Coming Soon!

Spring daffodil!
Stunning-that you are
Spring daffodil
Yellow super star...
Spring daffodil
Tender shoots ablaze
Spring daffodil
You're the perfect cure for my malaise.

I long to see you peeking through
and stretching toward the sun
adding wonder to my day
of dreams fulfilled and yet to come.
Proud you stand, and focused...erected
toward the sun.
Yellow petals
wispy
frills
both fantastic and yes, fun.

Spring

Photos from previous springs
(...today is a gray and rainy day here.)
Top: The daffodils were in bloom in the
High Country by March 27th last year.
I will go back to this spot and take a peek soon!
Bottom Two: 11 baby ducks and a magnolia blossom
celebrate spring (if you can say that
they have one!) in Florida.
:)
Enjoy!

Thomas's Poem

Thomas’s Poem; A Dedication to the Little Girl in the O.R.

(Tom, you were in O.R; attending…)

Heavy desperate feet pounding past

Chest heaving sweat-stained face

A Mother flies

By my open window

That cry

That day.

I drive by slow and cautious here

A grievous mockery

It is to see

That small pink bike on its side.

Tiny Girl who slipped away

A prayer for you I breathed

That day.

How is it that in your untimely death;

The tapestry woven by

So precious a mounting soul

Could join us together

So deftly?

And with (a) mystery?

(Leaving me to wonder

At a God,

All seeing-

What am I

To make

Of this?)

Dear God.

…Me at the road-side that day

And Tom

At your bedside,

Attending.

A witness

To your release

From this place transported

As silently into His arms;

you did pass.

(Copyright 2011, K.A.P.)

Cutie :)

They're Back:
This is a photo taken last year of a wee babe.
Apparently, last night we had a herd of deer visit
a pile of corn we put down nightly on the east side
of our yard here. Hooray! We have not seen many
deer AT ALL (like almost none...), even through
the rest of the cold winter after deer hunting season...
I found out this week in an article, that in
North Carolina the limit per person for deer
during hunting season is SIX (6) deer. I was shocked.
Add to that, we have a neighbor who I'm sure...
bagged his limit on this mountain.

Anyway, on to my story...This morning when I
let the dog out I noticed that the poor deer had
gotten confused and smashed a chicken wire
fence with posts down in two places during the night.
They could have turned around and freely gone
back to the woods where they came from, but alas,
instead, they busted the fence in an effort to get
across the back yard. They are back (!) but
I hope that they learn to navigate the new fence!
I'm not a hunting prude but we
do not care to hunt on this property.

Looking forward to more visits
from our furry wide eyed friends.

Sunset Glorious

May the sun rise before you
and set in your back pocket.

(...a 'catalog' of sunsets
~~through the years~~
that I have loved.)

Hawk's Beak

I have endeavored to recreate the photo
that I currently use in my header.
Somehow, the photo doesn't perhaps look real...
but it is! These two shots were taken just
around sunset on a relatively clear day from the
same location as the top shot (but a year later!) It demonstrates
the ripples of mountain ranges in the forefront
that we are surrounded with here in the Appalachians.
The sharp and curved little mountain top
protruding is aptly named "Hawk's Beak." There is a
faint orange-yellow line in the sky that is mesmerizing!
I love the way the tree line shows up
almost inky-black in a shot at sunset
in the Appalachians...

Yellow

Setting sun that blazes
Resting on the ridge
My spirits lift-to you I sing
For the blessing that you bring.

Yellow sky that shimmers
Piercing soul and eye
We await the setting sun
As night time draweth nigh...

Yellow sky
A present
Tied with sunset's bow
Up upon the mountain top
As higher we did go.

Hodgepodge

Scenic Vacation Spot?

Rainy Spring Flowers

Doves In Hiding

Last night, I was sorting through 'old' photos
and stumbled upon this one at the bottom.
It was late winter (a year previous) and
a group of doves took to hiding on a
downed tree branch in our backyard.
Can you count them?

I am (currently) dreaming of spring. The middle shot is of
rainy spring flowers in Morrisville, N.C. (years previous.)
Looking forward to planting myself and waiting
and watching for the blooms to shoot upward!
Yesterday, I saw the single green shoot
of a tulip coming up by a neighbor's hedge
and I had to do a double take!!
It can't be! But I'm most happy about it.

Top:
A summertime dream!
(for Talon)
:)

Sunlight on the Water

'Sun Upon My Back'

I do believe that spring has sprung here in the High Country!
Today it is 40 in the morning and sporting a rainy drizzle.
The ability for snow to be produced
has all but fizzled out!
...And I'm liking that.

Here is a lovely photo
of the sun upon a wide and flat but
gentle stream filled up with the
remnants of melting snow
taken a few weeks ago...

The Thought on My Mind Today

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

(Prayer of Saint Francis)

A Haunting Sunrise!

Have you ever seen anything like it?
I found it amazing! Spring/February is such
a month of change and beautiful sky
formations here in the High Country
(I saw some this morning, vast swirling clouds
moving fast over the mountain peaks!) It is
already light out much earlier and the changing
weather patterns, winds and temperatures make
for very beautiful morning scenery if you arise
early enough to view it!
I love this shot. My husband took this.
Double click to 'enter' the shot and
get the full and the awesome
effect it delivers!
And...
have a great and
a very good day,
friends.
:)
Enjoy.

Morning Has Broken

'Nature's Stained Glass Window'

Sunrise: The Whole of It

The Remains of the Moon in the Early Morning

Spring Creek and a Poem

Spring Creek

I Am

I am the light that flickers luminous, upon the rippled water

I am the gentle breeze that tickles the nape of your neck

I am the happy smile of a child singing a riddle

I am the billowing clouds that roll across the very top of the mountain pines

I am the fiery glint of a reflection of the rising sun across the valley

I am the dog's white mane ruffling as she runs, full out

I am a baby’s gentle sigh

I am the hand of a friend slipped into yours during prayer-eyes shut.

I am the moon as it lingers.