Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/31/14)
A thoughtful gift of a plant with two garden stakes multiplies my joy every morning. As someone who enjoys nature and who has an affection for birds, I clearly appreciate the plant and the whimsical...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (2/28/14)
“Arggh! Who put the baby fat back on my body?” I exclaim as I peel off another shirt and toss it on top of the “No-Longer-Looks-Good” pile of clothing. I hate cleaning out my closet. Standing in the...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (3/7/14)
“And for my next trick, I will perform a double rotation with a half-twist . . . ” That’s what I imagine a Goldfinch hanging on a nearby wire is saying. As other birds wait patiently for spots on the...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (3/28/14)
Take a walk through this photo with me. What do you see? Trees? Yes, what kind of trees? Flowers? How many different colored flowers are there? Looking at the shadows, from what direction is the sun...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (4/4/14)
A dumpling-shaped hummingbird perched on a feeder and uncharacteristically took his time sipping nectar. After every sip, he looked around leisurely. When another hummingbird frenetically approached...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (4/11/14)
Posturing and positioning themselves, two blue belly lizards eye each other contemptuously. Using my deck as their battlefield, they crawl around in a strategic circle formation. In a flash the battle...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (4/25/14)
Consider the proverb, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,” and then consider how it might relate to someone who appreciates...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (5/30/14)
The juxtaposition of adjacent buildings creates an invitation to admire the scenery. The angles of the walls tease me to look beyond the structures, to scan the snow-dusted mountains. After a moment...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (7/18/14)
They may look like weeds to you, but don’t step on the vegetation. Please stay on the pathways. We’ve had a long drought here, and the poor little plants are doing everything they can to survive. See...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (8/8/14)
“Splish, splash, I was takin’ a bath . . .” sings an Acorn Woodpecker as he splashes around in the top tier of my backyard fountain. Goldfinches stop short of landing on the rim once they eye the big...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (10/3/14)
Drunk on milk, Charlotte sleeps contentedly in my mother’s arms. My dad looks on and says to me, “Right now, under this roof, there are four generations.” Remarkable indeed. Charlotte is blessed with...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (10/24/14)
Like angels ascending to heaven, the morning mist lifts ethereally from the lake. A lone skiff floats through the mist and breaks the stillness of the glass-like water. The world is quiet and I am...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (11/28/14)
The demolished turkey platter sits pitifully on the table. People, who once engaged in lively conversation, sit in food comas with their pants unbuttoned. The Thanksgiving feast is a thing of the...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (1/9/15)
In the stillness of a winter garden, where many plants rest to conserve their energy, songbirds flit here and there while singing their songs. When skies are more grey than blue and when landscapes...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (1/23/15)
Waiting patiently in the gentle breeze, the white hair-like tufts of salsify plants sway to and fro. Suddenly, a perfect gust of wind releases them from their mother plant and they float effortlessly...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (2/6/15)
Calls of “shaack shaack shaack!” interrupt the peace and quiet of the creek area behind my house. My eyes follow the sound and see blue-feathered birds swoop elegantly from tree branch to tree branch....
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (3/13/15)
A sunny high-rise home with an ocean view and plenty of fresh air ventilation sounds like a perfect place to rest a spell and, perhaps, even raise a family. That’s what this seagull thought as it sat...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (3/20/15)
“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Reading this six-word piece of flash fiction, purportedly penned by author Ernest Hemingway, always made me feel sad. Like other people, I wondered about the tragic...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (3/27/15)
The woodworker stood back and looked at his project. While pouring his heart into the design and construction of it, his mind focused on only one thing – the purpose of it. At a recent meeting of...
View ArticleFriday’s Fresh Five! (4/10/15)
Cradled in the leaves of a succulent, drops of water shimmer like jewels. Throughout time, succulents have survived their arid conditions by adapting. They store water in their fleshy parts – leaves,...
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