Jez reminds us of the beauty and fun of the WWE challenge, and water usually has boats. There is something magical in watching a sailboat and when you have colorful sails, it draws you in even more.
I think the birds even enjoy watching them. Around San Francisco, birds were a staple around the boats and the marinas.
We were fortunate as those menacing clouds held they water until later in the evening after we got back in side. Remember water is like life. It can be a gentle flow or a menacing storm. When we see others going through a storm, let us be kind to show them a smoother stream. Kindness has a way of making hard times survivable.
Cee’s fun challenge of Flower of the Day can always prove beautiful and interesting. While in San Francisco, I saw spring flowers already blooming and I took a picture of this one because I had no idea what it was but it was intriguing.
I recognize the holly behind it but don’t really know what this is, but isn’t it cool. The long bamboo like stems look similar to a larger plant I have in my house but mine doesn’t bloom. Then further down the pier, there was an awesome topiary of succulents in the shape of a seal. It was not quite ready for it’s spring bloom but it was still awesome.
The tulips and daffodils in the lower section of the flower bed were just getting started. In another week they will be really full and beautiful.
Reflect on the beauty that surrounds you as spring starts to show it’s warm face and remember to share that warmth with kindness.
Linda Hill challenges us on SOCS this week with Wild Animals. Well, technically these are wild but…they were too comical with how they had tied in with humans. The animals I am referring to…the California Sealions at San Francisco. They had commandeered the marina at Pier 39. My daughter and I spent 5 days in San Francisco and the seals were visited daily. Very entertaining.
They reminded me of my daughter’s basset hound where they would bellow and make lots of noise but would not bother sit up.
The wetter seal just came on the dock disturbing those already sleeping causing much bellowing but nobody really get up.
Occasionally you would have a faceoff of two males proving who was the “baddest”. There would be noise, huffing and puffing, and the occasional snapping about…
But then after sufficient noise, they would all lay back down and go to sleep, usually with a head laid across the other. Maybe man should take notice of how seals settle their arguments, ending in peaceful slumber.
The most comical wild animal at the pier was actually a seagull. I was kind of amazed of how much trash was around the area and in the water, especially when they speak of the damage the humans are making by throwing debris into the oceans. But back to the seagull…someone had thrown a small rubber ball in the water and the gull was having a blast. There were about 15 humans being fully entertained by this bird. He would take the ball, throw it in the air, watch it bounce, and then chase it to throw it again.
Sometimes he would throw it in the water and then go after it, bringing it back onto the dock.
It was all very entertaining watching the “wild animals” at Pier 39. But it gave me pause to see how easily animals and humans interacted with each other creating joy or sorrow at the same time. We all need to be more mindful of God’s creation.
I close with a reminder on the value of kindness and that it doesn’t always have to be towards humans. All of creation needs to be dealt with kindly in every way that makes sense. And in my mind, Kindness always makes sense.
Animals understand kindness as well. Always be kind
This is a grading system we are all familiar with and we use it quite often for varying reasons. Since I recently went on vacation, and had to fly, I am grading our pilots, as we had 4 separate flights with 4 separate experiences. I am also slipping in a few pictures of the amazing views.
I think we can all agree that all pilots are good simply because they get us front point A to point B safely…relatively speaking. But some just have a little more finesse with the controls.
For instance, leaving home from a smallish midwest airport, the pilot seemed to think he was driving a sports car, throwing down the throttle for quick lift sending the passengers to the insides of their seats. Lift was easily obtained, passengers were safe but good giggly wiggly. We were told that weather ahead could be bumpy as the storm fronts were moving across the western US.
From the picture above we could see why it was a bumpy flight to Dallas but seriously, did the landing need to be that hard or sudden by slamming on the brakes. However, we did get to Dallas safely so we had a good pilot.
We board the connecting flight to San Francisco and smiled to ourselves as this was a much bigger plane, therefore possibly a smoother ride…hahaha. Again we have a race care driver throwing our g-force to the back of the seats. My daughter was with me and she said, “maybe this is how they train them now.” Maybe I though since it had been over 8 years since I had flown. The flight in the air was smoother, either from higher altitude or bigger plane – what ever, it was a better ride and the clouds below were beautiful. Coming into San Francisco at night, we waited to see how he would land. The initial touchdown was smooth like butter. I looked at my daughter and said “That’s a nice landing but before I got it out of my mouth, he slammed on the breaks like you could stop a plane of that size on a dime. And immediately we started fish tailing down the runway. He regained control quickly but it made for a questionable landing. Again we get the grade of a good pilot.
San Francisco and Bay at Night
On our return flight on Tuesday back to Dallas, we had the same size plane as from Dallas so we were hoping for smooth flight. The weather was better so hopefully not as bumpy. The pilot addressed the passengers in a manner I was used to, so my hopes were up as he was more friendly and informative. His takeoff – smooth as butter. Ah, a season pilot. And the flight was less bumpy but the weather had a lot to do with that. But out landing, almost smoother that our takeoff. I told the stewardess to please thank the pilot for a wonderful experience. He got a grade of best pilot.
We had a 3 hour layover in Dallas before coming back to the midwest. I knew again we would be in a smaller plane so maybe this last leg may not be as smooth. The plane seemed a little smaller that the one we left from the midwest in and it was an older plane. I was a touch concerned. The takeoff was a little bumpy but the flight was smooth. I had put up my camera thinking I had enough pictures from the plane but I missed an amazing sunset with bright reds and oranges streaked with a few purple clouds. The landing was smooth and the overall experience was good so we give this pilot a grade of better.
So our vacation travel was good and added to the wonderful vacation experience. I have many picture to share that I will post in the coming weeks. Have a wonderful weekend and remember to always be kind.
With my recent trip to San Francesco, I was amazed of the flowers blooming there. I understand its California but a recent storm in the area brought snow to the upper regions and temps while we were there were in the 40s. No flower blooming weather…still…
This Calla lily was located in the garden area of Alcatraz. But Calla lilies were everywhere in San Francisco.
As we look at the beauty of flowers, let us always remember the beauty of kindness and share that as well.
For the Love of 