Enchanted Forest

On Sunday I visited Martha's Vineyard for the first time.

No, I didn't spot the President.

And yes, I did walk along a gorgeous beach,

have breakfast at The Black Dog

and visit some lovely artisanal shops.

Mostly, I drank deeply of time and conversation with dear friends.

These friends are dear enough,

and know me well enough,

to understand that any visit to a new place only feels complete for me

if I have some quiet, solo wandering time with my camera.

So wander I did.
Through a thoroughly magical space!
Acres and acres of private 'woodland' that borders a pond that hugs a private beach.
I have NEVER seen anything quite like it.
The light danced through the branches,
kissed the mossy ground...

...and led me to savory blooms and tiny beings.

No fairies...but plenty of  beautiful little wings!

"Life's enchanted cup sparkles near the brim."

Lord Byron

Joining Tamar

Backyard Beauty

And to add to the whole we-own-a-house excitement,

said house has a flowering tree in the back yard.

Color me delighted!

The pink blooms have lured some sweet song birds to visit our humble abode...

and many enjoy hanging around with us!

Yesterday a dear friend brought me a bird feeder as a house warming gift!!

Watch out little birdies, you're about to get spoiled!

Joining Kim and Kat

Good Random Fun {Week 13}

Well folks.

This is IT.

This is the week.

IF all goes as planned,

we'll have keys in 

THREE DAYS!

If I had to choose just ONE thing that I've loved about living where I am now,

it would be the discovery of this place.

This pond.

This sanctuary.

I'm grateful that we're only moving about a half an hour north of here,

and that I will still be working right around the corner from these sights...

It won't be quite the same,

but this place has become a part of me.

I'm sure I'll be back to visit.

Often!

{Here are a few iPhone shots I got this weekend. Sigh}

Joining Tamar for

The Good. The Random. The Fun.

Hazy Shade of Winter

"I look around,

leaves are brown,

and the sky is a hazy shade of winter."

Paul Simon

I adore the hazy shades of winter!
And oh, the bare tree branches...I would rather gaze at them
than at a field full of colorful flowers.
Combine these skies and branches with my
magnificent home town and I find myself drowning in a small slice of winter heaven!



Joining Kathy today for Song-ography

Black & White Wednesday ~ Cascade

At a time of year when most leaves are falling, it seems odd to single out this tree.

But oh my, what a beauty! 

Her heart shaped leaves seemed to be attached just so...dangling like a perfectly-poised-pinterest-inspired-heart themed decoration. Each leaf was a little treasure...but oh, to lift my eyes and stand under the cascading limbs still full, still dripping with goodness.

It's a type of "weeping tree" I'm told...
but I have to say its leaves and branches brought only joy
to this wandering heart.

Please join us and share some of your

Black & White photography!

I'm also joining others for

Wednesdays Around the World

What do you see?

While trekking through the snow last weekend

I stumbled across these branches.

The first thing I noticed was the lighter color.

I thought, "new growth!"

And when I took a closer look through the lens

I saw the buds.

Look closely.

In spite of the temperature and the thick layers of icy snow coating the ground,

there are buds.

Nature is doing her thing.

It's happening right before our eyes....

all we have to do is really look!

The branches have had their rest.

The bare, smooth boughs are starting to change.

Along some of the limbs I see gentle bumps...

like the first hint of a baby in a woman's womb.

A small bump that is barely noticeable at first

but offers the promise of life.

Offers the promise of growth and birth and beauty.

Some of the branches begin to soften.

They get a bit wispy...with soft little hair-like sprouts hinting at what's to come.

So...look up.

Look all around

and focus on the trees!

Focus on the bushes ~ anything with a branch ~

and you will see the signs of spring.
The signs may be more understated than earth-shattering,
but they are there nonetheless.

This is a favorite time of year for me.
I feel pushed to look beyond the obvious
and to see more than what's staring me in the face.
I enjoy the hunt.
Because when I really, really look,
I see the undeniable, unmistakable and indisputable
signs of the warmth and beauty that's on its way!




Joining Kim for
Little Things Thursday
and Kat for her
Writer's Workshop

Black & White Wednesday ~ This Year's Word

{On January 2nd of this year I wrote...}

I have tried, for days to UN-choose the word TREE as my word of the year.

Alas.

It seems that TREE has chosen me.

I can't get enough of them. Of looking at them. Wondering about them. Marveling. I love this time of year when the branches are bare. When I can see the outstretched limbs...the strength of the trunk. The delicate, intricate, interdependent branches. It is in this state that a tree seems most alive to me. Like it's doing all it's hard work now. Quietly. Underground, behind the scenes....because that's just what it does.

Yes, TREE has chosen me.

It's not a very active word. I kept thinking I could go with something like "rooted" or "branch out" or "reach" ... but none of those words said it all. 

I want to learn from the TREES. 

I want to nourish my roots. Nourish the deepest, most essential parts of myself.
Spiritually, emotionally and physically.

I want to go out on some limbs.

I want to bloom where I'm planted.

I want to weather the seasons. 

I want to provide a nesting place for those I love.

I want to bend without breaking.

I want to learn from the TREES.

As this year draws to a close, and the trees are, yet again, beautifully exposed....I have a full heart. I don't think I've ever looked back at something I wrote at the beginning of a year and felt that every word of it was fulfilled in the year that transpired. I'm astounded. It's as if I wrote the words as the year ended to describe the year that was. There has been nourishment - deep and new and oh-so-good! The limbs looked more like really tall rocks...but challenge myself, I did. Seasons have been weathered...though none were harsh, no winds bent me to near breaking. I continue to love our home and the family we've built is a haven. I'm at peace with where I'm planted, and look forward to more blooming and limb climbing as the new year dawns!

Of all the lessons I gleaned from paying attention to the trees this year, I most enjoyed watching how their differences work together to create the beautiful scenery we cherish. Each tree budding, blooming and changing color at their own pace....no comparing to the tree next to themselves. No hurrying up or keeping up. With all the different kinds of trees, there is no discord or competition. Instead, each does their part, and the natural harmony colors our world. Patience, acceptance and playing our part....these are virtues to which we can all aspire!

"I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree."

Joyce Kilmer, 1914

Stay tuned...working on choosing a word for 2015. How about you?

Join us and share your black & white photos!

I'm also linking up with

Communal Global

and

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

Black & White Wednesday ~ Shhhhh.....

"thank you nothingness

thank you clarity

thank you, thank you silence...."

Alanis Morissette

I am so in love with this time of year.

Not because of the glitter and glow, or the red and the green.

Not because of the carols, gatherings, sweets or surprises.

It's not even the good food, traditions and gobs of precious family time that speak to my heart as the winter season settles in.

No. It's the silence.

I love watching the earth fall silent.

In theses weeks when I see the hustle, hear the bustle and feel my own schedule fill up with goodness, I need the simplicity and peace of winter's barren landscapes. As the last leaves fall, and the branches stretch, bend, reach, curl and twist against the sky I am thankful for nature's return to seeming nothingness. For the emptying and the shedding. For the clarity. 

And for the silence.

It seems that I have fallen into a very reflective mood as this year comes to an end...if you need me, I'll be out with the trees. Breathing in the crisp air, walking through the fallen leaves and the fallen snow and dreaming...not of sugar plums...but of the wonders to come our way as life marches forward.

Join us, and link up your

Black & White photos!

I'm also sharing this post

with friends for

Song-ography

Photo Heart Connection

and

Communal Global

Six Word Fridays ~ Cross

Along the cemetery path I see

a thread leaf Japanese maple tree.

Drawn to the fancy, spindly leaves

I peek inside this crazy tree!

The branches criss and cross to form
a tented haven from the storm.

And from inside, who could guess
the beauty of this magical mess?

I stepped in, stayed a while;
and couldn't do anything but smile!

Please join in the Friday fun!

Caption a photo, share a poem

or tell a story. Just remember,

only six words in each line!

Black & White Wednesday ~ Uprooted

a tiny island

a sandy shore

and many uprooted trees in the shallow ocean water

no idea why these trees had fallen

no clue how long they'd been there

but it was fascinating

the twisted and far reaching roots stretched up towards the sky

in stead of down into the ground

there was a painful beauty in this scene

nature taking its course

time marching on

 the uprooting and letting go
rugged
poignant
a tiny slice of our wide and wonderful world 

that touched me to the core

Black & White Wednesday ~ Crush

This house sits on a hill not far from where I live. 

I drive by it about half a dozen times a week, and I have a secret crush. 

I think I love the trees as much as I love the house! 

{Which makes me realize, that the next time I'm house hunting, 

I'm going to have to add big-ol'-rich-in-history trees to the must have list}

I hope you'll link up here and share your black & white photos!

I'm also sharing mine at

Communal Global

Six Word Fridays ~ Bend

A fall leaf still hangs on

while winter snow catches the sun.

And new buds tell us that 

spring is right around the bend.

Black & White Wednesday ~ New England

Winter in New England isn't all about the snow.

But these beautiful old churches sure do look dreamy

on sunny days under the branches of our giant old trees
and surrounded by a blanket of the white stuff.

And joining 

Wednesdays Around the World

Release

clenched fists punched madly

until outstretched fingers raised

a prayer heavenward

 Joining

Kim for Little Things Thursdays

and

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

The Word

"I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree."

Joyce Kilmer, 1914

I have tried, for days to UN-choose the word TREE as my word of the year.

Alas.

It seems that TREE has chosen me.

I can't get enough of them. Of looking at them. Wondering about them. Marveling. I love this time of year when the branches are bare. When I can see the outstretched limbs...the strength of the trunk. The delicate, intricate, interdependent branches. It is in this state that a tree seems most alive to me. Like it's doing all it's hard work now. Quietly. Underground, behind the scenes....because that's just what it does.

Yes, TREE has chosen me.

It's not a very active word. I kept thinking I could go with something like "rooted" or "branch out" or "reach" ... but none of those words said it all. 

I want to learn from the TREES. 

I want to nourish my roots. Nourish the deepest, most essential parts of myself.
Spiritually, emotionally and physically.

I want to go out on some limbs.

I want to bloom where I'm planted.

I want to weather the seasons. 

I want to provide a nesting place for those I love.

I want to bend without breaking.

I want to learn from the TREES.

As I stood in my dining room this morning, watching the beginning of our nor'easter out the back windows, I was delighted to watch the branches begin to collect the falling snow. Each tiny limb collecting their share. Such a pretty sight. As I stood, I was still wondering if I could actually put it out there...share with one and all....that my "word" was TREE. I mean, what would people think?!! I knew that TREES were choosing me, but I felt shy to admit such a thing.

And then I saw this.

To me, it was a sign. A gift. I've wanted to see a cardinal in the snow out my back window for a while - didn't see one at all last winter...and now here he was. He choose my TREE today...as if to validate my choice. And so it is.

My guiding word for this year will be the one that choose me. 

Joining: Little Things Thursday and Writer's Workshop