synthetic & natural sounds, textures, colors, patterns… suburban grounding… Last Saturday was a perfect winter day with lots of sunshine. About ten to fifteen minutes on foot from my house is a nature park. I hiked along the West Ridge Trail which meanders through a wide-open […]
Happy Friday from my Garden!
This guy has been pressing his nose up against the patio door some mornings. He’s even knocked on the glass with his paws! I wonder if there is some coffee left for me? I hope you have better luck and get to start your Friday […]
Zunday Zen … Pendulousness
Dangling by a thread in between heaven and earth one leaf’s final dance. One afternoon late last fall in the garden I noticed this maple leaf hanging from a spider’s thread. A light breeze kept the leaf dancing in circles until a strong gust of wind […]
Meditation in Moment … A Happy New Year
Mystical moment forest bathed in golden glow sunbeams touch my heart. A magical moment like few others: Sitting on the deck all bundled up in the cold reminded me of silently sitting in a European cathedral. It touches something inside you … Happy New […]
Zunday Zen … Winter Solstice Sparkles
weightless pairs of wings in solstice sunshine … cold moon lit Christmas roses. Have a Zen Sunday! Sabine
Up Close & Personal … The Golden-Crowned Kinglet
Last week a small flock of 5 golden-crowned kinglets visited the garden. They are about the size of a hummingbird and can survive temperatures up to -40 degrees Fahrenheit by snuggling together in the cold. They don’t really sit still for more than a second […]
Zunday Zen … Winging it
hungry chickadee coming in for a landing on translucent wings. Have a Zen Sunday! Sabine
Up Close & Personal … The Downy Woodpecker
This time of year we get a lot of woodpeckers visiting the suet feeders. The female downy woodpecker identical to the hairy woodpecker, except for its size and the length of the bill. The downy has a short stubby beak in comparison to its body size. Males […]
Up Close & Personal … Purple Blaze of Beautyberries
Years ago I took a few horticultural classes at the local community college. Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’, commonly known as beautyberry, was one of the many plants I was introduced to then. The instructor stressed that these plants like to be close to another one of […]
Up Close & Personal … Coyotes howling in the Night
It’s not very often that I see coyotes walk past our garden, but we do hear them howling during the night sometimes. Yesterday evening a group of coyotes congregated in the dark forest behind us, howling, yelping and barking loudly. They sounded almost a little […]
Meditation in Moments … Finches on the Fence
Which side is greener? This flock of fluffy finches can’t seem to decide … Late Friday afternoon I noticed a kinglet foraging for insects in the butterfly bush. After watching it for a while I went inside to get my camera. By the time I […]
Zunday Zen … I spy …
a rodent … no … a hardworking hipster Portlandia squirrel lugging an acorn up the old Douglas fir moving so quickly it’s almost a vertical blur munching, crunching, keeping an eye on the scene all while hungrily enjoying the local forest cuisine From Portlandia to Michigandia greetings […]
Happy Thanksgiving!
Come gather inside let there be peace for today at home, in the world. Happy Thanksgiving! Sabine
Up Close & Personal … The Hairy Woodpecker
Lunchtime for this little guy! With the weather getting colder it’s starting to get busy at the feeders. Suet is loved by just about all the birds and even squirrels try to get to it. Hairy and downy woodpeckers are almost impossible to tell […]
Zunday Zen … A Solitary Walk
Solitary walk leaves crunching underfoot … in autumn’s golden glow. Sunshine, lustrous fall colors and silence are what I found on my afternoon hike. I encountered only a handful of humans, one lone mushroom and a view of Mount Hood. It appeared almost close enough […]
Up Close & Personal … Gentle Mourning Doves
This faithful pair of mourning doves has been visiting us for years during spring and summer. They usually fly in, waddle over to where the bird feeders are, in hopes of finding some morsels other birds might have dropped. After that, they always head over […]
Zunday Zen … I Spy …
… raindrops disguised as smiling frogs hiding behind bamboo logs … … a tiny winged creature dangling upside-down sipping dipping flipping going to town … After the rain finally stopped the other day I went outside with my camera in hopes of capturing some nice […]
Happy Friday!
It’s been busy around here! For the past year we’ve been going through all our possessions, sorting them into keep – discard – donate and give away piles. We packed stuff up in boxes, and then started to renovate parts of our house. We’ve spent […]
