Terri reminds us that all of us feel and use textures – in photography, in writing, in our clothes, on the walls of our homes…I could go forever but instead, I will share a few of my photographs. Let’s start with plants. While the Elephant Ear is a huge leaf plant, the close-up view of the leaf shows amazing texture.

Those who may not be familiar with a Southern magnolia life cycle may not know what this is. This was the center of the bloom, that now the holds of the next generation of trees with its bright red seed nestled inside a hard cone that is amazingly covered with a fine velvet olive green cushion on the outside. The picture also shows the textures of color and feel of the patio floor.

The internal texture of a tree reflects its beauty and its age through its many rings, usually only seen when the tree must be taken down.

One last plant picture shows the visual texture created by the swirling colors of a flower that is actually dying. Its original color is a bright rich red.

In switching to home, we have my kitchen floor which is a swirl of dark green, black, with streaks of white that hides well the fact that it needs mopping.

The glass door to the back of the house has several textures to it and when the sun is just right for about 10 minutes at certain times of the year, we have rainbows reflecting on the carpet from the beveled glass.

Then there is the texture of our families, not only in what we visually see but in the way we act and care for one another.

The children sitting on the floor are now grown with children of their own. The textures of our lives let others know how smooth or rough we are or how kind or unkind we have been. Above all else, we must always strive to be kind, even in an unkind situation. You might be amazed at the walls that can be broken by that kindness.