Psalm 104: 10-13
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
For Cee's FOTD, July 13, 2021
silent butterfly
in cicada currents crash
still quietly thrives
its wings in speckled ease chides
my nature’s turbulent state
From Wikipedia, some facts about the cicadas assaulting out ears in some portions of America:
Continue reading “Nature (tanka)”
I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what C.S. Lewis calls their “divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic” existence.
Clyde Kilby, “Ten Resolutions”
For Cee’s Flower of the Day challenge: “Don’t forget that my FOTD challenge accepts leaves and berries as well as flowers.“
Is it possible from this rank earth for such flowers to grow?
Yet here they are, positing their glory for the world to see
A speculative assumption uncertain of its predication
That out of this sodden ground, mulched by weather
The boggy stink of which permeates the air
Blooms would appear from unseen dimensions
To cluster in diamond silk, emitting starry transactions
Their thrusting ebullience beyond science, even wonder
Simple testimony of leaf, stalk and flower, to primum movens*
Of power ingrained elementally to be, just be
And being, yearn hungrily for the Light that clothes it.
*primum movens (Latin): Aristotelian term for the “unmoved mover”
Flower of the Day, for Cee Neuner's FOTD, January 21, 2021
Writing prompt: Paula Light's Thursday Inspo 92 theme "flowers"
Aloft green and gold
we crowd dull bottles to ward
faitours of darkness.
We dye clarity
for gaudy tranquility
but eyes move skyward.
You are not hidden
in magnificent sky-breadth
your glory beckons.
So even pigs graze
under Your eyes, contented
while we root clamor.
For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.
Psalm 36:9
These photos are from the Shenandoah Valley where light seems to reign in Edenic beauty.
This week’s CFFC topic is Dark Red including maroon and burgundy colors. Be creative and mostly have a lot of fun. Thanks, Cee. Check out all the photography and join in! So here we go!
What we wouldn’t do to have a steadfast friend, true and faithful through the seasons of our life. Sometimes those who seem most frail in our eyes to share the storms of life prove to be the most true and steady, bending with the winds and holding strong where others break.
This tree has stood on the periphery of our walks through early spring, summer and now at autumn’s slow appearance. It never allows us to pass without acknowledging it, standing alone as it does, but somehow reassuring, like a cross on a hill. Whereas the Cross bears testimony to an eternal significance and a love eternal, this little tree somehow reminds me to take the temporal at the pace of eternity, one day at a time, knowing He whose eyes are on the sparrow watches over me and holds tomorrow in His loving hands.
So let us be, steadfast and true to Him, trusting, one day at a time.
Jude’s Saturday Symphony #9: Write about something green.
Show us its character, its emotions.
Along with my Green
I would have some Yellow.
While on the former I’m keen
(Growth I’d hardly disavow)
I like it best beside the Yellow
Speaking a joy of Love unseen.
With You by sidewalk and wood
Yellow sparkles like water
In a glass of Green
Let Green be my banner
Of life reborn, alive to You.
Let Yellow be my manner
Of joy bubbling through
To speak of Your great favor
Whatever the day’s hue.
With You by sidewalk and wood
Yellow sparkles like water
In a glass of Green
So Green of the grass
And Yellow of the flower
I celebrate both, for alas,
One without the other
Would be like a glass
Without sparkling water
By sidewalk and by wood.
Taking time out to reflect on the natural beauty around us is a gift that photography, if it’s done right (like Cee’s) gets you up out of your chair and outdoors exploring. Hope this weekend there are colorful spots like this in the woods or fields or gardens around you and moments of pleasant reflection.
"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees." -- Henry David Thoreau
For Cee's Flower of the Day (FOTD) Challenge. Be sure to visit Cee's Photo Challenges for amazing photography and fun challenges.
For Cee’s FOTD Challenge, a stand of hosta after a heavy rainstorm, with one spray of blooms unbent and tall.
The storm had come and gone. She was still standing straight. She was standing in the shadow of something greater than her. Her shield. Her shelter. Her refuge for as long and as steady as life eternal.
This Jolly Beggar 