The Lion Continues

Our area of the midwest is under sever weather warning…again. The first band that came through at 9 a.m. had to have had 60-80 mph winds, trees were broken like twigs. Mother Nature can have a really ugly side and I hope all are safe from this latest storm front. I am enclosing a few shots of the trees down at my house – proving that I am glad I have no trees of my own.

This was a huge fir tree that snapped about 20′ high. It came completely across the alleyway and I had to move some branches out of the way to get my car in the safety of the garage in case the storms this afternoon and evening are worse. Fortunately, there was no hail in this wind or there would have been broken windows in my sunroom. My neighbor totally lost their prefab sunroom in their backyard.

This picture looks toward the other direction of the ally. A total of three trees were knocked down crossing it.

The houses across the street are on a rise and they were hit harder by the wind. This tree seemed to have twisted before it gave way and it was a sizable tree.

I always close with a reminder that even in chaos we can always be kind. I got the chance to interact with a neighbor who has never liked me, and we had a nice conversation. Sometimes tragedy brings people together to find a peaceful ground.

So always be kind even when others are not kind to you.

It messes with their head.

And So It Begins…

The change of the season is upon us. The cool evenings have seeped into the leaves of the red maples making them the first to change and my favorite fall trees.

Unfortunately some of the best trees with the widest spreads are in our cemetery. So that is usually my first stop for pictures.

Once the reds are done, the yellows follow making a bright contrast from the reds. Enjoy the season, our last colorful season of the year. While the whites of winter are beautiful in their own way, I do miss the colors of the other three seasons. And in closing I remind you that Kindness never has a season. It should always be spread where ever you can to all kinds of living creatures.

Well, It is February…

Yes, as we hunker down for the 3rd winter storm in two weeks here in the midwest, with well over two accumalative feet of snow already, I am ever thankful I am not in the northeast. The second storm that hit us with 8 inches of snow dumped 3 feet on them.

But I am blessed with a warm house, plenty of food and a nice view of amazing trees, none of which are on my property. Another blessing during the fall. This year I am more taken by the beauty of these naked trees with their innate understanding as they twist their limbs to reach for the sun, their life force in the sky.

The hardwoods are the most amazing as their branches will bend down and then twist up to reach the light as the sun peeks through the leaves absorbing its love. It reminds me of a praying man raising his hand toward to his life source. But there is something majestic about the ever greens as well, as they created a sort of triangle, again pointing to the heavens to it’s life source.

Trees are a reminder to us all showing where the life forces come from for all of creation.

And if we can ever really grasp that concept, then we will begin to understand the beauty of all creation as was meant to be shared and enjoyed. From the largest mountain to the tiniest snowflake. So as we enjoy all there is to see, remember the kindness that begs to come out of creation’s beauty and share that kindness to its most beautiful potential.

Amazing Beauty of Nature

Every season has its own beauty but to me the stoic yet amazing constant in all seasons is the tree. Today I wrote a poem in honor of the beauty of a tree. Hope you enjoy.

Oh, To Be A Tree

Oh, to be a tree, sometimes I wish I was thee

Especially this time of year, when the sky is not clear

Oh, to be a tree, it would be great to be thee

In the long winters keep, all you would do is sleep

Oh, to be a tree, that’d be the life for me

When weather begins to warm, the bees begin to swarm

Oh to be a tree, the honey would drip from thee

With your leaves so green, and the birds sit to preen

Oh to be a tree, the beauty you would see

As your leaves grow thick, the shade is the trick

Oh to be a tree, the laugher just for thee

Of children come to play, making joy of the day

Oh, to be a tree, sometimes I wish I was thee

Then the leaves turn brown, as they fall to the ground

Oh, to be a tree, the beautiful colors you would be

When the snow starts to fall, go and sleep for us all

Oh, to be a tree, how magnificent that would be.

Anita Neal

And as a reminder that I always close with, never forget the beauty of Kindness, in all seasons of life.

Escapist Coloring Club, May

Boy do we need to escape from this mess now, and this is a great way to do that. Some of us are busier than ever and some are at a snail pace. I am somewhere in the middle but lean more toward the snail. I wanted to color something to make it feel like spring, even though we are still in long sleeve.

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Come join in the our fun way to relieve stress get in touch with your inner child. Linda G Hill hosts this prompt once a month as The Escapist Coloring Club Prompt.

And remember to always be kind with all people and all creatures, especially when things are so unhappy. You may never realize the affect you have in doing so.

be kind

Beauty In Life, SMM

Irene of Heaven’s Sunshine has a Monday post of macro photography, and while I only have my cell phone, it does a pretty decent job. Since my state is “shelter in place” we are not out and about but after the spring snow from last night, about 2 inches, I just had to walk around the block. It was early and no one much was out but the distinct sound of the wood peckers tat-tat-tat could be heard as it echoed through the quiet morning. The first couple of pictures follow the “macro” theme but I am also including the beauty I saw this morning of the naked trees draped in the graceful beauty of white as they stretch their limbs toward heaven, something we need to do as well in this time of challenge and sadness. May you all be safe during this time.

Hope you enjoy a few of the 40+ pictures I took from this best kind of snow – beauty with clear streets – not that I am going anywhere…

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And as always, remember the beauty of life, even in dark times. There is always a silver lining even though it may be too small to see – it can be felt.

Isaiah encouragement

CFFC, Fun With the Past

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge allows us to bring fun from our archives or new pictures that reflect ideas from the picture above : Mural, covered bridge, car, green, grass, vintage car, people, trees, road, flowers, landscape, sidewalk, or come up with your own topic.

So below are some of my pictures of the past. Since we are venturing out less right now, I felt this was a fun way to deal with the self quarantine.

Mural, one of several from my town, Rock Island Illinois:

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Centennial Bridge between Iowa and Illinois and blue sky:

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Flowers, can’t wait until spring:

Landscape & trees around town:

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Old cars:

We are now in a time of more fear and resentment and the need for kindness and patience is drastically needed more than ever. Remember to always be kind especially when others are not. Be the light they need.

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The Best Kind of Snow, JusJojan, #SoCS

It is January which means it’s winter in the northern hemisphere which means in some areas the “S” word has arrived. We try not to say that word much here in hopes it stays away. Yea, that didn’t work for Halloween this year with 4 inches and low 20 temperatures. But I have for a picture of today’s snow, the best kind of snow – Snowed all night but due to the warmth of December, the roads were still warm and therefore the roads are still clear. So the trees were beautifully covered. The sky cleared a short while before turning back to winter gray and I was able to grab this picture.

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It is amazing to me how hard wood tree twist and turn their limbs for their leaves to get the best sunshine. Even nature knows what is best for it and it tries to get there. We humans sometimes over think things and go way in the wrong direction.

As we push into this new year guiding ourselves in the direction we think is best, let us take a cue from nature and find the best direction.

And as we search for that direction, think of the beauty of fresh fallen snow, its purity and beauty and remember to cover everything with kindness.

Kind snow

The Area’s Official Start

Today was the Festival of Trees Parade. This is the kickoff of the Christmas season for Quad Cities(Iowa/Illinois). In the Davenport Civic Center is where the Festival of Trees is sponsored – a fantastic array of fully decorated trees created by businesses for bidding on as a charity event. It has some amazing artistic display for those who are crafty to get their ideas turning for their own trees.

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But the event is kicked off in the morning with the Festival of Trees Parade with huge balloons, bands, and I am told hot chocolate but have yet to find it.

But what this does for me is get me fully in Christmas mode. Today I decorated outside, so the only thing left to do is the mantle above the fireplace in my bedroom. I will get that finished tomorrow.

But for today’s fun post, I will start showing off more of my Christmas. I will start with the “formal” tree that is in the living room. This tree has only white lights and white or silver ornaments, some with a touch of color. I have it on top of the coffee table to keep the puppy’s interest out of reach. It also has the painted ceramic puppies I painted this year beneath it and the other normal other things that are usually under this tree.

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For today’s featured piece of my village, I give you the municipal buildings, ie. City Hall, Lawyer office and the police station. I enjoyed doing these as my father and my brother both are in the corporate legal filed.

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The string of lights running under the little building makes them a little off centered, but I really like the lights shining through the windows. It reminds me of the verse from II Corinthians 4:6 saying to let the light shine out of the darkness. I think that is what Christmas does for me, a reminder of Jesus light and how he was us to shine our love and kindness the way that he did.

The First of Fall

I love the reds of the dogwood, sugar maple and the other trees who really have red leaves before they are invaded by chlorophyll turning them green. The yellows and gold are really rich and nice but I love the reds the best. It was cloudy today but still the reds were beautiful. It is supposed to be sunny on Saturday so I will take some more pictures then. The reds against a clear cold sky in fall are amazing.

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Each season has its own beauty, yes, even winter can be exquisite, and for a southern girl, that is a pretty big statement. So enjoy this season as the northern hemisphere prepares to sleep and remember the beauty of all of God’s creation.

And with beauty comes smiles, and with smiles comes kindness. Always remember the beauty of kindness and share as you can.

autumn