out my window
The complexity of things
The complexity of things – the things within things – just seems to be endless.
I mean nothing is easy, nothing is simple.
~ Alice Munro
I spy with my little eye
I’m grateful this Hairy Woodpecker’s tap-tap-tap alerted me to his presence. I took this photo last week when it was sunny and warm, but today is rainy and cold. A hard freeze is in the forecast. I hope all my feathered friends stay warm and dry.
October in bloom
When I think of October, I picture pumpkins and dried cornstalks. A nip in the air. Ghosts, goblins, and headstones. When I think of October, I do not think of clematis in bloom.
And yet, here we are.
Wordless Wednesday: Black-billed Magpie edition
Exit stage right
This day has worn out its welcome so I’m gonna make like this squirrel and exit stage right. Tomorrow is nothing but pure potential. Who knows? I might even wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Wordless Wednesday
Twofer Tuesday: House Finch edition
For your viewing pleasure, a bit of synchronized perching:
Perfection isn’t perfect
I’m working on my revisions and mostly succeeding in ignoring the nasty voice in my head that says “this is crap” and “why even bother?”
What’s the key to my (mostly) success?
Remembering there’s no such thing as a perfect manuscript. Perfection is an unattainable ideal that just so happens to also be highly subjective.
From my perspective this purple coneflower is perfection. Flawed petals and all. I love it and have spent quite a bit of time gazing at its loveliness. However, your mileage may vary. And that’s okay.
Sunday Confessional: yellow is best left to the flowers
I am a pale white woman who never, ever wears yellow because that color washes me out and makes me look dead. Sunflowers, on the other hand, wear their yellow quite nicely.
Motto: No yellow in my closet, but plenty in my garden.
Friday Haiku
Fungal tiki hut
sprouting from the landscape rocks
shelter for insects
Bunny Monday
I was at my front window doing quad stretches this morning when I realized I wasn’t alone. One of the many neighborhood bunnies was hunkered down in the vinca, showing an utter lack of concern for my presence.
Goal for today: no matter what arises I’ll try to maintain a chill bunny vibe.
Friday Haiku
Waiting for Tesla
Weeks without solar power
Thanks a lot, Elon.
A reminder on this solstice
There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.
~ Charles Dickens
Wordless Wednesday
Shine on
Yeah we all shine on,
like the moon,
and the stars,
and the sun.
~ John Lennon
Squirrel!
In honor of those who struggle to address life’s demands in an orderly fashion without getting distracted along the way . . .
Bunny hubris
As I hooped this morning, a bunny came into view. The furry beauty remained in that same spot, calmly chewing and staring into space, despite the fact that I spun and twirled nearby. And then Marcel, sensing something outside, jumped up in the window. The bunny casually glanced toward where the big white cat stared longingly, and immediately returned to her bunny business.
I’d like to emulate that self-confidence during this coming week. Me and the bunny, not overly concerned with matters outside our personal spheres.
Magpies R Us
I am a magpie. My eye collects details.
~ Patrick Cox
Maple seed pods: Propagators or Helicopters?
From a small seed a mighty trunk may grow.
~ Aeschylus
And from a helicopter seed, much fun may be had.
~ Tracy
Thankful Thursday
Sometimes the universe gifts you a tin filled with popcorn kernels. And sometimes the gift comes in the form of a writing project that transports you away from life’s challenges and makes your heart sing.
Peanut for your thoughts
So, what’s on your mind today?
Today’s memory of yesterday
This morning we woke to six inches of snow on the deck railing. The yard was blanketed in white. Tree limbs and branches were layered with pristine fluff. And now? Much of that snow is already gone.
Yesterday is but today’s memory, and tomorrow is today’s dream.
~ Khalil Gibran
Cloudy with a certainty of mallow weed
Spring is here and I’m fighting the urge to hide in the house rather than face the green that’s showing. It ain’t easy, though, when that green belongs to weeds determined to take over the yard.
Tap roots are the absolute worst, yo.
March music
Music comes from an icicle as it melts,
to live again as spring water.
~ Henry Williamson
