Laine's Blog, Thinking Out Loud

Love...

 

Here I am surrounded by giant old oak trees,

dripping with spanish moss,

living with a joyful dog

and a handsome cat,

while it feels like the world is coming apart at the seams.

 

It is not.

 

The birds still sing.

The frogs still croak and slap themselves onto the windows at night.

The moon rises and shines.

The sun too.

 

All that is worrying us will change,

and soon.

One way or the other.

 

To quote Wendell Barry,

 

Be joyful even though you have considered all the facts.

 

Be joyful and see the world around you with fresh eyes and love.

 

"Love is why we have hope"

 

 

Love your world!

And hope for the very best for all of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Inspired by the book by Anne Lamott,  Almost Everything, Notes on Hope.

The quote about love is from the back cover and the Wendell Barry quote is found on the inside front cover.

She is fearless and funny and inspiring!

Photo is a view outside of Lake Lure, NC. ©Laine Quinn 2015

 

The Hollow Log

 

 

The sun is shining in a break

in this long hollow log,

giving life to any number of creatures

and green living things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fallen Oak, Wolfe Laurel, North Carolina.

© Laine Quinn 2018

 

Strange Landscape...

 

 

Whichever way the wind blows,

so blows the fog,

and clings

when the weather insists.

 

 

 

Top of Bald Mountain, the Appalachian trail on the right, and a well trod trail it is.

© Laine Quinn 2018

Frozen Fog!

 

 

On top of the mountain

the frozen fog

persists!

 

 

 

 

Bald Mountain, at the Appalachian Trail, with a view of 5 different ranges and frozen fog clinging to the branches.

© Laine Quinn 2018.

I'd Forgotten...

 

 

I'd almost forgotten that daffodils were my Mom's favorite flower.

She'd be 100 this year,

if she had survived her difficult challenges -

impending divorce, depression, alcoholism.

Back in the 70's it was all behind closed doors.

 

I'll never know her as a wise old woman,

but as a woman,

who loved the ocean,

daffodils,

and her home.

 

I'd almost forgotten about the daffodils,

but then

I didn't

forget.

 

 

 

 

For my mom, Nancy T. Quinn, born April 12, 1918.

The daffodils are from my recent trip to the mountains in North Carolina, and yes, it snowed! And the daffodils bounced back by the afternoon! © Laine Quinn 2018.

It's been awhile!

 

Well, for at least two weeks, I can account for my whereabouts!

 

 

My first trip to Mexico!

San Miguel de Allende-

cobblestone streets,

colorful houses and shops,

lovely people,

and steep steep streets,

surrounded by mountains.

 

A great vacation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Grounding...

 

 

Sturdy,

solid,

ready for anything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mountains in North Carolina.

The Interior Life of a Tree...

 

 

 

Getting a closer look at a large piece of driftwood on the beach,

reveals some of its secrets.

 

 

Can you see the river and the mountains?

 

And a Ram?

 

 

The interior life of a tree...

 

 

 

 

 

Anastasia Island State Park, St. Augustine, Florida.

 

 

Grounded...

 

 

 

These solid, sturdy, dependable mountains,

remind me of the

wild, rolling ocean,

wave after wave after wave.

 

Except they are very much more grounded than the airy, watery ocean waves.

 

 

 

 

The view from Brasstown Bald Mountain in Georgia.

Reprinted with added text, from Laine's Blog, March 2013.