Friday, May 20, 2011

How to know which way to go ????

This question is surrounded by many of the thoughts that have been ruminating in my brain for awhile and that have kept me busy and not posting.
Last weekend Bob and I went for a drive to pick up a special fuchsia that I had to order. It was in a city way south of here and we had to drive by Renton where my grandparents lived when I was young. Things are never the way you remember them....why is that? The reason I mention taking this drive is because the web site of this greenhouse had their own hand drawn map that you could print and use to get to their location. Now this map had very straight lines and seemed very straightforward. Bob even asked if I knew if the person who drew the map was an architect or something.
So on our way down I asked Bob to take me by my grandparents old house first which he did. It is painted a nice color and has an attractive front door, but other things around the property have changed.....like, the peach tree that I have the fondest memories of, is gone. HOW COULD THEY DO THAT?????
Anyway, as we proceeded south from there, we used the GPS that's on my phone just for kicks (we didn't really think we would need it because of the map). Welllllllll, life is never so simple and straightforward either, so if we hadn't had the GPS, we would have had a total adventure drive for sure. Getting there actually involved several curvy roads, a fork in the road where you had to choose, and many more miles than the map seemed to indicate.

Basically, a lot like life don't you think?
So how does one know which way to go sometimes when you don't have GPS to figure it all out for you?
I'm still working on that one. I don't have a sure fire map, that's for sure. I have to ask myself everyday lately, who am I, who do I want to be, were am I going, could I just win the lotto, what work am I supposed to be doing???? It just goes on and seems endless.
I have often said to myself and others - "You have a plan and God has a plan, and your (meaning whoever is the You) plan doesn't work". I can accept that, and I believe it to be true, but right now, I wish the GPS would click on and lead me straight and true to my next gig.

As I was strolling through the halls of the local hospital where I have been volunteering, I actually looked up and saw a sign that asked that question. It had a map showing how to get most anywhere in the facility. There is always that one little place that says "You are here". Maybe I don't have to be anywhere else or be doing anything else.....maybe I am "HERE"!

Sunday, May 8, 2011

eye candy

I have friends that tell me the stuff around my house on shelves and in little nooks and crannies are eye candy....and they are. Today, however, my eye was delighted at every turn by the glories of nature just hanging around outside.
The birds were singing up a storm. My hummingbirds that hung out with me all winter are still here and some others have joined the group. There are usually some geese that leave rather copious amounts of poop in what we call the outdoor arena area, but 2 have been hanging a little closer to the house now and then. A lot of the bird families that were here last year are back and have been searching for the perfect home. I am uncertain as to what species is living the life in our kitchen fan ducting, but you should have heard them when they discovered the spot, I am certain I heard one of them say " Oh honey, look how nice and dry it is in here. It's so private and quiet. Can you believe our good fortune?" Wait until I need to turn the fan on....will they be surprised.
 Bob went out to put some wire up so they couldn't get in there and he found a ton of old hay so someone had tried before to live in there. Even though Bob pulled out all the old hay and wired up the opening, they somehow have found a small place to nest in although they aren't little teeny birds and every now and again I hear them chatting away.
The Gold Finch is the state bird and I think I have seen 2 recently. We have a ton of very robust robins and a massive collection of crows. When they all land in the pasture, I call it the crow collective.
The barn and the arena have been taken over by swallows and I think there are some starlings as well.
We have also had some woodpeckers flit through and some blue jays  that live between here and the end of the block. I need a handbook on the northwest birds to figure who all is in the neighborhood at times.

The birds are enough to tie up my attention, but the trees that are blooming right now are just stunning. Even the trees that are just budding out and won't get any flowers are pretty amazing. I feel like I need a camera all the time and I wish I could just snap constantly and still be able to drive. Of course, that would most likely get me a big fat ticket if not a trip downtown.

Today, Bob and I spent time working in the green house together to re pot old plants and to get all the new little fuchsia starts into their new homes. I also have some beautiful begonias. I don't know why I fell in love with begonias, but I think it is their really cool leaves. Some have that iridescent look to them and some are shaped like angel wings, and on top of that, you get pretty awesome blooms......what's not to love.

At some point in the afternoon, the horses got a turn out from their paddocks to grazing pastures. They only get that on the weekends during the spring to the late fall. But here were the horses grazing within feet of us while we were working. It is an amazing feeling and I fell in love with the farm all over again. (I never fell out of love, I just fell in love again)

the bottom line .... I got my hands in some dirt, the sun was shining now and again, the horses were spreading their love, the plants are growing (you can hear them if you listen closely) and that handsome husband of mine was being my personal eye candy while he helped me get it all done. Life is pretty darn fine.