“Friends are flowers in life’s garden.” Today I got to visit my favorite Garden with some of my favorite friends for the Japanese Festival! While it was a little hot and sticky, we got to see some unique people and celebrate another culture. Of course the Japanese Garden was on the agenda. But today was…
Category: nature
Filled
“Spend the day appreciating every little thing that comes your way, and you’ll end the day feeling deeply grateful for your life.” The other day I posted an exercise from Bella Grace, my favorite magazine. Today I’m following it up with another. This exercise poses the question: What are some of the things that may…
15 Things to Savor
“Don’t slide though life. Savor it. Slow down, be kind, pay attention. Because this isn’t going to happen again.” – Carrie Fisher I subscribe to a magazine called “Bella Grace” and it’s one of my favorite indulgences in the world. It’s like a deep, relaxing breath of fresh air, offering exercises and activities focused on…
Morning in the Garden
“No two gardens are the same, no two days are the same in one garden.” – Hugh Johnson Saturday morning in the Botanical Garden. One of countless visits to my favorite place and I’m still finding places that are new.
Shaw Nature Reserve
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir
Small Stuff
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts.” – Winnie the Pooh For me, the smallest things include: nature’s love notes… …fresh flowers… …and really gorgeous light. Not to mention sugar cookies, the tears that flow every single time I hear Whitney Houston’s performance of the national anthem, air conditioning, Peanuts…
Bee Blossoms
The flower doesn’t dream of the bee… …it blossoms and the bee comes.
Every Adventure is Worthwhile
“Adventure starts where plans end.” Late last Sunday afternoon, on a whim, I set out on a little adventure. A local artist had left a clue to the hidden location of one of his “finders keepers” pieces on his instagram page. Oh, I really wanted it. I didn’t have any plans left for the weekend,…
Unique Joy
“By being yourself, you put something beautiful into the world that was not there before.” – Edwin Elliott I spotted this quirky tulip during an evening run last week. More than that, it stopped me in my tracks. I marveled at this proud little thing standing where it really didn’t belong. Clearly it was oblivious…
Believe
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” – Audrey Hepburn Our local Botanical Garden has so much belief. And I will never stop returning for their tomorrows.
40 Ways to Give More Life
“In every encounter we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange.” – Brennan Manning I saw this article from Becoming Minimalist (link here) on facebook and absolutely loved it. These are little things, such small gestures, but imagine what would happen if we incorporated each of these into our interactions with others? The…
Commercial-free and Everyone Wins
Last weekend might have been Super Bowl Sunday, but it also marked the beginning of the Botanical Garden’s annual Orchid Show — which is my Super Bowl. Overall, orchids are thought to symbolize love, beauty, fertility, refinement, thoughtfulness and charm. But meaning can also be found in individual colors. Orange: Enthusiasm, boldness, and pride Purple:…
Don’t Mind If I Do
I mean, even my yogurt insists that I do it. (With or without yoplait’s permission) I always, always keep at least one fresh bouquet of flowers somewhere in the house. Few things bring me so much joy for so little.
Blessedful
“blessed-ful (adj.) Sacred, holy; blessed, blissful” – Middle English Dictionary Earlier this week, I had a woman tell me to have a “blessedful” day. Now that’s something I’d never heard from a well-wisher before. I honestly thought she’d made the word up. But I looked it up and found the above description in the Middle…
Distracted Runner: Frozen Edition
“When it snows, you have two choices: shovel or make snow angels.” Running lately has been cold. No way around it. But there are two choices: retreat to the gym’s treadmill or work with Old Man Winter. I’ve done the latter, and he seems to appreciate it. And a lot of folks in the community…
And So It Begins
“Keep the lessons. Treasure the love and laughs. Ditch the stuff that doesn’t serve you. Embrace the adventures yet to come.” – Nanea Hoffman, Sweatpants & Coffee First adventure of 2018: Lone Elk County Park. Which is the only acceptable outdoor adventure when it is eight degrees outside because you’re not allowed to get out…
Let’s Go.
“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” — Hal Borland , author It’s freezing outside and I’m happily hunkered down at home, creating my favorite annual post: the year in review. It’s always been amazing to me that even…
Colors of Winter
“The color of springtime is flowers; the color of winter is in our imagination.” – Terri Guillemets, author Today I decided to follow the herd of bird nerds and make a quick road trip to the migratory bird sanctuary in Alton, Illinois. A young snowy owl recently made a rare appearance, so I wanted to see…
Winter Story
“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape – the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show.” – Andrew Wyeth Our first snow of the year arrived just in time for Christmas. It was – and continues to be…
Unplanned Stop and Lessons Learned
This morning, I had a small window of time between mass and work in which I’d originally planned on picking up breakfast, enjoying a chai latte, and making a leisurely drive to the office. But the early morning sun rising over a nearby lake made for an unplanned stop along the way. It was a bitter…
Devil’s Lake
“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang, writer Default to masculine pronouns notwithstanding, I am so feeling this quote. As I happily sank into my living room couch this morning, I realized that, between connections, personal trips,…
Tis the Season
“Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.” – Elizabeth Lawrence While I thoroughly enjoyed the black and white challenge, let’s face it… It’s FALL. What a gorgeous season this has been.
hey there, friends 