Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

Hoppy Easter!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Metal Art made in Mexico with reclaimed materials.

Sturdy Mountains

 

 

These solid, sturdy, dependable mountains,

remind me of the

wild, rolling ocean,

wave after wave after wave.

 

 

 

The view from Brasstown Bald Mountain in Georgia.

A Different Perspective

 

 

Getting to a higher place, where you can look down on a situation,

clears the mind and helps you to see your place in the larger scheme of things.

 

Your sense of self importance is brought back to reality

and you can smile and carry on.

 

It doesn't have to be an actual mountain, or high hill,

you can do this in the comfort of your own home,

in your beautiful mind.

 

 

 

Brasstown Bald Mountain, Georgia, 2006

Misty Sunset

 

 

Light and shadow and everything in between.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anastasia Island State Park, St. Augustine, Florida.

Flight or Fight?

 

Primitive anxieties in a "modern" world.

Simpler when you can see the predator,

and not some elusive shadow from the past.

 

How to cope?

 

Trust what you have learned,

what you know is true.

 

Wait it out.

 

Look around you and believe what you see,

not what you feel.

 

And when you are ready,

lean on a friend.

 

 

Alligator and Great Blue Heron, surviving side by side in the Everglades, March 2008.

Storms in March

 

 

The weather has been dramatic the last couple of days.

Fierce lightening and dark skies,

wind and torrential rain.

 

Storms in March are intense,

and then they are over.

 

The temperature rises and falls,

and rises and falls again.

 

Like any good drama.

 

 

Cloudy sky from March, 2012 across the Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine, Florida.

Watch this video of lightening striking near the events field on Saturday.

Back To The Beach

 

Of course,

the sky

is

everywhere-

 

but it's bigger at the beach.

 

 

 

 

St. Augustine Beach, almost sunset.

 

To my e-mail subscribers, there is a problem with feedburner, and I am not sure that it can be resolved. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, Laine's Blog will probably not be in your in box.

Sorry for the inconvenience. I will let you know when this is resolved and whether or not you might need to subscribe again. 

Thanks for all, Laine

Happy Spring

 

 

The long winters are not missed,

but the spring bulbs surely are.

 

Happy Springtime!

 

 

 

St. Augustine Garden, Spring, 2013.

First Thing This Morning

 

 

What a great way to start the day.

 

 

 

 

March 19th rainbow, 2013, St. Augustine, Florida.

Vulnerability

 

 

If we allow ourselves to be vulnerable,

will the dragon win?

 

No.

 

If we can accept our insecurities and fears,

we have a far greater chance at authentic

and happy lives,

 

and so does the dragon!

 

 

Thoughts on vulnerability, inspired by a TED talk by Brené Brown.

Dragon found at  Barberville Roadside Yard Art and Produce, Pierson, Florida.

Prehistoric Bird

 

 

Glistening in the sun's rays,

this branch flew out like some prehistoric bird,

threatening the serenity of an easy afternoon

on the clear water of an ageless spring.

 

 

 

Alexander Springs, Ocala National Forest, Florida.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

 

 

Are there two sides to the Irish mythology -

 

leprechauns playing jokes on folks while faeries dance in circles 

beneath enchanted trees,

and

the deep sadness that you hear in her ballads and songs?

 

 

Here's hoping for a balance between the joys and sorrows

on this St. Patty's Day

and the rest of your tomorrows.

 

 

 

Irish angel in a garden in St. Augustine, Florida.

 

Leaning Out For Love...

 

 

And giving it...

 

 

 

 

To the northern folks who are reading this, the birds are heading your way, high up in the sky, so it won't be long before springtime is here.

 

Sailing Again

 

 

Dreaming about sailing again...

 

 

 

 

 

Alexander Springs, with metal boat from Barberville Roadside Yard Art and Produce.

No Other Way

 

 

There are paths taken,

and paths not taken.

 

It doesn't pay to have regrets.

Each life is so unique, yours, mine,

that it can only be lived by a you or a me.

 

There is no other way.

 

No one will ever get the whole story of your life except you.

It's how it is.

 

So, relax,

trust, and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

Path not taken, in old St. Augustine.

Face To Face (with mortality in a shop window).

 

 

If you meditate on your own impermanence,

you might be more compelled to live in the present moment.

After all, yesterday is but a memory drifting away,

and tomorrow a dream to be.

 

This places you squarely in the here and now -

the only true reality.

 

It is difficult to get there and harder to stay,

but when you manage it,

you find

freedom,

wonder,

and 

love.

 

Yes, love - not in the past,

not in the future,

but right here, right now,

in 

you.

 

 

Figures in a shop window on St. George Street, St. Augustine, Florida.

Lily or Orchid?

 

 

On a walk through old St. Augustine,

this lovely surprise was swaying on the end of a long arching stem,

powered by large round green sails -

up and down and 'round and 'round,

in the gentle breeze.

 

 

 

Mother's Favorite Flower

 

 

Miniature daffodils

looking all grown up (in close up).

Your mother's favorite flower.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE SUN NEVER SAYS

 

 

Even

after

all this time

the sun never says to the earth,

 

"You owe me."

 

Look

what happens

with a love like that -

 

it lights the whole

world.

 

 

                                                                                     Hafiz

 

 

 

Poem by Shams-ud-din Muhammad Hafiz (c.1320-1389), the most beloved poet of Persia,

 from the Penguin publication, Love Poems From God, Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West.

 Copyright © 2002 Daniel Ladinsky and used with his permission.

 

Sunset at St. Augustine Beach, Florida.

Be Kind...

 

 

Perfectly balanced

on webbed feet.

 

 

 

Our webfooted friend, the Anhinga, photographed in the Everglades, Florida.

New England Dream

 

 

Walking with my camera,

my first winter in Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod,

the day after a beautiful blizzard came to town,

capturing my new home all dressed up in snow white.

 

My New England winter dream come true!

 

 

 

Commercial Street, the Lobster Pot and the Old Colony Tap, Provincetown, 1996.

A Year Ago

 

 

A year ago, people were swimming in the ocean,

and walking around in shorts and bathing suits.

There was water under the pier too!

 

This year, there are winter coats and hats and gloves.

And hardly any water under the pier, thanks to the beach renourishment.

 

What are your expectations for tomorrow?

Colder, warmer, rain, snow?

That all depends on where you are.

 

Metaphorically speaking,

"How's your weather?"