To see the world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a wildflower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour
-William Blake
Sometimes all you need is to lie in the sand and breathe.
A Grain of Sand
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Category Archives: All Posts
All Roads Lead To…Leon Russell
I discovered yet another talented musician who had Leon’s magic umami sprinkled onto his songs.
This time it’s Dave Mason, founding member of the rock band, Traffic, who recently passed away on April 19.
As he was forming his own public persona as a solo artist, Leon Russell continued to collaborate with other musicians.
As I re-listen to these Dave Mason songs, I can now detect Leon’s contributions; always distinctive, always the secret ingredient, the umami that enhanced the flavor of every melody and arrangement.
In my opinion, he was meant to be on center stage, never in the background and anonymous.
Special thanks to Leon Russell Superstar in a Masquerade. His YouTube channel is an encyclopedia about the Master of Space and Time.
Featured photo curated from Pinterest.
PlantLust | Polka Dot Angel Wing Begonia
Think about it: a plant with polka dots, how could you NOT love it?
Here’s my prettypretty Polka Dot Begonia in her prettypretty seashell pot! Simple pleasures bring joy for this simple girl, I confess.
I’ve been lusting for this Polka Dot Angel Wing Begonia (Maculata ‘Wightii’) for a long time and finally found one in the clearance section at the nursery.
The check out employee told me there was literally nothing wrong with the plant but it was stressed out and should be repotted which was pretty awesome. (I can relate as I’m a little stressed out and wish all it took was to be repotted in new soil to fix me, too…)
When young, the Polka Dot Begonia is a beautiful tabletop houseplant. As it gets older, with good care, it becomes a beautiful floor plant, reaching four feet tall or more.
While its variegated leaves are the main reason to grow it, polka dot begonia can also show off clusters of small white flowers on and off throughout the year if it gets enough light.
Propagating Polka Dot Begonias (Begonia maculata) is best achieved via stem cuttings placed in water. Cut a healthy stem just below a node (leaf joint), remove lower leaves, and place it in water for four to six weeks until roots reach about 2 inches, then pot in airy, fast-draining soil.
Fingers crossed that I won’t love this one to death like I’ve done to other specimen plants.
The Impossible Flower
With news of ships blown up during an illegal faux war to manipulate financial markets, a deranged fraud of a prez, skyrocketing prices, future uncertainty, there’s sanity in the simplicity of a flower that persists against all odds.
When I first noticed it, I tried to gently pry up this volunteer zinnia from between the crack in my driveway to plant in a better location, but I would have destroyed it, so there was nothing else to do but leave it where it grew. The roots are strong, much more so than I thought.
I’ve watered it, watching and waiting, and it just bloomed, one single, brave flower.
My plan is to wait until the flower dies and forms seeds so I’ll continue to plant resilience, grit, tenacity, and determination.
I think there’s a lesson here, somewhere…
Cosmic Talk: Rare Four Planet Parade
I haven’t posted any planetary news for awhile but this seems significant and share-worthy.
A rare planetary parade is lighting up the pre-dawn sky this weekend, and if you wake early enough, you can witness Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune gathered together on the eastern horizon just before sunrise.
These four planets are clustering into a patch of sky so compact you could cover them all with your thumb held at arm’s length. Although they appear close together from where we stand, they are actually separated by enormous distances in space, each following its own orbit around the Sun at entirely different speeds. Yet for a few magical mornings in April, the geometry of their orbits creates the illusion that they are traveling side by side.
The best time to look is between April 18 and April 20. Head outside about thirty to sixty minutes before sunrise and find a spot with a clear view of the eastern horizon. Mercury will be the easiest to spot, shining brightly low in the sky. Mars and Saturn are also visible without equipment if conditions are clear.
Each planet carries its own unique energy. Mercury governs communication and ideas. Mars represents action, courage, and forward movement. Saturn brings discipline, structure, and long-term rewards. Neptune connects us to dreams, intuition, and spiritual guidance.
Together, these four planets are delivering a unified message: think clearly, act boldly, build wisely, and trust the invisible forces guiding you forward.
This is the weekend to take action on something you have been contemplating. The cosmic support is here. Curated from Galactic Council Of Lightworkers
More exciting news!
April 19 brings a powerful shift as the crescent Moon aligns with Venus and Uranus. This is an energy of love meeting the unexpected, where something can arrive suddenly and feel completely aligned at the same time.
Venus brings connection, attraction, and desire, while Uranus introduces change, surprise, and moments that were never planned but feel right.
This alignment can bring a message or a meeting, Something that felt distant can move closer. Something unclear can become easy to understand. The energy supports movement in ways that feel natural and meant to happen.
Look up!
Gentle on My Mind: Leon Russell and Glen Campbell
I’m not sure I really liked this song when it first came out; perhaps it was a bit too “country” for this little hippie rocker chick, along with “Rhinestone Cowboy”, but the lyrics and melody stood the test of time, and then there’s LEON, or as he was known back then, Claude Russell Bridges.
I had no idea he was the pianist on this recording; another magical moment from the Master of Space and Time, the secret ingredient.
Here’s another version from 1983. They made a great team, part of the famous Wrecking Crew of first call studio musicians in Los Angeles during the 1960’s. I could watch his fingers on the piano all day every day.
Thanks to Steve Liddycoat, we can enjoy the complete video, too: https://youtu.be/fNtxlKmNUFk?si=pY3XU1bDqjV785s7
Feature image by Sean Mcdowell
The Monsters Among Us: No Justice
I’m sure you heard the news about the wolf in Wyoming, right?
To avoid inevitable nightmares, I tried not to see the photos or read the details of this horrendous crime but I felt that I needed to, out of respect and to honor this wolf’s life.
A beautiful animal should not be subjected to torture and abuse. No one should. This young female wolf did not receive justice. It’s disgusting and absolutely sickening that supposedly normal people could commit and condone torture and inhumane treatment of animals–a trait often found among serial killers. There’s something missing inside of people like this, they’re broken human beings.
I’m so sick and tired of cruelty–to animals, to children, to each other. It’s beyond depressing. What an evil, sad world we live in.
On Feb. 29 2024 in Sublette County, Wyoming, Cody Roberts intentionally struck down a juvenile wolf with a snowmobile, taped the animal’s mouth shut, then brought the injured wolf to a local bar to show off and pose for photos. Afterward, the wolf — still alive — lay on the bar floor, suffering from internal injuries, while Roberts drank in celebration of his conquest. Eventually, Roberts killed the wolf outside behind the bar. Shockingly, nearly all of these actions were legal; Roberts was fined a mere $250 for possessing a live wolf. It’s alarming that anyone could attempt to justify such behavior, but that is precisely what Jeanne Ivie-Roberts, Cody Roberts’ aunt, has done. In an interview with DailyMail.com, Ivie-Roberts stated, “How exactly do you torture a wolf? Wolves are evil animals. They destroy our livelihoods.”
Calling Cody Roberts’ maiming and capturing of a wolf “cruel,” last week a judge sentenced him to only eighteen months of probation as part of a plea deal that will keep him out of prison if he stays out of trouble.Read more at http://www.heraldnet.com/2024/05/01/torture-killing-of-wolf-showed-disrespect-for-life/
I have no doubt that a mental health assessment would diagnose Roberts and people like him as zoosadists. Zoosadism is a type of sadism that derives pleasure—often sexual arousal—from inflicting pain, suffering, or death on animals. It is a form of severe animal abuse, distinct from zoophilia, and is sometimes considered a precursor to human violence. Examples include torture, mutilation, or sexual assault of animals.
This is where the crime happened: The Green River Bar, owned by Cody Roberts’ aunt (Nan Mckeough) and/or mother (not sure), located at 12963 US-189 in Daniel, Wyoming. (307) 859-8225.
Please sign this PETITION to shut down the bar. It already has gathered thousands of signatures: https://c.org/hKsGynYV96
Orchid Rescue
A while back a neighbor was tossing out a few orchid plants that she thought were dead or dying. I rescued them, gave them love, and patiently waited.
I’ve been rewarded with not one, but two of them throwing spikes and blooming at the same time!
Best of all, they’re one of the few flowers that don’t trigger my allergies!
Slightly different shades of fuchsia bring joy.
I don’t know why anyone would discard an orchid; they’re not that difficult to maintain and there’s immense satisfaction when they rebloom.
I found an obscure poem about orchids by José Santos Chocano, written in the 1920s:
The Orchids
Freaks of bright crystal, airy beauties fair,
Whose enigmatic forms amaze the eye—
Crowns fit to deck Apollo’s brows on high,
Adornments meet for halls of splendor rare!
They spring from knots in tree-trunks, rising there
In sweet gradation; winding wondrously,
They twist their serpent stems, and far and nigh
Hang overhead like wingless birds in air.
Lonely, like pensive heads, all fetterless.
Lofty and free they bloom; by no dull chain
Their flowers to any tyrant root are bound;
Because they too, at war with pettiness,
Desire to live, like souls that know no stain,
Without one touch of contact with the ground.
Friday Tirade: Fevers and Gnats and Hammers
Have you ever experienced the feeling that you had a fever but you actually did NOT?
Somehow, as careful as I am, I got sick. It started with heavy congestion and a headache along with a low grade fever, then it spiked to 101.5 as all the other aches and pains descended upon my body.
After a couple of days of not getting any worse, I decided that I didn’t need to see a doc because my lungs were OK and that probably meant that it was a virus and not a secondary bacterial infection that would necessitate antibiotics as I’m prone to pneumonia.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, except for a cough and this annoying feeling that I have a fever but the thermometer says otherwise. I think I would be feeling a lot worse if I hadn’t been vaccinated for Covid and the flu, so I’m grateful for that. Ginger tea and Tylenol seem to help.
At the same time, my indoor plants are inundated with fungus gnats. They’re joyfully procreating and multiplying and are SO annoying. I sprayed the soil with a hydrogen peroxide solution that’s supposed to help–fingers crossed that it actually does. I’ve never had an infestation this severe and I’m not really happy about it.
If that wasn’t enough to put me in a foul mood, neighbors decided to build an absolute monstrosity of a remodel that looks more like an apartment building as it looms over my house. The construction noise has been ongoing for MONTHS and right now I’m listening to incessant sawing and hammering and nail guns along with an air compressor that goes off and on, off and on, off and on.
Closing the windows doesn’t do anything to muffle the noise and that’s almost impossible to do as temps are consistently in the 70s, so I suffer either way. When people drive or walk by, they look up at the giant structure and shake their heads, so I know it’s not just me.
Because of the way the wind blows (literally), all the sawdust and other building detritus comes my way so the side of my house was covered in sawdust, along with nails and paper from the insulation. I asked the neighbors to let their construction people know about it so they could clean it up and that didn’t happen so I sent them some pics and again asked to have something done about it, which they finally did about a month later.
Is there a real pervasive lack of basic courtesy and consideration nowadays, or am I the only one who thinks that?
Does everyone live in their own little bubble and not comprehend–or care — how their actions might affect others? Was I unreasonable to expect them to (promptly) clear away their construction mess? It’s definitely NOT my job to clean up after them and you can’t tell me that they didn’t look down from the scaffolding and see what was going on below them. Yes, SCAFFOLDING, because, like I said, it’s a huge, multi-story monstrosity.
Anyway…
I can’t take it much longer…I think I might have to scream into a pillow. SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!
Have a Seat, Enjoy The View
Apparently, the world did not yet end and we’re still here.
Please take a moment to stop doom scrolling and enjoy these gorgeous pics my son snapped of springtime around his ‘hood in the Pacific Northwest.
I asked him to take photos of the famous cherry blossoms at University of Washington but he said it was so packed with tourists that he avoids the area when he teaches, even though his office is near the Quad.
Olympic Mountains
Heavily loaded container ship west of Shilshole Bay Marina in Puget Sound.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 