamstress and an illusion?

An illusion seems so, and a seamstress...

 

 

 

Ommmmmm...

 

 

Breathe in.

Hold.

...two, three, four.

Breathe out.

 

Stretch...

 

 

 

 

Barking Up The Right Tree

 

 

The English Language, being ambiguous, has a great many words

that have more than one meaning.

 

Bark is one of them.

 

And don't get me started on homophonic words.

Ok, I can't resist.

 

Here's a riddle, whose answer contains two pairs of homophonic words:

(Answer in Friday's blog post!)

 

What is the difference between a seamstress and an illusion?

 

 

"Ruff, ruff." 

or

"Rough, rough."

or

"Bark, bark!"

 

 

 

I'm Tall As a Tree!

 

 

"Look at me, I'm tall as a tree!"

 

In a novel/detective story that I have recently finished reading,

the main character defends his choice not to have children by explaining that

they start out so well, being loved and cherished and protected 

and then they turn into us -

adults with tons of baggage.

 

Is there a way to short circuit the process?

Continue the loving and cherishing and protecting?

 

We can only try.

 

 

 

The book is Broken Harbor by Tana French.

Forgetful

 

 

"I know I'm forgetting something,

what is it?"

 

 

 

Animal Partners

 

 

Figures of dogs have been found in caves thousands of years old,

almost always protecting.

 

Dogs are top of the list of animal partners in our modern age,

yet the more we make friends with the multitude of other critters on our planet,

(and not just cats, my sweet companion),

the more friends we will have and the happier we'll be.

 

 

(My Klesha wants me to say

that cats have been depicted since ancient times as well,

and that she is not related in any way to the black and white creatures on the roof.)

 

 

 

 

 

Giant Gentle Things

 

 

Kite surfers at the end of a cloudy windy day in St. Augustine.

 

From a distance, the kite looks like a giant butterfly.

Now that would be interesting...

giant gentle things flying among us!

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, almost Autumn!

Beauty Berry

 

 

Purple is good too!

 

It took me three days to retreive the botanical name of this wonderful shrub from the archives of my mind.

It is a kind of a dancing word, Callicarpa.

 

It is not only beautiful, but an effective mosquito repellant!!

 

Now that is useful beyond measure.

 

You can read all about it here, Callicarpa Americana.

 

There is a jelly recipe too!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Reaching For Life

 

A late walk on the beach.

Surfers crisscrossing the sand

^{like businessmen with their briefcases on a busy city street.}

^{More sea beans reaching out for life than ever before.}

^{A sweet sunset that stretches out over the ocean.}

On the way back, a lovely labyrinth, gladly walked,

and a young boy with his parents, 

learning to ride a bike on his own for the very first time.

(His laughter transports me to the time when

I could finally ride my bike without help and felt airborne!)

And then the tide and darkness scatter it all!

 

Pink

 

 

A pale pink feather, found on the beach is surely from a Roseate Spoonbill.

 

These strange and beautiful birds are often mistaken for flamingos

until you get a clear view of the spoon shaped bill.

 

In sunset light their color is exquisite,

as it is against a clear blue sky when they fly overhead.

 

Did I say that I hate pink?

 

I take it all back!

 

 

Three Roseate Spoonbills, Moses Creek, St. Augustine, Florida.

 

 

Board Meeting

 

Don't be late!

 

 

 

If You're Happy...

 

 

"If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands."

 

I learned this song a very long time ago in Brownies,

and never really thought about the words,

other than to clap my hands and stomp my feet at the appropriate times.

 

Is it really possible to be happy and not know it???

 

Yikes!!!!

 

 

 

 

Who's Waiting For You?

 

 

In many seaside towns there are sculptures of families waiting...

 

They say that we all have someone waiting on that distant shore,

ready to meet us.

I guess we won't know for sure until our time comes,

but there are a couple of dogs and cats that I would love to see again,

and maybe even a few human folks too!

 

Who's waiting for you?

 

 

Sculpture found in Iceland in a little seaside town called, Grindavik.

Something Grand

 

 

The Grand Canyon, one of our National Treasures.

It takes your breath away when you stand on the rim,

and literally when you hike into it!

 

You feel at once grand and so small,

a wonderful justaposition of feelings.

 

 

 

Photo by Paula Post.

(Thanks Paula!)

In Praise of Photography, or ...Me, I need a camera!

 

 

Saturday evening as I was driving along US 1,

there was a beautiful sunset over the marsh, next to the railroad tracks.

 

A storm was moving away that created a low ceiling or shelf

that by and by was gray and then golden and then a wonderful sunset glow

of oranges and reds and pinks.

 

On my way someplace to go somewhere else,

I didn't stop to get the shot.

 

This happened another time, in Provincetown, my last week there,

on our way to dinner after a craft show,

the sky was putting on a magnificent show.

What I remember most is that it just got better and more brilliant,

as though it would go on all night long.

Standing on the hill that overlooked Provincetown harbor,

all I could do was soak it in.

It felt like a gift after an exhausting day,

and there I was without my camera!

 

 

Some people can paint beautiful pictures with words,

others can paint beautiful pictures.

 

Me, I need a camera.

 

 

 

Your Next President

 

 

"On further reflection,

and after careful consideration,

I believe it would be in your very best interest,

for so many reasons that I can't go into here,

to make me

your *nest president.

 

You won't be sorry.

 

 

 

*Some typos are irresistible!

The Great Blue Heron, for president!

 

Dancing Molecules

 

 

Dancing molecules around the harbor,

water everywhere.

 

Light gray, dark gray and my favorite, payne's gray,

and silvery fish slicing the surface in a frenzy

as sailboats swing on their moorings.

 

A calm and lovely evening.

 

 

St. Augustine Harbor, and the Bridge of LIons.

Heart and Soul

 

 

A year ago today, I launched Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud.

It was perhaps the first time that I truly put my heart and soul into something so completely.

 

I stepped into the world,

and nearly fell over myself wanting to run away from the vulnerability of it all.

But I didn't back up - I held true to my vision in spite of the doubts and fears,

and Laine's Blog is alive and well today, a whole year later

and I am feeling so grateful and proud!

 

Thanks to my many subscribers and followers, you make it worth my while

every day and I am so grateful to you.

 

The only change seems to be the missing Mondays. I'm not sure how long that will last,

but for now everything else is all systems go!

 

And by the way, sharing your heart and soul, some way, shape or how,

is highly recommended.

Wriggle and wrangle your way through the discomfort and you will find that

when one door opens, another one does too, and then another and another- honestly!

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

Laine

 

 

P.S. I didn't photoshop that heart flame, I am just a very lucky photographer!

Cause A Riot

 

 

What can you say about things that change colors

and cause riots?

 

Wish I could do that!

 

 

 

Boston Ivy, one of my favorite vines.