Rainbow

We can usually count on being gifted with the sight of a beautiful rainbow arching across the ridges of our property after a storm. Yesterday was no different. I was greeted by this beauty when I stepped out onto my front porch. Even part of a double rainbow!

I also love the way the sky turns pink and fiery after a storm.

A Walk on the Beach

A WALK ON THE BEACH

Sand like velvet ribbon
Flowing between my toes;
Shells - pink, gold, white, jewels;
Some pure, some marred;
Many scarred from endless lulling about
The ocean’s playground; many cracked, broken.

The briny air, sticky sweet,
Caresses my arms like an anxious lover,
Sighing, restless;
The sky a blue curtain,
A print of cloud, like bunched up sheets,
Resting on the horizon bed.

Tender, cool waves lap at my legs
Then dart away, roll out of sight.
A cool breeze holds back the sun that,
Like an anchor,
Wants to drop me to my knees;
Dawn turns dusk,
The sky darkens,
I become a shadow in retreat.

Copyright 1997 Aleta

Aren't each of us walking on the beach of our own ocean that makes up our life?

This poem will become part of my memoir. I also write poetry and it was the first poem that I shared with my husband when we first met and began to compare interests.

I can't help but marvel at the diversity of the experiences that nature makes available to us for our enjoyment: woodlands, seasides, canyons, deserts, waterfalls, and many many more. There's something for everyone!

Is it Spring Yet?

What a gorgeous day! A day that feels like spring in the air! A day to be outside doing things! Wash the vehicles! Paint those new bluebird houses our friend gave us! Repot some houseplants in the potting shed! Such a nice break from the freezing temps we've had for the past few weeks. Just three days ago it was 10 degrees in the morning. This morning it was 42, and now it is 65.

I appreciate this warm weather, but -- it isn't natural. This is a symptom of global warming - the extremes in temperatures, the chaotic shift in weather patterns across the country. Yet, I will enjoy this warm weather while it lasts.

A hawk has been spending a lot of time on top of our martin house for the past month or so. It makes a great vantage point from which he can easily spot prey scurrying around on the ground below.

These aren't the greatest pics, but thought I'd take a break from my writing and put them on my blog. I have discovered that pictures upload quicker on photo bucket than they do on here, so I upload them to photo bucket and then simply copy and past the direct link.

Snowy Woods

I know how it goes here: look outside the window and witness a beautiful snow floating from the sky like feathery angels, mounds of white piling in stark contrast on the blackish-green boughs of the cedars. Wait a half hour and look again and the snow has melted, everything reverting back to drab winter brown! I wanted to capture the snow we're having today before it went away, so I ventured out with my camera (in a plastic bag to keep it dry!) to some wooded paths on our property. I know it will be awhile before we see a snow like this again. We've gotten a little more than an inch so far, but we don't expect much more.

Nothing compares to the experience of standing in the woods with snow falling peacefully all around me. I forget that I'm cold, forget that I'm getting wet, and tilt my head back to catch snowflakes on my tongue, entertaining memories of bygone days in my Pennsylvania childhood home, of retreating inside to warm kitchens and enjoying hot chocolate with my friends.

Snow!

I'm violating my "blogger Thursday" rule, but it is SNOWING now and I just had to take a break from my writing to put a few pictures on here. There is even more snow on the trees now as I write this than there is in these pictures.

To be honest, I'm ready for spring, but it is nice to see such a beautiful snow covering the cedars and pines, almost covering the grass! That is unusual here. Khan, the neighbor's Black Lab, was at our house again this morning. He is such a nice dog - so friendly and craves attention. He followed us from his house on our walk, at which time it was raining, but he didn't seem to mind. He then followed us home and we have him tied in the garage to keep him from wandering into the woods, and so that Doug can take him home and give him some training on the way. He worked with him for 20 minutes the other day when he followed us home, and Khan learned quickly. By the time Doug took him back to his owner, Khan was sitting when told to do so - well, almost! Since the owner doesn't seem to have much interest in training him, and since he follows us home a lot, we will work with him and try to get him to at least obey the word "stay" so that maybe we can keep him from following us on our walks. I believe a trained dog is a happy dog. A dog wants nothing more than to please its owner, and the only way it can do that is if it knows what its owner wants!