Sunday Stroll Invitation

While I know many of you will be exceptionally busy with family gatherings today, if your plans allow for a walk in nature, perhaps with family and friends, and if you post photos from your stroll, please comment here.  I will update this post to include a list of strollers so that we may all share in the beauty of the earth in mid-April.

Saturday Snapshot

I see waves of gray cloud and sheets of rain, rolling eastward. Lightning flashes, and swims through the rain like a luminous fish.

I hear the low, insistent murmur of thunder and the splash of a million raindrops on the tin roof of the barn.

I smell spring, fresh and rising. I feel cool and refreshed sitting on the patio under a roof,  with a late cup of coffee.

Micah is beside me, drenched and relaxed. We were walking in the woods when the storm blew in. I might never have chosen to venture out in it on purpose, but found it exhilarating to be caught up in the wild magnificence of an April storm.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you joy.

A Little Quote and a Little Note

The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, 

the human soul is apt to revive also.

~ Harriet Ann Jacobs

So, here is the leading edge of spring.  

The frogs are singing in the pond,

the birds are singing in the trees. 

Here in these northern hills,

our spring flowers are not yet blooming,

but there is softness in the catkins

and the frayed edges of autumn's remains.

The air is lovely and alive,

and it is a beautiful thing

to take a deep breath ,

in a still and quiet place,

on the leading edge of spring.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you peace.

quote from:  https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_nature.html

Sunday Stroll - The Wide Way

In addition to all of the trails featured in my last week's Sunday Stroll, there is a wide swath through the center of the property, which was probably clear cut at one time,but is now starting to fill in. Today, we headed out to The Wide Way for a long, slow meander  to the southern end.

 The Wide Way is flanked on both sides by cedar and juniper,

and the best blackberry bramble on the farm.

The trees all around are full of pattern and texture,

and if you look down, you never know what you might find.

The far south end opens onto the sprawling corn field

of another farm.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you serenity.

Steve strolled Out On the Prairie

Sunday Stroll Invitation

“‘Is the spring coming?’ he said. 

‘What is it like?’ …

‘It is the sun shining on the rain

 and the rain falling on the sunshine, 

and things pushing up

 and working under the earth.’”

—Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Will you be indoors or outdoors for the most part today?  It is warm here, but overcast, with  a thunderstorm forecast for early evening.  I have been dividing my time between indoor necessities and whatever I can find to tend to outdoors for the past couple of days.  I wish I could be entirely in the fresh warm air, despite the clouds.  Nevertheless, the are still meals to make, dishes to wash, laundry to do, and some tending to our (indoor) seedlings that must be done today.

I invite you to join me in a Sunday Stroll, if your time allows.  I would love to see what is blooming or growing where you are, and to read your thoughts on the natural world.  If yoHu do walk and post photos to your blog, please comment here and I will add you to a list of strollers on this Invitation post and on my own Sunday Stroll post.


Steve strolled Out On The Prairie. 

quote from: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/this-grand-show?utm_term=.gdg0A7B1L#.ctmbJyAaX

Loving Arms

“If we surrendered
to earth’s intelligence
we could rise up rooted, like trees.”

—Rainer Maria Rilke, Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God

 We have several trees on the property, similar to this one.  

I love to sit here and listen to the creek flow. 

I feel like I am in loving arms when I rest here.

When my children were small, and we hiked,

we would always say that a "natural arch" was a portal

to another place or time.

I guess Micah has been transported.

Mabel is feeling a bit transported too.

It has been months since she laid outside on the warm concrete

bathed in sunshine.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you comfort and joy.

quote from: https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/this-grand-show?utm_term=.ghmOjpzB8#.pgW8N3oV6

Many Happy Returns

Today is a celebration of many happy returns.

After several days of soaking rain, 

the sun finally came out late this afternoon.

Just in time, the camera I usually use for my blog posts was returned 

and so, I could not resist taking it along on our afternoon ramble.

What a joy to take clear crisp photos of

 the moon caught in the maple tree

and ancient history caught in stone.

Looking up, there are this year's buds,

and looking down,

last years news.

As we left the woods, we were able to celebrate 

the happiest return of all,

this year's chorus of spring peepers has awoken

and we were overjoyed to hear their song.

Wherever you are, whatever the weather, I wish you a wellspring of joy.