Gardening Party

Here are some pictures from our afternoon of gardening. It was an absolutely wonderful afternoon. Everyone jumped right in and naturally found a place within our little garden cage. It seemed as if I just turned around and it was done. The kids were wonderful to be around and fabulous gardeners. I'm thinking of starting a business and hiring them out. Hmmm, what are those child labor laws again. All the ladies in our group are such wonderful women, each so unique yet we mesh so well together. It's as if we have a script and all come prepared each time we meet, knowing our lines and on our marks. I have found them all to be a blessing in my life.

In the picture above Pam is getting us started.

Kelly, our resident school teacher, is so great with the kids and leading lessons. Oh, and see the jersey's, it was soccer tournament weekend. Everyone that had a game that weekend won their championship, how cool was that.

Here we are down to the last row and still smiling. The children gave off nothing but happy, joyful and refreshing energy all afternoon. They left our property more blessed for their presence there.

After the plants were in their place, we moved on to my boys. They got pampered and loved on and were totally soaking it all up. Gappi even gave some donkey hugs.

One last stop before they left, catching tadpoles in the pond. It was catch and release so no tadpoles were harmed in the taking of this photo :). The day was perfect and a good time was had by all. Now we'll see how they like the weeding part. I'm told Beth's sons are great at that part, my back says yeah! I look forward to the day we are enjoying fresh tomato sandwiches together followed by sticky watermelon juice dripping off our chin.

Green and Gardens

I have written my first official post for the Coastal Green Alliance site. I also added a short comment to the opening post from earth day. The new post is on VOC's so if you are interested check it out at the link above and as always feedback would be greatly appreciated.

In other news, we planted our kids community garden this weekend. It went better than I could have imagined, the kids were absolutely fantastic. Before we started, Sue, one of the ladies from our group who is also a Wildlife Biologist, noticed this Brown Thrasher nesting in the bush next to the garden site. As the children gathered close to observe, one of the girls called it our little garden angel. In the picture above you can see one of the babies in front of mom, beak open wide, waiting to be fed. While we were planting, the vigilant and protective mom never left her nest. As soon as everyone left she came out and surveyed our work. I hope it met with her approval. Later I will post more pictures and information on our gardening party.

Update: When I came home from work this evening, mom wasn't in the nest. I attempted to blindly stick the camera through the bushes to see what I might capture of the babies. Mom was evidently not far away because she quickly swooped in cursing all the way. Look at that evil eye, she was not happy with me. I apologized and quickly walked away. This little lady is all business about guarding her young.

New Kid on the Block

We have a new little colt on our road. I have been waiting to post in hope of getting a better picture, but this guy is just not interested in having his portrait taken.

Our neighbor breeds Arabians and it gives me a chance to see a little baby each spring. My favorite moment is when they first discover their legs and start dashing around the pasture. They make it look like it must be the most exhilarating feeling. It always gives me the biggest smile that stays with me throughout the day.

This one picture was close to what I wanted to capture. He gave me his attention for about 3 seconds. Unfortunately I had something in my left hand and quickly zoomed and clicked one handed. As a result he has no feet, aaagh.

Earth Day and New Beginnings

Happy Earth Day everyone. I wanted to write a real thought provoking post today, but it ain't happening. I will take this time to briefly mention another one of the projects that I am involved with. The local home builders and realtors associations have joined together to start a green alliance. I am the chairperson representing the builders (that's what happens when you say you'll do anything). It's a little tough starting something from scratch and with people that are just getting to know one another. I did set up a new blog site for the alliance today and another member has set up a website. They both sit empty at the moment, but hopefully will soon be filled with our many activities and inspiring thoughts. You can see the beginning of the blog at Coastal Green Alliance and you get to see my green bag again. I'm just full of creativity today :).

Imagination Manifest Into Reality

At times the blogosphere feels like an imaginary community I have created. Much like a fantasy football team, it feels like I have picked fantasy friendships. That is until today, when a part of this imaginary world manifest itself into my physical world. There it is, laying on my table, in my home, proof that you are real people out there :). Sheila describes this surreal feeling much more eloquently in her post Being Real.

The photograph you see above was gifted to me by Charlane from over at Ramblins. I received this prize of sorts for being a snoop. They say curiosity killed the cat, it got me a Three Parts Whimsy original. It was very hard to pick just one. I find Char's photography not only a visual pleasure, but it speaks to me as well. I love photography that you can not only see, but feel it in your soul. I also love Char's writing. She makes me think, she makes me laugh, she makes me feel, and at times all of it at once. Like many of you, Char is also a great inspiration for me. Many days she will just take a ride in search of that perfect photograph, turning down rodes she has never traveled before just to see what is there. You can see this spirit in her post rural adventures. It is about one such road trip during which she captured this wonderful image. (You can also see a much better view of this photograph than what is pictured above.) Also inspirational is her devotion to family and her upbeat attitude no matter what is happening in her life at the time. Thank you Char for the photograph and for all that you share here in this not so imaginary blogland.

The Law of Presence

I am presently re-reading the book, The Laws of Spirit, by Dan Millman. It is written as a fable and as stated on the title page it is "simple, powerful truths for making life work". He calls the law for living in the moment the law of presence. In the chapter introduction for this law, Dan states, "Time is a paradox, stretching between a 'past' and 'future' that have no reality except in our own minds. The idea of time is a convention of thought and language, a social agreement. Here is the deeper truth: We have only this moment." Dan Millman provided some of my first introductions to mindfulness and is still my favorite author on the subject. Even though I am currently juggling many projects at the same time, they all seem to be clearly focused in my mind. I credit my attempt at living mindfully for this sanity.

The picture above was taken recently during one of those special moments in my life. I was having breakfast with my dad on his sun porch and was privileged to witness this little bluebird and her mate go about their duties of preparing their home. My dad is an avid bird lover and his backyard is a birds' paradise. Along with the bluebirds, there was also a visit from a cardinal and a woodpecker. The beauty of the birds was enhanced by the backdrop created by the newly blossoming dogwood trees.

Energy

As much as there is to learn from observing animals, they are not the only ones with lessons to share. I first touched on some of the opportunities for learning in my post We Are All Students, We Are All Teachers. After writing about the Resurrection Fern this weekend, it presented me with another opportunity for awareness, and to show you the plant in it's dormant state. Monday the weather turned cold and miserable, and in response to this stress, the fern pulled it's energy in, curled up, and protected itself. The picture above was taken before work on Tuesday, which turned out to be a warm and rainy day. When I returned home the plant was as lush and green as I have ever seen it. It made me aware of how so many of us continue to charge forward when our mind &/or body is telling us (sometimes screaming) it needs a break. How many of us go to work when we are sick only to end up wondering (and complaining) why it takes us weeks to get over this little cold, and how productive are we anyway. Many of us are planting our gardens now with visions of large plump tomatoes or fresh colorful blossoms all summer long. We will then be disappointed if our plants do not produce well. These non producing or scraggly plants are stressed in some way, and they have wisely chosen to give something up in order to survive. They pull what little energy they have at that moment inward. When the day comes that they have the energy they require, they can burst forth and be the productive plant they are meant to be.

Who's Wiser?

WE NEED ANOTHER AND
A WISER AND PERHAPS
A MORE MYSTICAL
CONCEPT OF ANIMALS.
Remote from universal nature, and living by
complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys
the creature through the glass of his knowledge
and sees thereby a feather magnified and
the whole image in distortion. We patronize
them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate
of having taken form so far below ourselves.
And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal
shall not be measured by man. In a world older
and more complete than ours they move finished
and complete, gifted with extensions of the
senses we have lost or never attained, living
by voices we shall never hear. They are not
brethren, they are not underlings; they are
other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of
life and time, fellow prisoners
of the splendour and travail of the earth.

From the Outermost House by Henry Beston.
Copyyright, 1928, by Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York

I ran across the excerpt on a rescue site, donkey rescue to be exact. No, I am not looking for another donkey, I repeat, I am not looking for another donkey :). I really do not know how that site appeared on my computer, it must have been some kind of virus attack - ha. Shhh, here comes my husband. Seriously, in a world where I had an endless supply of horse feed, acres and acres of land, and more time I would definitely have more. For now, I am quite grateful for and satisfied with my little farm/zoo as it is.

Resurrection

I thought resurrection was a fitting topic for today, though it is not a religious resurrection I have chosen to write of, but a botanical one. The plant pictured above is the resurrection fern and it grows on some of the Live Oaks on our property. This fern grows on living trees, but does not rob it's host of nutrients. It is a member of the air plant family and derives it's food from the air or moisture that forms on the surface of the tree. This plant is unique in the aspect that it can survive even when depleted of 97 % of moisture. It will shrivel up and turn brown as if dead and when water is added will unfurl and return to a green state. You can learn more information in this article by a university horticulturist, including the plants prospects to be used in space.
A third resurrection this article could have represented was the resurrection of my blog :). I have a few projects going on, as I have stated before, and just do not seem to have the focus to write. Although my comments are less often or brief, I still enjoy keeping up with your blogs. I am finding I like this more than writing my own. You inspire me and brighten my day with your writing and photography, so today I would like to take this opportunity to wish many blessings for you all.