I Heard the Song

I heard the bird chatter her song~
She sang it proudly, sweet, and strong~
Then back she flew straight into the blue~

Moody Sky

It was a moody sky tonight that offered unusual clouds, winter birds and a hawk, plane streaks and planes, trees, lights, and the moon. I sort of love it.

Bookish Gift Guide 2014

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Book Bookmark:
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Bookplates:
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Marble and Chisel

I might just be swallowed up in the beauty, 

literally just outside my back door. 

Pink winter skies in their pale pale skin is always gorgeous, 

but when you add in the powdered mountains, 

the beauty really culminates.

[W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is.... 

No longer the canvas and the pigments, 

but the marble and the chisel. 

~John Burroughs, "The Snow-Walkers," 1866

Pretty Bales

A couple of years ago, I wrote about bales of hay and how I love the look of these rolled up bales versus the rectangular ones. It turns out that we do have the pretty rolled up version here, and just nearby. I couldn't resist posting these pretty bales, as we say good-bye to autumn this year.

Mortar and Stone

Some words that I am loving right now. 

Mortar & Stone

All around us

The ground is opening up

With a terrible thirst

And it's swallowing down

All the hope in this town

Of the way that we were

There's a smoldering pile

Where there once was a life

Where there once was a home

Now the only safe place

Takes a village of strength

We can't do it alone

We're not going down

When the wolf comes to blow

If we build our house

With mortar and stone

Stones are the ones that we love

And they're gathering up

Forming a wall

And the mortar within

Is the time that we've spent

To set it in strong

And it's a daily build

Always some cracks to fill

Always some hole in the roof

Letting the rain get through

And when it just won't stop

The creek is rising up

Running over the banks

Can't keep the flood away

But when the water recedes 

We're still standing right here

If we build our house

With mortar and stone

We're not going down

When the wolf comes to blow

If we build our house

With mortar and stone

Written by Jill Phillips and Andy Gullahorn

Copyright The Gullahorns Music, ASCAP, 2014

Buy the CD

House in the Field - Pastel Painting - by Victoria Ryan

 ("the wise man built his house upon the rocks

and the rains came tumbling down

the rains came down and the floods came up

and the house on the rock stood still")
-southern folk song

In A Word

I was given a gratitude journal tonight and thought it would be fun to write what I'm grateful for since I have much to be thankful for. So, in a word, something I am grateful for tonight is Rest.

What are you thankful for tonight?

My Autumn Prayer (repost)

I raise my cup to fall, 

To blessings given one and all. 

The harvest bounty laid, 

Before eyes and hands 

Bent in Grace.
~Bookish Kind

Little Winter Friend

I saw my little winter friend

Just lighten on a branch today

He rested only for a moment

Then was off again to play

SOURCE

I believe the bird I saw today was a dark-eyed junco. 

I vow this will be the winter to get some bird feeding supplies 

For my winter-window-watching pleasure.

The Kind

Artist - Thomas Saliat

 The Kind

You're the kind that others

Turn away from when you speak

I know

I know

There's nothing you can say

That holds attention

On the street

I know

I know

The words are there but

Will not come the way

You want them to

I know

I know

Pen to paper seems

The way for thoughts

To be conveyed

I will

I will

Write my soul for

All to hear

Though they don't want to

I would

I would

Give two cents to

Know your thoughts as

I write

I write

What's in my soul

What's in my heart and mind

You will

You will

Hear my words unspoken now

The same as if

I spoke out loud

To you
To you

And maybe you'll

Still choose to walk away

From me

From me

That's okay I understand

You may not have the time

To stand and 

Hear me

Hear me

Speak my last word to you

Goodbye 

Goodbye

(2 minute essay on words, apparently, and on not being heard, who knew - they just spilled out)

From Webmaster Grade

Home Library

A gorgeous little library with a view.

Source: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-create-an-athome-library-in-any-home-no-matter-how-small-201868

"Shelves in the closet" indeed!

Misunderstood

Misunderstood

Life used to be a breeze

A sigh,

A petal on the wind

Gone by,

Blowing in the noonday sky

Was where you would find me

But times have changed

I'm not sure when

Or how

It happened

To me now,

These storms have stirred up

Misunderstanding around me

A word was whispered

In my ear

It's been awhile

Maybe years

And now the wall between us

Stands and no one says a thing

I'm not quite sure

What happened then

Or who it was

Who first changed skin

Now you seem to me to be

Stepping away even more

Since you've changed

Towards me

Can you expect I will

Not see

And not change too

After all I'm only human

And feeling small

I only wish that things

Could be

Mended and bridged

Between you and me

It doesn't matter what I do

You scorn each branch I offer you

Now it ends and now you see

The wall is only yours to free

We all build up walls and have misunderstandings

And it's really a part of life's ups and downs.

It's nice when you find the exact right words

To say to a friend that share how you feel

About the walls. At least that's how

It happened for me here.

A Mother's Prayer

~ a mother's prayer ~

the angels heard you coming tonight
and welcomed you with wings to fly
they held your hand and whispered
things that only those in heaven sing

the roads pave gilded and refined
you are heaven's now, but always mine
I say goodbye and through my tears
remember days, minutes, years.

i've known you well through
these hard days
i know by heart the many ways
i love you

-written for macie, 2013

Walden in the Fall

Sometimes when you venture out, just past your own backyard, you discover that Walden really is nearby, 

closer than you even realized. 

And Walden in the fall is just amazing.

I am not sure why autumn wakens me as it does. 

My step is lighter, and the beauty of the earth just deepens, until you almost ache from seeing it.

Are you aching for more? I am.

Layer

upon

layer

of

grace 

just 

standing 

there