Beauty

Cape Coast Lily, June 2024

 O Lord, train our eyes

to see beauty before us

and beauty within

This present moment

Spicebush Swallowtail, June 2024

 

This present moment
holds all I need and wish for

and quite a bit more

Everywhere

Mammoth Sunflower, June 2024

 

Take a different path

turn your golden face and see

love shines everywhere

My heart

Zinnias, June 2024

 

My heart is crowded

with remembrances and prayers

for all those I love

In You

African Daisy, June 2024

No words are needed

the world speaks in color - and 

comes to life in you

Have you noticed?

Violets, June 2024

 Have you noticed that

some things come into bloom when

you leave them alone?

*It's true. This violet sat neglected in the kitchen window. I watered it before we left town and when we came back, it was covered in blossoms. A good lesson in letting things bloom in their own time. 

 

Among the Flowers

Carpenter Bee, June 2024

 

The bees teach us how

to move among the flowers

with deliberate grace

Today

Rain Lily, June 2024

 

Openness of heart

comes by rain or comes by tears

both are ours today

Listening

Coy Pond, June 2024
Hermann Park's Japanese Garden, Houston

 

Circles of silence 

invite me to listen just

below the surface

Among the lilac petals

Zinnia, June 2024

 

It's alright to rest 

among the lilac petals 

of God's deep kindness

Wondrous

White River, Cotter Arkansas June 2024
Photo by Riley Anderson

 

Every now and then

I glimpse the world through your eyes

How wondrous it is!

* My son shared this photo he took while we were in Arkansas last week. I love seeing the world through his eyes.

Tiger Lilies

Tiger Lilies, June 2024
Photo by Karly Anderson, North Carolina

Oh tiger lilies

you light my afternoon path

with unrestrained joy

*My daughter sent photos of her afternoon in North Carolina. I love that she shared this beautiful part of her day with me. 

The day begins

Violets, June 2024

The day begins in

soft violet shadows hinting

at the day to come

Her blooms are small suns

St. John's Wort, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

 

Her blooms are small suns

receiving and sending light

in delicate rays

All Day

Young Blue Jay, June 2014

 

I've watched you all day

clapping away crows and cats

willing you to fly

* I spent the morning working in the front yard. A flash of blue caught my eye and I found a young blue jay just off the front curb, hiding under my son's truck. He stayed there most of the day. I kept an eye on him and clapped loud when four crows showed interest. I also shooed a cat away. We nudged the blue jay across the street and onto my neighbor's porch where I caught him and lifted him up into the oak tree. I'm still watching out the window. His mother just arrived in an upper branch of the tree. I'm thankful for the gifts of beauty, vulnerability, courage, and guidance. Cheers to short flights and learning to trust our wings!

One

Morning on the Porch, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

 

One cup of coffee,

one hour with books and birdsong,

on one perfect porch

Love looks like

Murphy, the neighbor's dog, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

Sometimes love looks like

the dog who sits beside you

just like an old friend

* This week in Arkansas, Murphy, the neighbor's dog visited several mornings and again before we left today. He was friendly, like we had known each other forever. When I sat on the porch steps to pet him, he leaned his whole body against me and we stayed like that for a good moment in his warm and loving presence.

Breathe Peace

Eventide, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

Breathe peace, rippling peace

to every jagged shoreline

and back out to sea

With your open heart

Wildflower on the shoreline, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

 

Face the rising sun

embrace the day as it comes

with your open heart

Go on

Wild Blackberries, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

Blue sky and berries

go on- pick a handful and 

thank God for this day

New every morning

First Light, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

New every morning is your love, great God of light, 
and all day long you are working for good in the world. 
Stir up in us desire to serve you, 
to live peacefully with our neighbors and all your creation, 
and to devote each day to your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. 
Amen.

A Liturgy for Morning Prayer, Upper Room Worship Book

One stone at a time

Stacking Rocks, June 2024
Heber Springs, Arkansas

 One stone at a time

forms an archway altar stacked

by your own two hands

*photo & arch by my son, Riley

Searching

Soul Collage, June 2024

 

Peering through lilies -

Are you seeking my eyes as 

I am seeking yours?

I sit quietly

Migrating Warbler, Late 2023

 

I sit quietly

until I can hear your song 

in my heart of hearts

I hope

Buckeye on Coneflower, June 2024

 

The song of summer

plays again in my garden

and I hope, in yours

In her joy

Orange Skipper on Cone Flower, June 2024

 

The call has gone out

June in her joy has set a

mighty fine table

Love

 

Monarch on Fennel, June 2024

May every corner of your heart be filled with God's radiant love.

* A beautiful monarch emerged from her chrysalis just minutes before this photo. She is about to take her first flight around the backyard and over the fence. She was the last of 10 caterpillars we brought inside to foster through their transformation. I never tire of seeing new life right before my eyes.

A daytime sighting

Harrisina Moth, June 2024

 

Most unusual...

a daytime sighting of one

who lives by moonlight 

Sabbth

Silver Hairstreak Butterfly, June 2024

 

Rest your silver wings

for one breath - and another

before taking flight

 

Gather Ye Rosebuds

 

Sweetheart Roses in Printer's Drawer, June 2024

Between summer storms

I gather late blooms before

all the petals fall

* Houston has seen so much rain over the last few weeks. Everything is thoroughly soaked. My sweetheart rosebush has burst into bloom. I loved gathering up the blossoms to arrange in an antique printer's drawer. They speak to me of transient beauty and my desire to see it in my own backyard - and share it with you.