I found this heart-shaped piece of cactus that had broken off a top-heavy plant. Scarred, thorny, sending a message of love. And pain.
Thorny Love
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Author Archives: Enchanted Seashells
Vernal Equinox/Spring is Here!
It began at 2:37 a.m. Pacific Time.
The sun crosses the celestial equator south to north. It’s called the “celestial equator” because it’s an imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator.
If you were standing on the equator, the sun would pass directly overhead on its way north.
Can you feel it?
How will you celebrate? We’re going to plant a lemon tree and some blueberries to add to the peach, plum, apple, pomegranate, grapefruit, and orange trees already in the ground.
Sadly, I had inadvertently killed my favorite lime tree and was disappointed to learn that no one in my area has any lime trees for sale. According to the nursery, the pandemic caused an explosion in home gardening and it’ll be quite some time before they’ll be back in stock, an interesting phenomenon directly related to Covid.
Those old poets sure knew how to describe the ethereal affirmations of an ephemeral season.
Lines Written in Early Spring
I heard a thousand blended notes,
While in a grove I sate reclined,
In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts
Bring sad thoughts to the mind.
To her fair works did Nature link
The human soul that through me ran;
And much it grieved my heart to think
What man has made of man.
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And ’tis my faith that every flower
Enjoys the air it breathes.
The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure:—
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure.
The budding twigs spread out their fan,
To catch the breezy air;
And I must think, do all I can,
That there was pleasure there.
If this belief from heaven be sent,
If such be Nature’s holy plan,
Have I not reason to lament
What man has made of man?
William Wordsworth
[glitter in the air]
Have you ever thrown a fistful of glitter in the air? I tried several times, and attempted to capture it with my camera, but all that happened was that I wasted a ton of glitter!
You should have been here; it was a bit too windy (also a total failure) but funny.
Oh well. No worries, nothing to stress about. This pic is better.
I’m feeling incredibly Pink right about now. Love her and LOVE glitter!
Unlikely Friends: Egret and Ducks
On my walk today, I looked through the fence into the culvert that drains into Agua Hedionda Lagoon and saw a pair of white egrets. One flew away, but I was able to snap a pic of this beauty. Look closer and you’ll see he’s sharing a bit of land with two ducks.
And then this other handsome sun-glistened mallard decided to swim over and join the fun.
Co-existence peacefully without social distancing!
The late afternoon light intensifies the male’s colorful plumage that helps them attract females.
Maybe they’ve forged a friendship while they forage together for food. It could be possible even though I learned that egrets (and herons) can and do eat ducklings, but I watched their interactions for quite a while and didn’t observe any aggressive or frightened behavior. It was all peaceful and serene, just like my wishes for happily ever afters.
Hello, Yellow!
Not a shamrock in sight! I know it’s St. Patrick’s Day and I should probably write about that or the color GREEN, but my entire garden is bursting in bright, joyous YELLOW, so that’s how it’s gonna go down…
Don’t pinch me, the leaves are green!
Primroses, sunflowers, and daisies…
Here’s a FUN Writing Prompt!
What’s going on here? I dunno, you tell ME!
This is one of my favorite photos. It’s actually a sort of mistake but if you’d like to play along, tell me what it’s all about.
I like image-driven inspiration, don’t you?
Splash!
P.S. I’ll reveal in response to comments.
Urban Wisdom
Snapped this photo as I was driving down the street in the early early morning just after first light. I like the stark, grainy, gritty, almost blurry perspective.
All straight lines, no curves, even the lettering, and I think that only enhances the powerful message:
LOVE WILL WIN.
A Host of Golden Daffodils
This seems to be a lovely way to herald spring and the time change on Sunday.
I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:—
A Poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the shew to me had brought:
For oft when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude,
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the Daffodils.
I wandered lonely as a Cloud
That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden Daffodils;
Beside the Lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
William Wordsworth – 1770-1850
Flower of the Sun
There’s a full moon, the air is warm, the sky is blue, birds are in joyous song during their gathering of nesting material, and this soon-to-be sunflower is in its cocoon, tightly wrapped and protected until the flower of the sun bursts open.
Sunflower/Flower of the Sun
Friend/ship
This is funny.
A certain website I needed to access for an important document had been giving me a consistent error message to close out my browser every single time I input my password. No matter what I did, I encountered the same message.
I couldn’t figure out what the problem could possibly be, so I called the company tech support number. I wasn’t angry or frustrated; it seemed like this could be easily solved if I took a deep breath and asked for help.
An hour later, I have a new friend.
She instructed me to close out my ENTIRE browser, not simply the tab that was open to her website.
I said, “Oh my goodness, not that! All those tabs? That’s going to ruin my life!”
She started laughing and told me I made her day, and then I started laughing, and that in turn opened up a conversation about life, the weather (she’s on the east coast), and our kids and grandkids. We shared that each of our moms had lived with us and we both took care of them while they were sick up until they died, and what a blessing it was to have been able to give back some love and kindness.
She asked me why I was laughing about the tech issue instead of getting angry and yelling at her (which is the emotional state she usually encounters) and I explained to her that in the grand scheme of life, this seemed to be a minor blip on the screen of my universe.
She told me she had been depressed and I cheered her up and that in turn made me happy.
Oh, and she solved my access problem so I was able to get into the account and acquire the info I needed.
If I hadn’t had a problem, if I hadn’t made the call, I wouldn’t have connected with a beautiful soul three thousand miles away, and I wouldn’t have been able to shine a light and a laugh into her darkness. In my opinion, this was a win-win scenario.
An outstretched hand.
Friend/ship.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 