Surprises

 Weather often surprises me. This morning I awoke to the deep rumble of thunder and the sputtering patter of rain. What a nice way to wake up. I love a gentle storm. 

I'm so thankful for the many surprises of nature: color, shape, texture, sound, temperature, taste, touch. Every day is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Every day a new show unfolds.

Sunsets are some of the best surprises. Their silence makes them easy to miss, but their deep vibrant colors and constant renewal can be awe inspiring. I recently watched one evolve on my way home from a shopping trip, each permutation more stunning than the last. If only I could have taken a video.

Today I offer you a little poem about sunsets. 

Things to do if You are a Sunset

Blush

Sneak in

Put on neon

Delight in feathered flight

Hopscotch from cloud to cloud

Inspect your reflection on water

Flash one last surprise

Dazzle

Fade

- Karen Eastlund

Photo thanks to Don Evenson

I hope you find some dazzling surprises this week, or at least one little surprise. We're enjoying our small harvest of peas. Just six pea plants germinated, but they have produced a nice little harvest of fresh green crunchy sugar snap peas. We pick a few every day or two. Nothing better.

You can find the Poetry Friday gang at Michelle Kogan's.  Thanks for hosting, Michelle.

Image thanks to Linda Mitchell

Celebrating the Little Things

 I can scarcely believe how fast the days go by. Who can keep up? And yet, I have moments of quiet, hours when I don't know what to do next, when I feel at loose ends. I try to take these hours as a gift, to let myself recalibrate, to let go of ongoing worries and just breathe.  Time to pray. 

This year I tried a few vegetables in my garden along with some flowers. Mixed reviews. 

Nasturtiums are still trying to find their place.  My sources suggest full sun, but leaves seem to burn.

One small tomato plant, my only one, had to be removed. I noticed leaves were yellowing, then some creature ate the top off. I pulled it out and planted another tomato in it's place. This time I put a chicken wire cage over it. 

Green beans were also munched in a few spots.  I'm experimenting, covering them with a thin mesh at night, uncovering during daylight. Tiny bugs are eating the leaves. Still, I love the pink of the blossoms and the hope of a few fresh green beans.

Today I celebrate parsley. I love it in scrambled eggs and salads.

Six pea plants grew from the 20 or so seeds that I planted. Germination rate was not great. I'm learning. The peas also are under a chicken wire cage to keep animals from eating them. I'll have a nice little harvest of sugar snap peas in a day or so, and I will celebrate a small victory. Woo hoo!

Below: witness the hope of next year's raspberries. This plant had a rough beginning, but now perks up.   

Thank you, God

for challenges 

for learnings 

for time to plant, write, pray

for future's pink buds

for each runner and vein of green growth

for pungency 

for crunch.

- Karen Eastlund

Thanks to Ramona for hosting today at Pleasures from the Page.