Being Open to Opportunity Is One Thing

Being ready to act on it is quite another.

That is the message I received today as I strolled through my much loved local park.  As is usual for me I had my camera and my dog, and, as is also usual for me, I get my best insights when I have the camera to my eye.  This park I frequent, Covington Park, is adjoining the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, a world renown birding site, so there's always a great chance rare birds can be seen in this dog friendly park next door.  I was inviting whoever wanted to show up to pose for me as I walked along.  I saw a Red Tail Hawk in the distance, too far away to photograph, but so thrilling to watch as it soared, dived and circled.

My dog and I slowly wended our way back to the parking lot enjoying the shade of the bare cottonwoods when I was urged to glance up.  A beautiful Red Tail Hawk was gliding in to land right above me!  It's glorious red tail was glowing like embers in the setting sun as it braced itself for landing.  I had inadvertently wandered under the very tree in which it was building its nest. By the time I saw the hawk and snapped a couple of pictures it was too close to me for the lens I was using.

Red Tail Hawk bringing in nesting material.

Mmmm...there's one stick poking me in the you-know-what....

There was my message: when I send an invitation to the Universe stay awake for the the answer!
Getting the camera up and getting the picture would help, too.  Of course, it wasn't lost on me that this is a good philosophy for most aspects of my life, too.

I'm linking this to Nature Notes at Michelle's Rambling Woods Blog.

The Circle of Life

"Bringing to light what is right in the world" has been my motto for a while now, however, more and more often lately I've been allowing myself to get sucked into the turmoil that is going on in the world around us.  Every day it seems there is more to be concerned about, and it has begun to take a toll on my sense of well being.

I choose not to allow that to continue.

Once again I turned to my camera.  When I am open the Universe really can offer messages of well being through my lens.  If I can pull my focus in to just what is in front of me, which is all anyone can deal with at one time, then I do get to see the beauty and the balance.  Just like the four seasons except on a much larger scale, there is a period of new growth, maturity, gradual decline, then decay.  Some might say our society is in decay, but that isn't necessarily good or bad, it is just balance.  The decay then nourishes the new growth; that is the circle of life.

I choose to look for the signs of spring.

Spring bulbs.  So welcome!

The full flush of summer.  Butterflies and bees on wildflowers.

The glorious saturated colours of the late fall.

A dusting of snow heralds a winter's morning.

I'm  linking this to ABC Wednesday.  Please follow the link to more fun explorations of the letter 'C'.

Magic in the Air

When I was little I believed in magic.  I believed in guardian angels and I believed in miracles, too.  By the time I was 8 or 9 the cynical world I lived in had knocked such enlivening thoughts out of me and for many years my life was quite flat.  Not bad, just mundane and I was always vaguely resentful that magic had been explained away.  It wasn't until I reached my middle years that I began to challenge those cynical voices from my past, and to cautiously entertain the possibility that magic and miracles were still around just waiting for me to believe in them again.

When I have my camera in my hand it seems the whole Universe endeavors to dance in front of my lens, like the fairies of my childhood, reminding me magic is still in the air. Now I find it easy to believe in magic and see evidence of it everywhere. Below are frozen patterns of ice on the windshield of my car. How magical is that?

Frost patterns on my car window

 Linking to Friday My Town Shoot Out  who's theme this week is 'Frozen in Time'.  Hop on over and check out the creative takes on this theme.

Staying Present

In days past I've often been quite reactive.  Not necessarily in hurtful ways, at least not to others, but my tendency when things don't go my way is to get anxious and start projecting where this current irritation will lead.  My projections never lead to a good outcome.  Fortunately I am not a worrier by nature and I usually put a stop to this negative projecting fairly quickly before any harm is done.

I was driving down my little country road the other day, running barely on time for an appointment when my wheel began knocking ominously.  I got out and walked around the car and couldn't find a problem.   Perhaps it was because the world didn't end on 12-21-12, or maybe it was simply because the stresses of the Christmas and New Year were over, I was able to stay calm, hoping for the best.  It was when I was at the gas station filling up that I noticed one tire was indeed three quarters flat.  Once again I put my flappable self on the back burner and dealt only with the facts presented:  i) the tire wasn't completely flat and therefore could be driven (carefully!) a short distance, ii) there is a tire shop within 50yards of the gas station.  So far so good.

My next moment to get myself in a flap immediately presented itself - the tire was punctured through the sidewall and not repairable.  I needed a new tire!  The tire was only a few months old and I wasn't in the mood to buy yet another tire!  Breathe...  I took a moment to regroup then asked the mechanic to put on my spare.  I loaded up the ruined tire, took it to the shop where I purchased it, where I was informed they have a road hazard warranty and my tire would be replaced with new one for the price of another road hazard warranty - $16 only!!

Here I will make a shameless plug for America's Tire.  You guys rock.

At the end of the day I realized that even in the middle of the storm you never know just when, against all odds, a ray of sun is going to break through.  For me it isn't easy to always be positive but neutral works very well, too, I just need to stay in the moment and keep my eyes open.

Add caption

I'm linking this to http://sundaystills.wordpress.com at the challenge this week is one tree and this just seems to fit.  Click on the link to see more interpretations of one tree.

Home

I've been thinking a lot lately on what home actually means to me.  My town?  My country of birth?  My family?  Nostalgic memories of the past?  My current address?  Where my heart is (and just where might that be?)  Yes, all of that, but more than that.

I remember studying a poem in school years go, maybe when I was 11 or 12 years old, or perhaps just 10.  More accurately I remember just two lines of it:
    "home is the sailor home from the sea
      and the hunter home from the hill"
Those lines struck a cord with me years ago, and still do.  I googled them this morning and came up with two poets who included these lines in their poems.  A.E Housman, an English Classical scholar born is 1859, wrote 'Home is the Sailor', and Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish poet, wrote 'Requiem'.  I think it was the Stevenson version we studied, but its not really relevant.

I have traveled quite extensively and I'm not currently living in the country of my birth.  Each time I step on 'foreign' land I quickly begin noticing plants, rocks, trees etc which I believed indigenous to my birth country existing comfortably thousands of ocean miles away.  It was then I started realising that people are more similar than I'd imagined them to be also, and I could comfortably live is any one of these countries.  The boundaries in my mind began breaking down.

Now I feel 'home' is more of a concept than a place.  Home is where I find my nourishment, its more of a feeling than a place. 

I am very happy to call this Earth my home.

 

I'm linking this to Friday My Town Shoot Out!

It's Lavender Festival Time Again!

How can one charming little festival bring me so much joy?

Simple pleasures are not so easily appreciated these days, I find.  We have become way to complicated in our daily lives, and far too sophisticated in our needs, wants and desires.  The 8th Annual Lavender Festival, Highland Springs, California, addresses this phenomena in an amazingly satisfying way for me. There is nothing like wandering through rows of lavender shrubs, listening to classical music while sipping on an icy lavender lemonade to sooth my soul and ground my spirit.

This snapshot speaks to me of what the Lavender Festival is about

Lavender is such an interesting herb.  The very fragrance is soothing calming and relaxing, and supposedly able to relieve exhaustion, irritability and tension headaches.  With that in mind it really isn't surprising that the crowds flock to the two weekends a year of total lavender immersion. The body knows what it needs to heal even when the intellect is beyond distracted.

Deliciously creative meals are available for purchase from various vendors, and then I get to sit at a picnic table in front of a stage where performers offer classical music, country songs or Irish Dancing depending on the day, to be entertained while I eat this organically produced lunch.

On a hay ride with a history lesson is where I'll be while the lunch is digesting.  Can't wait for tomorrow - heck, I'm already feeling like a little kid again!

 I'm linking this to Friday My Town Shoot Out!!  The theme this week is a picture that tells a story.  Please follow the link to see more great pictures.

Rare Experiences and Rapid Repairs

"Bringing to light what's right in the world" is the feeling that has inspired the creation of this blog.

Today those rays of light shone brightly in an unexpected area: Ultimate Motors in Yucca Valley! 

I am new here, and my older car, while usually very reliable, began reminding me it needed some attention to the radiator.  Knowing word of mouth is the best advertisement I canvased anyone I came across who's car, er, appeared to have long out lived it's manufacturer's warranty, and asked where they had it serviced.  The same name kept coming up so when my Camry started running a little too hot I gave Ultimate Motors a call.

I now have a new radiator and I'm radiantly happy and, no, it's not because I have money to throw away.  Nope, something a whole lot better. I had the rare luxury of a pleasant experience at an auto repair shop.  Those boys diagnosed the problem, gave me a reasonable estimate, and then....drum roll, please ... fixed another problem I'd not noticed, completed the work more rapidly than they'd anticipated and came in under the estimate!!

Yes, there is always some good to be found in this world and if I can spread it I will. 

Roxy is relieved to have her ride back.

I'm linking this to ABC Wednesday.
Follow the link to more R's.